VOA标准英语2013--部落长老在阿富汗政治发挥关键作用

 

Tribal¹ Elders Play Pivotal Role in Afghan Politics 部落长老在阿富汗政治发挥关键作用

KABUL — When it comes to difficult national policy issues, political decision making in Afghanistan is a complex mix of parliamentary democracy and tribal  consultations. Current Loya Jirga, or gathering² of national elders, is being held to advise the government on the terms of a bilateral³ security agreement with  Washington.

They no longer meet in a tent. But in Afghanistan, the gathering of tribal elders to consult on major decisions is a tradition with deep historical roots.

“In Europe and the United States, reaching out to the public for their opinion is called a referendum. In Afghanistan we have a tribal system, so we use the Loya  Jirga as a form of referendum, this is our tradition," said lawmaker Kamal Nasir Usuli.

President Hamid Karzai called the Loya Jirga to gather a national consensus⁴ on a bilateral security agreement with the United States. The deal could see U.S. troops in  Afghanistan for another 10 years, or longer.

Split into some 50 committees, these tribal elders, legal experts, religious scholars, women and elected leaders are debating the points of the agreement.

Some analysts⁶ say the aim of this Jirga is to give Karzai political cover for a decision that could open him up to charges that he is allowing foreign infidel troops  to remain, says analyst⁵ Kate Clark.

“It’s drama, it’s political drama. It’s a way of spreading the responsibility for a difficult, politically sensitive decision. But it’s nothing else," said Clark.

One of the more contentious⁷ points is whether to allow U.S. forces and personnel who remain in Afghanistan the right to be tried in the United States rather than in  Afghan courts.

While its opinion holds a lot of weight, it is Afghanistan’s nationally elected parliament that holds the final vote on the security pact⁸.

“For the country, the decisions made by [an elected] parliament are more important than those of a Jirga, where participants from the provinces are selected to take  part," said Abdul Ali Sultani, resident of the Farah province.

The Jirga is taking place under heavy security measures in Kabul after militants⁹ threatened to attack the meeting. The 2,500 members are to give their final opinion on  the multi-page security document to Karzai on Sunday. 

1 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

2 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

3 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

4 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

5 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

6 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

7 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

8 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

9 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。