24 菲律宾总统宣布严厉打击马尼拉的示威游行
DATE=5-5-01
TITLE=IN THE NEWS #479 - The Philippines
BYLINE=Caty Weaver
(start at 1'07")This is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program, IN THE NEWS.
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo （1）declared a state of rebellion earlier this week. She took the action to halt violent （2）demonstrations in Manila. Thousands of demonstrators tried to enter the Presidential Palace on Tuesday. They clashed with security forces surrounding the building. Four people died in the violence. One- hundred others were （3）injured.
The demonstrators were protesting the arrest on April twenty-fifth of former Philippine President Joseph Estrada. Mister Estrada is accused of gaining eighty million dollars illegally during his presidency. He was ousted from the office in January. Vice-president Gloria Arroyo was sworn in as president. Mister Estrada says he is （4）innocent of the charges against him.
His supporters say Mizz Arroyo's reaction to their protests is illegal and undemocratic. The declaration of a state of rebellion gives police wide power to （5）arrest and hold people. It also bars groups of more than five people from gathering near the presidential （6）palace. The state of rebellion was declared for Manila only.
Mizz Arroyo also ordered the arrests of eleven politicians. Philippine officials say the （7）opposition politicians plotted to take over the government. Intelligence reports accuse the group of planning to kill both President Arroyo and former President Estrada. The reports say Senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Gregorio Honasan and former police chief General Panfilo Lacson planned to head the new government.
Mizz Arroyo says she hopes by Monday to be able to declare the rebellion is over. Philippine citizens are to vote in congressional and local elections a week later, on May Fourteenth. It will be the first vote since Mister Estrada was ousted. （8）Candidates loyal to Mister Estrada say Mizz Arroyo's recent actions were connected to the election. They say she used her power （9）unfairly to hurt their chances in the vote.
A political expert and supporter of Mizz Arroyo say Mister Estrada's supporters are trying to escape （10）responsibility for the violence. He says voters will reject them for that.
Other experts say it is Mizz Arroyo's political coalition that will suffer in the elections. Public opinion experts say Mister Estrada is very popular among the poor in the Philippines. They say many are angry about his arrest. About ninety percent of the eighty- million Filipinos are poor.
On Thursday, President Arroyo made a surprise visit to Mister Estrada. He is being held in a jail near Manila. An adviser to the president says Mizz Arroyo only wanted to see the conditions in which Mister Estrada was being held. Yet, the leader of Mister Estrada's （11）political party said the visit could mean more than that. He said it might be the beginning of a settlement between the Philippine government and Mister Estrada.
This VOA Special English program, IN THE NEWS, was written by Caty Weaver. This is Steve Ember.
注释：
（1） declare[ di5klZE ]v.断言, 宣称
（2） demonstration[ 7demEns5treiFEn ]n.示范, 实证
（3） injured[ 5indVEd ]adj.受伤的,受损害的
（4） innocent[ 5inEsnt ]adj.(～ of) 清白的, 无罪的
（5） arrest[ E5rest ]v.逮捕, 拘留n.逮捕, 拘留
（6） palace[ 5pAlis ]n.宫, 宫殿
（7） opposition[ CpE5ziFEn ]n.反对, 敌对
（8） candidate[ 5kAndidit ]n.候选人, 投考者
（9） unfair[ 5Qn5fZE ]adj.不公平的
（10） responsibility[ ris7pCnsE5biliti ]n.责任, 职责
（11） political[ pE5litikEl ]adj.政治的, 行政上的 |