VOA常速英语2008年-Colombia, Ecuador Exchange New Accusations Over

By Brian Wagner
Miami
07 March 2008

The presidents of Colombia and Ecuador have again traded charges over a controversial Colombian military strike on rebels inside Ecuador. In Miami, VOA's Brian Wagner reports the two clashed at a Latin American summit where leaders sought to resolve the dispute.

The dispute between the two South American nations dominated talks between heads of state of the Rio Group in the Dominican Republic on Friday.

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe apologized again for Saturday's cross-border attack that killed more than 20 militants¹ of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC.

But he criticized the reaction of Ecuador's President Rafael Correa who has called for a formal condemnation² against Colombia for violating his nation's sovereignty.

Mr. Uribe said Mr. Correa's claims that the attack was a massacre³ ignores the reality of the terrorist threat posed by the FARC.

The Colombian leader also made new allegations about links between leftist rebels and Ecuador's government. He said evidence recovered from the cross-border raid suggests that rebels helped finance Mr. Correa's election campaign in 2006.

In response, Mr. Correa accused the Colombian president of repeated lies. He also said the Colombian rebel conflict is beginning to affect other countries because Mr. Uribe's government is unable to police the borders.

Mr. Correa said Colombia, not its neighbors, is the source of the problem. He said Ecuador is the victim in this conflict.

Ecuador's president also asked leaders at the 20-nation group to study the creation of a joint⁴ security force to patrol Colombia's southern borders where FARC operates.

Ecuador as well as Venezuela and Nicaragua have cut diplomatic ties with Colombia because of the cross-border attack.

1 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

2 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

3 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

4 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。