2007年VOA标准英语-Sierra Leone President Threatens State of Emerg

By Kari Barber
Dakar
28 August 2007

Sierra Leone president Ahmed Tejan Kabbah (file photo)

Sierra Leone President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah has said he will declare a state of emergency if clashes continue between supporters of the two main political parties in next month's presidential runoff. Police have stepped up patrols in the capital and a curfew has been imposed in the east of the country after two days of fighting in the streets. Kari Barber has more from VOA' s West Africa bureau in Dakar.

After a mostly peaceful first round, many are worried that recent skirmishes between supporters of Sierra Leone People's Party candidate Vice¹ President Solomon Berewa and those of the opposition² All People's Congress' Ernest Koroma could threaten to destabilize the runoff election set for September 8th.

Police fired tear gas to break up fights and rock throwing between the rival parties Sunday in Freetown. In the eastern Kano district a dawn-to-dusk curfew was declared, after several people were injured in clashes there. 

Sierra Leone police spokesman Chris Charley says the heightened tension could have been avoided if political leaders had better explained to their followers³ that a runoff was possible and how it would work.

"So expectations have been raised. They did not properly prepare the minds of their supporters that in an event when 55 percent of the vote was not attained⁴, there was going to be a runoff," said Charley.

Pedestrians5 pass in front of a campaign banner for presidential candidate and current vice president Solomon Berewa following the close of the polls, in Freetown " hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070901/0944301.jpg" width="158" vspace="2" border="0" />

Pedestrians pass in front of a campaign banner for presidential candidate and current Vice President Solomon Berewa following the close of the polls, in Freetown

Koroma led Berewa in the first round of voting, 44 percent to 38 percent, and has since received the backing of third-place candidate Charles Margai, a major boost for his campaign.

Police spokesman Charley says the police, in charge of election security following the withdrawal⁶ of U.N. troops in 2005, are being called on to use greater force to maintain calm.

"We are in a politically democratic environment and as such we start off with the softest approach," added Charley. "But if we feel that people want to take the law in their own hands, we definitely will come down heavily on them."

Johannesburg-based International Security Studies researcher, Issaka Souare, says President Kabbah's announcement that a state of emergency could be called is worrisome.

"He has threatened to bring in emergency legislation. That might not be the best solution because the campaigning is going on and if you have emergency legislation people are not going to be able to go out and campaign," said Souare.

Mr. Kabbah said in an address Monday that Sierra Leone had endured too much violence in its civil war ending in 2002 to allow chaos⁷ and unrest to take hold again.

In legislative⁸ elections, also held August 11, the All People's Congress won a majority of seats in parliament, taking control from the Sierra Leone People's Party. The elections were declared free and fair by observers.

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

3 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

4 attained   

（通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况）

参考例句：

• She has attained the degree of Master of Arts. 她已获得文学硕士学位。
• Lu Hsun attained a high position in the republic of letters. 鲁迅在文坛上获得崇高的地位。

5 pedestrians   

n.步行者( pedestrian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Several pedestrians had come to grief on the icy pavement. 几个行人在结冰的人行道上滑倒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Pedestrians keep to the sidewalk [footpath]! 行人走便道。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

7 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。

8 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。