New Somali Government Faces Daunting Challenges

 

By Cathy Majtenyi

Somalia's new cabinet has been in office for just over a week, and already it is facing tough demands to end violence, establish rule of law and raise the war-weary population out of poverty. The government, which came together after two-years of peace talks, is currently working out of Nairobi, and its first priority will be to relocate to Somalia.

When Somali human rights activist¹ Nura Abdulahi Hagi talks about her home country, she speaks of mass killings², rapes³, executions, and, in her words, everything that can be against the human being.

Her country has been in a state of anarchy⁴ ever since civil war broke out in 1991 following the overthrow⁵ of then-leader Siad Barre.

For more than a decade, warlords and their militias⁶ loyal to specific clans⁷ and sub-clans have been battling each other and civilians⁸ for control over certain areas, with no central authority to stop them or to provide basic services, such as health care and education.

But now that a new government is in place following two-year peace talks that were held in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, people like Ms. Abdulahi are saying it is time for change. "What we are recommending [to] the new government is to respect the rights of all the civilians in Somalia in [an] equal way - no discrimination, no violation⁹ - and to respect all the international documents that Somali government have already signed," she says.

Somalia is a signatory to several international human rights conventions, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Ms. Abdulahi and fellow activists¹⁰ told reporters in Nairobi Friday that they urge the new government to put an immediate¹¹ end to human rights abuses and violence in Somalia.

Pressure on the new government is not only coming from activists, but also from within its ranks. Earlier this week, a minister of state in the office of the prime minister and several assistant ministers resigned from the Cabinet, saying it was too large to be effective or sustainable. They said that, when ministers of state and assistant ministers were factored in, the 34-minister Cabinet swelled¹² to almost 80 members.

Former Assistant Minister Abdalla Ali Ahmed explained that Somalia simply cannot afford a Cabinet larger than about 25 members. "We feel that the current Council of Ministers is too big for a small nation that has been in war for a long time. We believe that it is not financially and economically feasible to have one-third of the parliament appointed. It is financially and economically burdensome, and it is inefficient¹³, in terms of administration, and in terms of actual effectiveness," he said.

Money is a big problem for the new administration, which, among other things, must set up offices and services virtually from scratch. The government is still located in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, but is expected to return to Somalia soon.
Early this month, the United Nations and a group of aid agencies launched a funding appeal to raise $164 million to pay for emergency assistance, health care, education, food reserves, support for good governance, human rights promotion¹⁴ and other services.

According to the United Nations, most of Somalia's almost seven-million people live in poverty, with an estimated 400,000 internally displaced and another 400,000 Somalis living as refugees, mostly in the region.

Probably the biggest challenge to the new government is the bloodletting that continues to tear the population apart.
 
The medical aid agency, Doctors Without Borders, reported that, since December first, at least 42 people were killed, more than 100 wounded, and hundreds displaced when rival militias clashed in the central region of Galgudud.

Somalia's first deputy prime minster, Mohamud Jama, told VOA his government is committed to stopping the fighting and abiding¹⁵ by all the human rights conventions Somalia is party to.

But, he says, after more than a decade of civil war, the new administration needs to lay a lot of groundwork to bring about sustainable peace. "As to what can we do immediately, I think that you cannot just protect human rights. The first thing is to establish all the rule of law institutions: the police, the judicial¹⁶ system. And, of course, we're not even in a position to violate anybody's rights, because we don't have any weapons and forces. We are counting on the Somali people's readiness and desire for peace," he says.

The deputy prime minister said the Cabinet is relatively¹⁷ large, because the government wants it to be as representative as possible of Somalia's many groups. He said this is an important way of bringing about reconciliation¹⁸ in the country.

Cathy Majtenyi, for VOA news, Nairobi.

注释：
Somalia 索马里
Nairobi 奈洛比
relocate 重新部署
anarchy 政治混乱
clan 党派
signatory 签约国
swell 增加
bloodletting 杀戮，流血
reconciliation 和解

1 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。

2 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

3 rapes   

n.芸苔( rape的名词复数 )；强奸罪；强奸案；肆意损坏v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的第三人称单数 )；强奸

参考例句：

• The man who had committed several rapes was arrested. 那个犯了多起强奸案的男人被抓起来了。 来自辞典例句
• The incidence of reported rapes rose 0.8 percent. 美国联邦调查局还发布了两份特别报告。 来自互联网

4 anarchy   

n.无政府状态；社会秩序混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• There would be anarchy if we had no police.要是没有警察，社会就会无法无天。
• The country was thrown into a state of anarchy.这国家那时一下子陷入无政府状态。

5 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。

6 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

7 clans   

宗族( clan的名词复数 )； 氏族； 庞大的家族； 宗派

参考例句：

• There are many clans in European countries. 欧洲国家有很多党派。
• The women were the great power among the clans [gentes], as everywhere else. 妇女在克兰〈氏族〉里，乃至一般在任何地方，都有很大的势力。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源

8 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

9 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

10 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

12 swelled   

增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情）

参考例句：

• The infection swelled his hand. 由于感染，他的手肿了起来。
• After the heavy rain the river swelled. 大雨过后，河水猛涨。

13 inefficient   

adj.效率低的，无效的

参考例句：

• The inefficient operation cost the firm a lot of money.低效率的运作使该公司损失了许多钱。
• Their communication systems are inefficient in the extreme.他们的通讯系统效率非常差。

14 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

15 abiding   

adj.永久的，持久的，不变的

参考例句：

• He had an abiding love of the English countryside.他永远热爱英国的乡村。
• He has a genuine and abiding love of the craft.他对这门手艺有着真挚持久的热爱。

16 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

17 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

18 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。