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销毁叙利亚化武继续拖延

The operation to remove and destroy Syria’s chemical weapons continues to be delayed by security problems and bad weather. Several countries have sent warships² to escort the weapons offshore³ - but the shipments have yet to reach the Syrian coast. However, officials involved in the operation insist the overall operation is still on track.

由于安全问题和恶劣气候，拆除和销毁叙利亚化学武器的行动一再推迟。几个国家已经派出了军舰，准备护送化学武器离岸，可是这些军舰还无法抵达叙利亚海岸。参与这个行动的官员坚持说，这个行动整体上将按计划进行。

The Norwegian frigate⁴ Helge Ingstad is currently waiting in international waters for the order to enter Syria.

挪威护卫舰黑尔格·英厄斯泰德号上的人员正在国际水域等待进入叙利亚的命令。

Nearby lies the Taiko, one of the world’s largest container ships, which will transport the chemical weapons to a specially-adapted U.S. ship, where they will be destroyed.

在挪威护卫舰附近是世界上最大的集装箱货船之一泰戈号，泰戈号将把化学武器运到一艘经过特殊改装的美国船上进行销毁。

“As to military threat," explains Per Rostad, commander of the Helge Ingstad, "I perceive the threat level to be very manageable, but there might be other issues, problems with the containers, problems getting alongside, machinery⁵ breakdown⁶, that kind of stuff.”

裴尔·罗斯泰德是黑尔格·英厄斯泰德号舰长。他说：“我认为军事威胁的程度低，很容易对付，可是可能会出现其他问题，比如集装箱问题、机械故障等。”

First, the weapons must be transported to the port of Latakia. Last month Syrian government forces re-captured two key rebel-held towns on the route from Damascus to Latakia. But continuing security problems and poor weather meant a December 31 deadline was missed.

首先，舰队必须把化学武器运到拉塔基亚港口。上个月，叙利亚政府军重新夺回了从大马士革通往拉塔基亚途中反政府武装控制的2个重镇，可是由于持续的安全问题和恶劣天气，销毁行动错过了12月31号的最后期限。

“If one looks at all the progress that has been made, and a couple of months ago who would have thought that Syria would have declared all of its chemical weapons, that all of its chemical weapons abilities would have been destroyed, that this many countries would be cooperating together - Russia and the United States and China and other countries, hand in hand,” said Mark Fitzpatrick, director of the disarmament program at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

马克·菲兹帕特里克是国际战略研究所裁军项目主任。他说：“回顾一下过去的所有进展，如果俄罗斯、美国和中国等很多国家携手合作，2个月前就可以销毁叙利亚的所有化学武器，和所有化学武器生产力了。”

Alongside Norway and Denmark, China is also deploying⁷ a warship¹ to join the convoy⁸ escorting the weapons.

除了挪威和丹麦之外，中国也派出了一艘军舰。

"The reason for China to do this is to push forward the political resolution of the Syrian issue," said Li Baodong, China's vice⁹ foreign minister. "This fully¹⁰ attests¹¹ to China's responsibility for maintaining world peace and security as one of the U.N. Security Council permanent members."

中国副外交部长李保东说： “中国之所以这样做就是为了推动叙利亚问题的政治解决，充分体现了中国作为联合国安理会常任理事国对维护世界安全与和平的担当。“

The willingness of the international community to cooperate on the operation is unprecedented¹², says Fitzpatrick.

菲茨帕特里克说，国际社会显示出前所未有的合作意愿。

“Very few of them wanted to get involved in a conflict, an intervention¹³… in fact nobody wanted to get involved in the intervention. But when it comes to a peace effort, destroying the chemical weapons, everybody’s on board,” he said.

他说： “没有人愿意卷入冲突，事实上，没有人愿意干预，可是在谈到和平努力，销毁化学武器时，人人都愿意参与。”

A chemical attack on an area called Ghouta in August last year prompted international outrage¹⁴. The Syrian government denies it was responsible - but under international pressure, agreed to give up its chemical stockpile.

去年8月，叙利亚姑塔地区发生化学武器攻击，引起国际社会的愤怒。叙利亚政府否认对此负责，可是在国际压力下，同意交出化学武器。

Mahmoud al-Hamza of the Syrian National Council, a coalition¹⁵ of opposition¹⁶ groups, welcomed progress towards destroying the weapons.

反对派联盟叙利亚全国委员会对销毁化武表示欢迎。

"The liquidation¹⁷ of these weapons would be a big success for the international community at large and not just a victory of the Syrian nation," he said. "Of course, we are speaking against these weapons but, for us, the real life conditions which Syrians face and care about are more important."

叙利亚全国委员会的穆罕默德·哈姆扎说：“销毁这些武器不仅是叙利亚的胜利，而且是国际社会的一大胜利。当然，我们反对这些武器，可是叙利亚人的生活条件才是我们关心的更加重要的问题。”

Those conditions are getting more desperate. Footage posted on the Internet Tuesday purports¹⁸ to show the shelling of residential¹⁹ districts in Homs and Damascus. The Syrian Observatory²⁰ for Human Rights says 130,000 people have now been killed in the conflict.

叙利亚人的生活条件日益绝望，星期二网络上的画面显示，霍姆斯和大马士革居民区遭到轰炸。叙利亚人权观察组织说，冲突已经造成13万人丧生。