VOA标准英语2014--Somaliland Hails British Step Forward in Independence Bid

 

Somaliland Hails British Step Forward in Independence Bid 

LONDON — A city in Britain has become the first to officially recognize Somaliland’s claim to independence. The vote -- which is purely¹ symbolic² and carries no legal weight -- is nevertheless being hailed by Somaliland leaders as a big step forward in their decades-long campaign to break away from Somalia.

Somalilanders celebrated³ outside Sheffield city hall after the council voted Thursday to recognize the region’s right to self-determination. Thousands of people of Somaliland origin live in the northern British city.

Somaliland’s Foreign Minister Mohamed Bihi Yonis attended the vote; he later told VOA of its symbolic importance. “Somaliland has the border, the population [in favor of independence], the currency, the independence, the elections, the democracy, the rule of law, the human rights record of Somaliland. And I think they have looked into all of those areas and realized that Somaliland has met the requirements of statehood.”

Somaliland occupies the northern section of Somalia.

The rest of the country has been plagued by lawlessness and violence since the overthrow⁴ of Somalia’s leader in 1991. Later that same year, Somalilanders voted in a referendum to become independent -- a vote that has not been recognized by any nation.

Oasis⁵ of peace

Mohamed Yonis calls Somaliland a relative oasis of peace. “We have a proper functioning government and institutions, while the other part of Somalia is actually burning and having a lot of difficulties as you know -- issues of piracy⁶, terrorism, al-Shabab [Islamic militants].”

Somaliland did gain brief statehood upon its independence from Britain in June 1960. But its government chose to merge⁷ with Somalia.

Convincing the world that Somaliland should be recognized as independent will not be easy, according to Alex Vines of London-based policy analyst⁸ group Chatham House.

“Internationally, everybody says it would have to be led by Africa," said Vines. "When you talk to African leaders, it’s like, ‘Well, we might consider it, but we wouldn’t be the first.’”

Somaliland authorities insist the region’s economy would support independence.

Thriving economy

The port of Berbera lies just west of the tip of the Horn of Africa. It’s a chaotic⁹, dusty trade hub; camels, goats and sheep are transferred from trucks and carts into the market, to be exported across Africa and the Gulf¹⁰.

Agriculture is the backbone¹¹ of Somaliland’s economy; Minister of Livestock¹² Abdi Aw Dahir Ali said the industry can grow even bigger. “It does not export only livestock from Somaliland. Berbera exports livestock from Ethiopia, from Somalia, from Kenya. So it's a center of export of all livestock from the Horn.”

Somaliland authorities have handed out exploration licenses¹³ to a number of foreign oil firms, to the anger of the Somali government in Mogadishu.

The country also could offer an export hub for neighboring landlocked Ethiopia, said Vines.

“It wouldn’t be necessarily against the interests of neighboring Ethiopia. But the precedent¹⁴ of recognizing Somaliland would then add complexity¹⁵ to Ethiopia itself,” he said.

 

Somaliland authorities say talks with the Somali government are progressing. Observers say Mogadishu favors unity¹⁶, though, and few expect any countries to follow Sheffield’s lead in the near future.

1 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

2 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

3 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

4 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

5 oasis   

n.（沙漠中的）绿洲，宜人的地方

参考例句：

• They stopped for the night at an oasis.他们在沙漠中的绿洲停下来过夜。
• The town was an oasis of prosperity in a desert of poverty.该镇是贫穷荒漠中的一块繁荣的“绿洲”。

6 piracy   

n.海盗行为，剽窃，著作权侵害

参考例句：

• The government has already adopted effective measures against piracy.政府已采取有效措施惩治盗版行为。
• They made the place a notorious centre of piracy.他们把这地方变成了臭名昭著的海盗中心。

7 merge   

v.(使)结合，(使)合并，(使)合为一体

参考例句：

• I can merge my two small businesses into a large one.我可以将我的两家小商店合并为一家大商行。
• The directors have decided to merge the two small firms together.董事们已决定把这两家小商号归并起来。

8 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。

9 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

10 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

11 backbone   

n.脊骨，脊柱，骨干；刚毅，骨气

参考例句：

• The Chinese people have backbone.中国人民有骨气。
• The backbone is an articulate structure.脊椎骨是一种关节相连的结构。

12 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

13 licenses   

n.执照( license的名词复数 )v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Drivers have ten days' grace to renew their licenses. 驾驶员更换执照有10天的宽限期。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Jewish firms couldn't get import or export licenses or raw materials. 犹太人的企业得不到进出口许可证或原料。 来自辞典例句

14 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

15 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

16 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。