VOA常速英语2008年-LRA Denies Ugandan Rebels Heading to Central Af

By Derek Kilner
Nairobi
13 February 2008

The chief negotiator for the rebel Lord's Resistance Army has denied reports that rebels from the group are heading toward the Central African Republic. The ongoing¹ peace process with the Ugandan government has suffered a number of recent setbacks. Derek Kilner has more from Nairobi.

According to a southern Sudanese official quoted by the Reuters news agency, hundreds of rebels from the Lord's Resistance Army, or LRA, have been heading toward the Central African Republic. The movement would violate an agreement signed last year for LRA troops to assemble in the town of Ri-Kwangba on Sudan's border with Congo.

But the LRA's chief negotiator for the peace process, David Matsanga, tells VOA from southern Sudan, where the talks are located, that there has been no such troop movement.

"These reports are baseless, useless reports, diversionary reports that are propaganda by the government of Uganda," he said.

Peace negotiations² between the LRA and the government resumed in January, but they have been plagued by turmoil³ within the LRA.

In late January, LRA leader Joseph Kony confirmed the long-suspected death of his deputy Vincent Otti. Otti was generally seen as a much stronger supporter of cooperation in the peace process than Kony.

At the same time, the LRA announced that it was removing several members of its negotiating team, including the team's leader, Martin Ojul.

The Ugandan government has also been investigating reports of multiple attacks by the LRA in southern Sudan in recent days. The government has given the rebels until the end of February to reach an agreement. The government has regularly extended such deadlines in the past.

Manasseh Wepundi, of the Africa Policy Institute in Nairobi, says that with unrest threatening Kenya's role as the pillar of stability in East Africa, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni may be motivated to push for a rapid solution, with an eye toward establishing Uganda in that role.

He says such considerations may discourage a military offensive against the LRA, despite the fact that disarray⁴ in the rebel camp might otherwise make a military approach more appealing.

"A lot of things have dramatically changed that might not favor a military solution," said said Wepundi. "In Chad, they just survived a rebel insurgency⁵. In Kenya, the humanitarian⁶ crisis has spilled over into Uganda, there are several thousand Kenyan refugees in Uganda. Now a military solution unless it is totally assured of a quick victory would just create more humanitarian concerns that the international community might find too costly⁷ to bear right now."

The 20-year conflict in northern Uganda killed tens of thousands and displaced nearly two million.

1 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

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 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

4 disarray   

n.混乱，紊乱，凌乱

参考例句：

• His personal life fell into disarray when his wife left him.妻子离去后，他的个人生活一片混乱。
• Our plans were thrown into disarray by the rail strike.铁路罢工打乱了我们的计划。

5 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

6 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。

7 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。