2007年VOA标准英语-Sunni Arab Legislators End Boycott of Iraqi Par

By Margaret Besheer
Irbil
19 July 2007

Sunni Arab legislators have ended their five-week boycott¹ of Iraq's parliament, raising hopes the assembly can move forward on legislation viewed as crucial to national reconciliation². From Iraq, VOA's Margaret Besheer has more.

Iraqi parliament (file)

Iraq's largest Sunni Arab bloc³, the Accordance Front, returned to parliament Thursday after a boycott fueled by the removal last month of the Sunni speaker, Mahmoud Mashhadani.

The parliament removed Mashhadani after he argued with a Shi'ite colleague and made accusations⁴ against him. There were also reports of fighting between the two men's bodyguards⁵.

Salim Abdullah Jabbouri, spokesman for the Accordance Front, says the bloc ended its boycott after receiving calls from other political groups. He added that the restoration of Mashhadani as speaker was a condition for the bloc's return.

Accordance Front head Adnan al-Dulaimi told parliament that parliament members must cooperate to solve the nation's problems and serve the needs of the people.

There was no mention of whether the Accordance Front's six ministers would return to the cabinet.

The bloc holds 44 of the legislature's 275 seats, and their absence has contributed to the political paralysis⁶ gripping the government.

The bloc's return comes two days after Shi'ite deputies loyal to cleric Moqtada al-Sadr ended their boycott of parliament.  Their return came after an agreement was reached to rebuild the Shi'ite shrine⁷ at Samarra, badly damaged in two separate bomb attacks.

But the Sadr bloc's six ministers, who left the cabinet in April, still have not returned, and a vote is expected in parliament next week to name their replacements⁸.

The return of both the Sunni and Shi'ite deputies reignites hopes that the legislature can get down to the business of passing key laws aimed at promoting national reconciliation. Those laws include a controversial oil and gas bill, as well as legislation governing the return to public life of members of the former Baath party of ousted⁹ president Saddam Hussein.

In a separate development, the U.S. military announced Thursday that two American soldiers have been charged with the premeditated murder of an Iraqi national.

The alleged¹⁰ murder occurred June 23, near the northern city of Kirkuk. The soldiers' battalion¹¹ commander was relieved of his command in connection with the investigation¹² although he is not a suspect and has not been charged. No other details were released.

Also Thursday, the military reported the deaths of five more American soldiers. Four soldiers and their Iraqi interpreter were killed Wednesday in a roadside bomb blast in eastern Baghdad. A fifth soldier was killed by small arms fire Thursday south of the capital.

1 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

2 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。

3 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

4 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

5 bodyguards   

n.保镖，卫士，警卫员( bodyguard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Brooks came to Jim's office accompanied—like always—by his two bodyguards. 和往常一样，在两名保镖的陪同下，布鲁克斯去吉姆的办公室。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Three of his bodyguards were injured in the attack. 在这次袭击事件中，他有3名保镖受了伤。 来自辞典例句

6 paralysis   

n.麻痹(症)；瘫痪(症)

参考例句：

• The paralysis affects his right leg and he can only walk with difficulty.他右腿瘫痪步履维艰。
• The paralysis affects his right leg and he can only walk with difficulty.他右腿瘫痪步履维艰。

7 shrine   

n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣

参考例句：

• The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
• They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。

8 replacements   

n.代替( replacement的名词复数 )；替换的人[物]；替代品；归还

参考例句：

• They infiltrated behind the lines so as to annoy the emery replacements. 他们渗透敌后以便骚扰敌军的调度。 来自辞典例句
• For oil replacements, cheap suddenly looks less of a problem. 对于石油的替代品来说，价格变得无足轻重了。 来自互联网

9 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。

10 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

11 battalion   

n.营；部队；大队(的人)

参考例句：

• The town was garrisoned by a battalion.该镇由一营士兵驻守。
• At the end of the drill parade,the battalion fell out.操练之后，队伍解散了。

12 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。