OSCE Chief Promises Freedom, Tolerance, Democracy

OSCE Chief Promises Freedom, Tolerance¹, Democracy

 

Melanie Sully

The new head of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) says messages of freedom, tolerance, and democracy are crucial for former communist countries. The official is Bulgaria's foreign minister, Solomon Passy, a former dissident.

Mr. Passy told reporters the OSCE represented a beacon² of hope for his generation living behind the Iron Curtain. He says that today, people in countries like Turkmenistan still need that type of beacon.

The former Soviet³ central Asian republics of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan remain largely cut off from the outside world and are frequently criticized by the OSCE and other organizations for human rights violations⁴.

OSCE officials say harassment⁵ of journalists, torture and censorship are common in those countries. Some OSCE officials want to expel Turkmenistan, which they feel the biggest culprit.

But Mr. Passy, who will chair the 55-member organization for the coming year, said the international community must not abandon the people there.

"I believe that whatever piece of information we can convey to Turkmenistan and to any other country will be of help. Freedom and democracy need first of all information and that's why information is a crucial element in our policies."

Mr. Passy went on to cite his own experience as an opposition⁶ activist⁷ during the cold war, when, he said, information from foreign sources was crucial.

"Isolation⁸ is counterproductive. We need dialogue, which however should be dialogue with the people. I remember from my youth how important [were] the messages coming from Radio Free Europe, from the Voice of America, from the BBC and Deutsche Welle."

Mr. Passy said for this reason education will be one his main priorities as OSCE chief. He said education is important for the establishment of democratic institutions, and to promote tolerance and create successful market economies.

Mr. Passy said the OSCE will hold a special conference in Berlin this year on anti-Semitism, which is growing in Europe.

 

注释：

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)  欧洲安全与合作组织，缩写OSCE。

crucial [5kru:FiEl] adj. 至关紧要的

Bulgaria [bQl5^ZEriE] n. 保加利亚，欧洲东南部的一个国家，位于黑海岸边。

dissident [5dIsIdEnt] n. 持异议者

beacon [5bi:kEn] n. 灯塔

Iron Curtain  铁幕，第二次世界大战后在苏联集团和西欧之间设置的军事，政治和意识形态上的屏障。

Turkmenistan [7tE:kmeni5stB:n] n. 土库曼斯坦，亚洲中西部的一个历史上的区域，位于里海以东。

Uzbekistan [7uzbeki5stB:n] n. 乌兹别克斯坦，亚州中西部的一个历史地区。

Tajikistan [tB:dViki5stB:n] n. 塔吉克斯坦

Kyrgyzstan  吉尔吉斯斯坦

Kazakhstan [7kB:zB:k5stB:n] n. 哈萨克斯坦，苏联的中亚南部一区，位于里海东北部。

cut off  切断，断绝

harassment [5hArEsmEnt] n. 折磨

torture [5tC:tFE] n. 折磨，拷打

censorship [5sensEFip] n. 审查

expel [iks5pel] v. 驱逐

culprit [5kQlprit] n. 犯人，罪犯

chair [tFZE] n. 任会议主席

activist [5Aktivist] n. 激进主义分子

counterproductive [5kauntEprE7dQktiv] adj. 达不到预期目标的

Radio Free Europe  自由欧洲广播电台

Deutsche Welle  德国之声

priority [prai5Criti] n. 优先（权）

anti-Semitism n. 反犹太主义，排犹

1 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

2 beacon   

n.烽火，（警告用的）闪火灯，灯塔

参考例句：

• The blink of beacon could be seen for miles.灯塔的光亮在数英里之外都能看见。
• The only light over the deep black sea was the blink shone from the beacon.黑黢黢的海面上唯一的光明就只有灯塔上闪现的亮光了。

3 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

4 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

5 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

6 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

7 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

8 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。