Iraqi Sunni Leaders Aim to Build on Shia Peace Gains

 

By Patricia Nunan

It has been a week since a peace deal was struck in the Iraqi city of Najaf, bringing an end to three weeks of fighting and opening the predominantly Shia city up to millions of dollars in reconstruction¹ aid. Sunni leaders say they are not resentful, but they want a similar deal for the Sunni areas ravaged² by fighting.
Three weeks of fighting between radical³ Shia insurgents⁴ on the one side and Iraqi security forces and U.S. troops on the other, left parts of the the holy city of Najaf in ruins.
Iraq's most revered⁵ Shia leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani brokered⁶ a deal to end the clashes with militants⁷ loyal to radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. As part of the deal, millions of dollars in reconstruction aid is to go to Najaf, a predominantly Shia city.
That diplomatic drive and those pledges of support did not go unnoticed by leaders from Iraq's Sunni community, many of whom live in cities that have received little in the way of money for reconstruction.
But Mishaan al-Jubori, a Sunni member of Iraq's interim⁹ legislature, the National Council, says the issue is not one of resentment¹⁰: Sunnis would simply like to see the formula duplicated in Sunni areas affected¹¹ by fighting.
"The Fallujah people ask why for example, you pay for all the people who have damage in his house or hotel or building in Najaf?" asks Mr. Al Jubori. "Why the people in Fallujah don't have the same? So we try to push the government to use the same way, to solve the problem by this way, by discuss."
The government of former President Saddam Hussein was dominated by Sunnis, who make up less than 20-percent of Iraq's total population. The power-balance has evened out in the interim government, with the new legislature, the National Council, almost evenly divided between Shia and Sunni.
Along with Najaf, the interim government has also made some promises of aid to Sadr City, a predominantly Shia part of Baghdad also devastated¹² by continuing clashes. Still, Sunni leaders insist they are not resentful. Amaar Wajeeh is with the predominantly Sunni, Iraq Islamic Party. He says everyone in Iraq is pleased with peace efforts directed at Sadr City.
"If it is true, we will be so happy. We believe that, especially Medinat al-Sadr - Sadr City, if it will be reconstructed, we believe that they will be more calm and more quiet," he said.
Mr. Wajeeh insists that international media pay too much attention to Sunni and Shia schools of Islam and the potential for a religious divide in Iraq.
"We believe that different groups or religious groups live in Iraq, Sunni Muslim and Shia Muslim, but we don't believe to divide them in such division," he noted¹³. "So when our Shia friends as you have said became stronger in the government, we don't think this will bother us."
The U.S. group, the International Republican Institute, has done a number of surveys of groups across Iraq about the current political situation. Political director Sam Patten says Iraq is far too diverse and complicated to break down in the simple black and white question of Sunnis versus¹⁴ Shia.
Two recent surveys done by IRI, reveal that on the whole, Iraq's Sunni community is more dissatisfied than the Shia community with the direction the country is taking. But Mr. Sam Patten says it gets more complicated.
"One thing that we've found working in Iraq is that we've become much more careful about trying to make generalizations," he explained. "That Sunnis will think this on a particular issue and Shia will think this on a particular issue. Certainly there are areas. For instance, whether the country is heading in the right or wrong direction, probably you're going to see Shias having a more optimistic views than Sunnis, but on other questions, you see there is a much more complex at times unity⁸ of views, at times a cross over between Sunnis and Shias."
Patricia Nunan, VOA News, Baghdad.
注释：
Iraqi Sunni 伊拉克逊尼派
Shia 伊拉克什叶派
Najaf 纳贾夫[伊拉克中南部城市]
resentful 愤慨的, 怨恨的
ravage 毁坏, 掠夺
legislature立法机关
Sadr City 萨德尔市
devastate 毁坏
International Republican Institute 国际共和研究所
diverse不同的, 变化多的
optimistic乐观的

1 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

2 ravaged   

毁坏( ravage的过去式和过去分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫

参考例句：

• a country ravaged by civil war 遭受内战重创的国家
• The whole area was ravaged by forest fires. 森林火灾使整个地区荒废了。

3 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

4 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

5 revered   

v.崇敬，尊崇，敬畏( revere的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A number of institutions revered and respected in earlier times have become Aunt Sally for the present generation. 一些早年受到尊崇的惯例，现在已经成了这代人嘲弄的对象了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Chinese revered corn as a gift from heaven. 中国人将谷物奉为上天的恩赐。 来自辞典例句

6 brokered   

adj.由权力经纪人安排（或控制）的v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的过去式和过去分词 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• a peace plan brokered by the UN 由联合国出面协商的和平计划
• Your husband brokered the deal to go in, transfrer the assets and get our man out. 你丈夫后来插了一脚，把生意都抢了过去，我们的人也被挤了出来。 来自电影对白

7 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

8 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

9 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

10 resentment   

n.怨愤，忿恨

参考例句：

• All her feelings of resentment just came pouring out.她一股脑儿倾吐出所有的怨恨。
• She cherished a deep resentment under the rose towards her employer.她暗中对她的雇主怀恨在心。

11 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

12 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

13 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

14 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。