VOA常速英语2007年-Thailand's Deposed Prime Minister Ready to Retu

By Kate Woodsome
Hong Kong
25 December 2007

Thailand's deposed¹ prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, says he would like to return home, now that his political allies have won the first elections held since a military takeover last year ousted² him from power. Kate Woodsome has more from VOA's Asia News Center in Hong Kong.

Thaksin Shinawatra says he could return to Thailand as soon as February. He says he wants to go back to prove his innocence³ in a corruption⁴ trial he faces there.

 

Speaking to reporters in Hong Kong Tuesday, Mr. Thaksin said, if he does return, he plans to stay out of politics. 

 "I want to go back to live my life peacefully in Thailand as a normal citizen, and also I would like to be sure that when I go back it's safe for me," he said.

Military leaders pushed Mr. Thaksin from power 15 months ago in a bloodless coup⁵ while he was out of the country. The coup leaders said they wanted to clean up the government, accusing Mr. Thaksin of abuse of power and rampant⁶ corruption.

The new government barred Mr. Thaksin from office, and the courts dissolved his Thai Rak Thai Party.

The former prime minister has not returned to Thailand, and says he will only go back when it is safe for him to do so. Sunday's national elections apparently⁷ gave him that sense of security.

The People Power Party, which includes many Thaksin supporters, won 233 seats in the 480-seat lower house of parliament. Although it failed to win a majority, the PPP controls enough seats to form a coalition⁸ government.

Mr. Thaksin says, if asked, he would be willing to be a political adviser⁹ to the PPP.

Political analysts¹⁰ say it is unclear whether the military will allow a pro-Thaksin party to lead the government.

On Tuesday, Mr. Thaksin struck a conciliatory tone toward the military, calling for national healing and unity¹¹.

"I would like to congratulate them for bringing back democracy to Thailand," Thaksin said,  "and we would like to thank the junta¹² and military-installed government for their effort to allow the general election to happen. I want to see the reconciliation¹³ to be started."

Mr. Thaksin said he is ready to get along with his former political foes¹⁴, and has even sent them an invitation to play a round of golf.

 

The military-backed Democrat¹⁵ Party, which came in second with 165 parliamentary seats, has already said it will not join a PPP-led government.

1 deposed   

v.罢免( depose的过去式和过去分词 )；（在法庭上）宣誓作证

参考例句：

• The president was deposed in a military coup. 总统在军事政变中被废黜。
• The head of state was deposed by the army. 国家元首被军队罢免了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

3 innocence   

n.无罪；天真；无害

参考例句：

• There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
• The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。

4 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

5 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

6 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

7 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

8 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

9 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

10 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

11 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

12 junta   

n.团体；政务审议会

参考例句：

• The junta reacted violently to the perceived threat to its authority.军政府感到自身权力受威胁而进行了激烈反击。
• A military junta took control of the country.一个军政权控制了国家。

13 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

14 foes   

敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They steadily pushed their foes before them. 他们不停地追击敌人。
• She had fought many battles, vanquished many foes. 她身经百战，挫败过很多对手。

15 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。