2007年VOA标准英语-Darfur Commission Addresses Peace Pact Violatio

By Noel King
El Fasher, Darfur
07 February 2007

The Darfur Joint¹ Commission met in Sudan's western region on Wednesday to discuss violations² of a 2004 ceasefire agreement between Darfur rebels and the government of Sudan. The commission urged a re-energized approach toward a peaceful solution to the Darfur conflict. For VOA, Noel King has more from El Fasher.

 

The commission met in the north Darfur capital city of El Fasher to discuss recent ceasefire violations including Sudan's aerial bombardment of villages in north Darfur and attacks on African Union peacekeepers by unknown armed offenders³.

 

Sam Ibok

Chief of the Darfur Peace Agreement Implementation⁴ Team, Ambassador Sam Ibok, told reporters that the Sudanese government and rebels are both responsible for grave violations of the ceasefire.

 

"If this peace agreement is to hold there has to be a change. We need to have a different approach, both from the government but also non-signatories," he said. "We are having a litany of reports of violations and nothing seems to have been done. This place has become a talking shop. We just come and talk about them and people go back and do more or less the same thing."

 

The Ceasefire Commission report listed eight breaches⁵ of the ceasefire by the Sudanese government in the past five weeks including an attack on a primary school by Arab Janjaweed militias⁶ in early December, in which children were killed and wounded.

 

Observers charge that Sudan arms and supports the Janjaweed.

 

But Ibok admitted that the report was not balanced and did not include violations of the ceasefire by rebels in Darfur.

 

A top Sudanese official called Sudan's recent air strikes a defensive⁷ maneuver⁸ aimed at rebels who seek to undermine Sudan's sovereignty.

 

Head of the Sudanese government delegation⁹ to the Ceasefire Commission, Mohamed Ahmed Addabi, told reporters the Sudan Armed Forces are not targeting civilians¹⁰.

 

"We are not attacking people," he said. "We are not bombarding people. We have to secure our people, not bombard them."

 

The commission also noted¹¹ a sharp deterioration¹² in humanitarian¹³ access to civilians in Darfur due to continued violence.

 

But the report noted that attacks by feared militias known as Janjaweed have decreased in the past five weeks.

 

The ceasefire commission was formed in 2004 to monitor an agreement between rebels and the Sudan government and includes representatives from the African Union, Sudan, Darfur rebel factions¹⁴ and the United Nations.

 

Wednesday's meeting was the commission's first in Darfur. Previous meetings have been held in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa.

The AU reported that Darfur's heavily factionalized rebels are gearing up for a conference aimed at uniting their position, a move observers call the best bet to stem chaos¹⁵ on the ground.

 

The rebels have postponed¹⁶ the conference several times following aerial bombardments by the government of Sudan.

 

The Darfur conflict this month will enter into its fourth year.

 

Rebels in remote Darfur attacked government positions, complaining that the vast region remained undeveloped due to neglect by Sudan's powerful central government.

 

Sudan is charged with arming Arab militias known as Janjaweed to conduct a savage¹⁷ campaign of rape¹⁸ and murder targeting civilians from predominantly African tribes.

 

Experts estimate at least 200,000 people have died and some 2.5 million more have been displaced in Darfur and eastern Chad, in what the U.S. calls genocide.

1 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

2 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

3 offenders   

n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物）

参考例句：

• Long prison sentences can be a very effective deterrent for offenders. 判处长期徒刑可对违法者起到强有力的威慑作用。
• Purposeful work is an important part of the regime for young offenders. 使从事有意义的劳动是管理少年犯的重要方法。

4 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

5 breaches   

破坏( breach的名词复数 )； 破裂； 缺口； 违背

参考例句：

• He imposed heavy penalties for breaches of oath or pledges. 他对违反誓言和保证的行为给予严厉的惩罚。
• This renders all breaches of morality before marriage very uncommon. 这样一来，婚前败坏道德的事就少见了。

6 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

7 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

8 maneuver   

n.策略[pl.]演习；v.(巧妙)控制；用策略

参考例句：

• All the fighters landed safely on the airport after the military maneuver.在军事演习后，所有战斗机都安全降落在机场上。
• I did get her attention with this maneuver.我用这个策略确实引起了她的注意。

9 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

10 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

11 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

12 deterioration   

n.退化；恶化；变坏

参考例句：

• Mental and physical deterioration both occur naturally with age. 随着年龄的增长，心智和体力自然衰退。
• The car's bodywork was already showing signs of deterioration. 这辆车的车身已经显示出了劣化迹象。

13 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

14 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

15 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

16 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

17 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

18 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。