VOA标准英语10月-S. African Mediator Thabo Mbeki May Return to Zim

If Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe does not soon agree to a fully¹ inclusive Cabinet, it is likely that former South African President Thabo Mbeki will be in Harare before the weekend. Mr. Mbeki has remained in contact with the stumbling Zimbabwean peace deal he facilitated last month on behalf of the Southern African Development Community.

Sources tell VOA negotiations² on forming a Cabinet are taking place almost continuously in Harare at various levels in the political hierarchy³.

A source with a long and close knowledge of the negotiations tells VOA the Cabinet should have been formed two weeks ago.
　

Zimbabwe's new Deputy PM Arthur Mutambara, President Robert Mugabe, new PM Morgan Tsvangirai pose after signing power-sharing accord in Harare, 15 Sep 2008

He said President Robert Mugabe had wasted valuable time going to the U.N. General Assembly, when Zimbabwe needed to have a government in place to begin reconstruction⁴. He says the country remains⁵ in financial chaos⁶ while facing many humanitarian⁷ crises.

Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, who is also one of Mr. Mugabe's ZANU-PF negotiators, said Wednesday Mr. Mbeki's presence in Harare was not necessary.

But the source says that ZANU-PF's demand that it wants all the significant Cabinet positions, including the ministry⁸ of finance, is utterly⁹ ridiculous and would not stand up to scrutiny¹⁰ by the South African mediation¹¹ team.

VOA has learned that the South African team readying for travel to Zimbabwe will include all those involved when Mr. Mbeki began the SADC mediation in April 2007, even though some are no longer in the South African government since Mr. Mbeki's departure from office last month.

The source, who does not want to be named because of the fragility of the present impasse¹², said the ZANU-PF politicians standing¹³ in the way of a new Cabinet are President Robert Mugabe and senior ZANU-PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa, often said to be Mr. Mugabe's successor. He warned the power-sharing agreement could become null and void if an agreement on Cabinet posts is not reached.

A senior western diplomatic source this week told VOA that he was concerned at the delay in appointing a Cabinet because people need to be fed and crops need to be planted.
　

South African President Thabo Mbeke (file photo)

In order for Zimbabwe to resuscitate¹⁵ food production this year, significant aid will be needed to import seed and fertilizer before the best planting deadline, which is toward the end of November.

The diplomat¹⁴ said the West could not possibly assist with finance for the next seasons' crops if ZANU-PF remains in control of the ministry of finance and the central bank.

In a communiqué, SADC said it had asked the South African government, which presently chairs SADC, to resume mediation of the Zimbabwe crisis. South African President Kgalema Motlanthe says he has asked Mr. Mbeki to resume mediation of the stalled power-sharing agreement.

The agreement was signed in Harare last month, and the then-opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai became prime minister-designate.

1 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。

2 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

3 hierarchy   

n.等级制度；统治集团，领导层

参考例句：

• There is a rigid hierarchy of power in that country.那个国家有一套严密的权力等级制度。
• She's high up in the management hierarchy.她在管理阶层中地位很高。

4 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

5 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。

6 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。

7 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。

8 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

9 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

10 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

11 mediation   

n.调解

参考例句：

• The dispute was settled by mediation of the third country. 这场争端通过第三国的斡旋而得以解决。
• The dispute was settled by mediation. 经调解使争端得以解决。

12 impasse   

n.僵局；死路

参考例句：

• The government had reached an impasse.政府陷入绝境。
• Negotiations seemed to have reached an impasse.谈判似乎已经陷入僵局。

13 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

14 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

15 resuscitate   

v.使复活，使苏醒

参考例句：

• A policeman and then a paramedic tried to resuscitate her.一名警察和一位护理人员先后试图救活她。
• As instructed by Rinpoche,we got the doctors to resuscitate him.遵照仁波切的指示，我们找来医生帮他进行急救。