VOA标准英语2009年-Sudan Releases Opposition Leader

The Sudanese government has released a leading opposition¹ leader. Hassan al-Turabi, leader of the Popular Congress Party, was detained in January after calling for President Omar al-Bashir to turn himself into the International Criminal Court in the Hague.
　
Islamist opposition leader Hassan al-Turabi greets supporters at his home in Khartoum, 09 Mar² 2009

Hassan al-Turabi remains³ the only major Sudanese politician to publicly call for President al-Bashir to be turned over to the International Criminal Court. He had been arrested on several previous occasions, most recently last year when he was accused of cooperating with a Darfur rebel group that launched an attack on the capital Khartoum.

No explanation for release

Turabi's family had asked for his release, saying the 76-year-old politician was suffering from high blood pressure. But family members say they were given no explanation for why Turabi, who was being held in a prison in the eastern city of Port Sudan, was being released now. Another Popular Congress Party official was also released.

Turabi had been a close ally of President Bashir, helping⁴ to orchestrate the coup⁵ that brought the president to power in 1989. But the two fell out in a power struggle in 1999.

Positioning himself for power?

While Turabi had been seen as the main Islamist ideologue in the government, responsible for hosting Osama bin⁶ Laden⁷ in the country during the 1990s, he has since changed his rhetoric⁸, championing democracy and human rights. There are some who wonder whether he is positioning himself as an acceptable international face if President Bashir is forced from power.
The International Criminal Court issued a warrant for President Bashir's arrest last week on charges of crimes against humanity and murder, for the government's role in the conflict in the western Darfur region. Turabi's release may be an attempt at a conciliatory gesture.

Bashir still defiant⁹

But on a trip to Darfur on Sunday, President Bashir remained as defiant as ever.

After dancing before a crowd of thousands in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, Mr. Bashir said the ICC and its supporters are "under my shoe". He threatened to expel further aid organizations, as well as peacekeepers and diplomats¹⁰, if they do not follow Sudanese laws.

So far the government has kicked out 13 of the most prominent international aid organizations operating in Darfur, including Doctors Without Borders, Care, and Oxfam, accusing them of passing information to the ICC. A foreign ministry¹¹ spokesman said Sunday the expulsions are irreversible. The agencies have been allowed to continue their operations in the semi-autonomous region of Southern Sudan.

As with many rallies in Sudan, Sunday's was organized by the government, accompanied by high levels of security.

1 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。

2 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

3 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。

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

6 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

7 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

8 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

9 defiant   

adj.无礼的，挑战的

参考例句：

• With a last defiant gesture,they sang a revolutionary song as they were led away to prison.他们被带走投入监狱时，仍以最后的反抗姿态唱起了一支革命歌曲。
• He assumed a defiant attitude toward his employer.他对雇主采取挑衅的态度。

10 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 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。