IN THE NEWS - Cease-fire in Angola

IN THE NEWS -April 6, 2002: Cease-fire in Angola

By Caty Weaver¹
This is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program, IN THE NEWS.

The Angolan government and the UNITA rebel movement signed a cease-fire treaty Thursday in the country’
s
capital, Luanda. The treaty ends a civil war in Angola that began twenty-seven years ago.

The Angolan Army chief of staff and the military commander of the rebel group signed the
document. Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos and the temporary leader of UNITA,
Paulo Lukamba Gato, observed.

Four thousand guests filled the National Parliament building where the signing ceremony took
place. Among them was United Nations official Ibrahim Gambari and representatives from Portugal, Russia and
the United States. They have been helping² to establish terms for carrying out a peace agreement reached in
Lusaka, Zambia in Nineteen-Ninety-Four.

Under the cease-fire, fifty-thousand UNITA fighters will surrender their weapons. More than five-thousand will
begin preparations to enter the country’s army and police forces. Others will be trained so they can re-enter the
economy.

The Angolan Parliament has approved a pardon program for UNITA armed forces. The pardons also will be
given to Angolan army soldiers who fled their duties.

The war between the government of Angola and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola began
in Nineteen-Seventy-Five. That is the year when Angola became independent from its colonial ruler, Portugal.

The Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola, or M-P-L-A, took control of the government in Luanda.
UNITA and another group declared a coalition³ government in the Angolan city of Huambo. However, by early
Nineteen-Seventy-Six, the rulers in Luanda had gained control throughout the country. M-P-L-A remains⁴ the
ruling party. It is now led by President dos Santos.

UNITA was established by Jonas Savimbi in the Nineteen-Sixties. He led the group until his death on the
battlefield six weeks ago.

More than five-hundred-thousand people have died in the Angolan conflict. Others have been wounded—many
by landmines⁵. The United Nations says the war displaced four million people, about one-third of Angola’
s
population. The years of fighting have greatly damaged development efforts in the country.

The Angolan government and UNITA have reached several other peace agreements in the past. None lasted.
However, some experts say peace has a better chance with the death of Jonas Savimbi. They say he was an
important part of the conflict.

Other experts are expressing hope about this peace agreement for a different reason. They say a lasting⁶ peace is
more probable because Angolans led this latest peace process.

This VOA Special English program IN THE NEWS was written by Caty Weaver. This is Steve Ember.

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1 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

2 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。

3 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

4 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。

5 landmines   

潜在的冲突； 地雷，投伞水雷( landmine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The treaty bans the use production and trade of landmines. 该条约规定，禁止使用地雷相关产品及贸易。
• One of the weapon's of special concern was landmines. 在引起人们特别关注的武器中就有地雷。

6 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。