2007年VOA标准英语-Violence Erupts After Gusmao Named East Timor P

By Nancy-Amelia Collins
Jakarta
06 August 2007

Xanana Gusmao (File)

Violence erupted in East Timor after former president Xanana Gusmao was appointed prime minister. VOA's Nancy-Amelia Collins in Jakarta reports the nomination¹ was made more than a month after parliamentary elections in which no party won a clear majority.

East Timor President Jose Ramos Horta used his constitutional right to ask a coalition² of parties led by his predecessor³, Xanana Gusmao, to form a new government.

Mr. Gusmao now becomes prime minister.

The announcement immediately sparked a wave of violence.

U.N. mission spokeswoman Allison Cooper says at least one building in the capital, Dili, was set on fire.

United Nation peacekeeping soldiers try to control a fire, set on a cycle-van in Dili, 06 August 2007

"Since that announcement, we are receiving reports of isolated⁵ and sporadic⁶ incidents of violence around Dili," she said.

Similar violence was reported in other parts of the country, but there were no immediate⁴ reports of casualties.

The June 30 parliamentary elections, although contested by 14 parties, boiled down to a race between Mr. Gusmao's CNRT Party and the Fretilin Party, which had controlled the government.

Although Fretilin won more seats than the CNRT, none of the parties won an outright⁷ majority. Mr. Gusmao's CNRT formed a coalition with several smaller parties to build a majority in the 63-seat parliament.

Fretilin's leader, former prime minister Mari Alkatiri, says it is illegal for the CNRT coalition to form a government. He says Fretilin will not work with the new government.

During the election campaign in June, Mr. Gusmao's party drew huge crowds, in part because of his popularity for his years spent fighting for independence from Indonesia.

East Timor has been struggling to strengthen its fledgling democracy since violence erupted in May 2006, after the firing of around a third of the army. Fighting between rival security forces deteriorated⁸ into gang looting, arson⁹, and street fighting. Tens of thousands of people fled Dili to live in refugee camps, where many remain.

Order was restored after the government requested an Australian-led international peacekeeping force, which remains¹⁰ in the country. Following the violence, Mr. Alkatiri resigned as prime minister, and was replaced by Mr. Ramos-Horta, who then was elected president in May.

East Timor voted for independence from Indonesia in 1999. After anti-independence militias¹¹ devastated¹² the country, the United Nations administered East Timor until it became fully¹³ independent in 2002.

1 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

2 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。

3 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

4 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

5 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

6 sporadic   

adj.偶尔发生的 [反]regular；分散的

参考例句：

• The sound of sporadic shooting could still be heard.仍能听见零星的枪声。
• You know this better than I.I received only sporadic news about it.你们比我更清楚，而我听到的只是零星消息。

7 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

8 deteriorated   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her health deteriorated rapidly, and she died shortly afterwards. 她的健康状况急剧恶化，不久便去世了。
• His condition steadily deteriorated. 他的病情恶化，日甚一日。

9 arson   

n.纵火，放火

参考例句：

• He was serving a ten spot for arson.他因纵火罪在服十年徒刑。
• He was arraigned on a charge of arson.他因被指控犯纵火罪而被传讯。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 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

12 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

13 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。