2006年VOA标准英语-Slow Pace of Political Reform in Egypt Str

By Mohamed Elshinnawi
Washington, DC
27 January 2006
 
watch US Egypt Relations report

The Bush administration had hoped that Egypt, a major U.S. ally and recipient¹ of American economic and military aid, would be a cornerstone of the U.S. drive to democratize the Middle East. However, the slow pace of political reform adopted by the government of President Hosni Mubarak and the conviction of Ayman Nour, a defeated presidential candidate, are negatively affecting U.S.-Egyptian relations. 

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Alberto Fernandez
  
  

Alberto Fernandez, a State Department spokesman, says the U.S. is concerned by the way the Egyptian government ran parliamentary elections.

"Violence that was used by government people against candidates, violence against the press, harassment² of independent domestic observers, those are the issues that we were concerned about -- and we are still concerned about them."

To show its displeasure, the Bush administration disinvited an official Egyptian delegation³ that was to discuss a long awaited free trade agreement with the U.S.

 
Dr. Amr Hamzawy 
  
Dr. Amr Hamzawy, a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington DC, believes this move is a warning signal to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, following the election violence and the conviction of Ayman Nour, the opposition⁴ candidate in the elections.

"The performance of the Egyptian government in the parliamentary elections of 2005 -- they resorted to the tactics of the 1990s and the elections of 2000: excessive repression⁵, excessive use of security forces to limit the ability of Egyptian voters to go and cast their ballot⁶. Secondly⁷, the imprisonment⁸ of Ayman Nour -- and we all know that the case is highly politicized regardless of whether the charges are true or not true," said Dr. Hamzawy.

 
Nabil Fahmy
  
Nabil Fahmy, Egyptian Ambassador to the U.S., defended the pace of the reform process in Egypt:  "I think the Americans see the process moving forward in Egypt. I think they always wanted to move a little bit quicker, because that is the nature of the American culture, and I think we will always be a bit slow because this is the nature of the Egyptian character."

Some Congress members, doubting the commitment of President Mubarak to political pluralism and real democracy, are urging the Bush administration to cut the $1.8 billion of annual aid that goes to Egypt.

Dr. Amr Hamzawy believes the U.S. government must take strong measures. "Freezing free trade negotiations⁹, moving maybe to a partial conditionally¹⁰ of military and economic assistance to political reform and doing this while explaining to the Egyptian public the background, which is extremely important for the image of the U.S."

Dr. Hamzawy says the Egyptian government has marginalized liberal and central parties and given Egyptians a stark¹¹ choice between an authoritarian¹² government and an Islamist opposition. He says the U.S. now has to push for real democratic reform in Egypt.

Egyptian Ambassador Nabil Fahmy says Egypt is still interested in leading the way to democratization of the Middle East.  "If they see a success story in Egypt, one that works for the Egyptians themselves, it will have a very good message to other countries."

Political analysts¹³ say the Bush administration may have a three-pronged strategy for encouraging reform in Egypt. One is to work with reformers within the ruling party.  The President's son, Gamal Mubarak, and others are considered to be part of a  "new guard" in the party. The second is supporting liberal elements outside the ruling party. And the third is to seek to engage the powerful Islamic opposition. That may be even more of a priority following the victory of the Islamic Hamas organization in Palestinian elections.

1 recipient   

a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器

参考例句：

• Please check that you have a valid email certificate for each recipient. 请检查是否对每个接收者都有有效的电子邮件证书。
• Colombia is the biggest U . S aid recipient in Latin America. 哥伦比亚是美国在拉丁美洲最大的援助对象。

2 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。

3 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

4 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。

5 repression   

n.镇压，抑制，抑压

参考例句：

• The repression of your true feelings is harmful to your health.压抑你的真实感情有害健康。
• This touched off a new storm against violent repression.这引起了反对暴力镇压的新风暴。

6 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

7 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

8 imprisonment   

n.关押，监禁，坐牢

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment.他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for committing bigamy.他因为犯重婚罪被判入狱一年。

9 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

10 conditionally   

adv. 有条件地

参考例句：

• We will provide necessary English training to the new employees conditionally. 公司将为员工提供必要的英语培训。
• China should conditionally support and participate in the coordination. 我国对此宜持有条件支持并参与的立场。

11 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

12 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

13 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。