2006年VOA标准英语-Tensions Grow as Sudan Opposes UN Troops i

By Noel King
Khartoum
21 February 2006 
 

African Union peacekeeper and colleagues in the background (File photo - Nov. 10, 2005)   
  
Tensions are running high in Sudan, as a controversial proposal that would allow United Nations peacekeepers into Darfur, has been met with disapproval¹ by the Sudanese government. The United States charges that the conflict in Darfur is genocide have infuriated government officials who say the United States is lying and targeting Sudan. And a top U.N. envoy² has been summoned by the Sudanese government and charged with making statements that undermine Sudan's sovereignty.

-------------------------------------------------------

Sudan has rejected a proposed United Nations peacekeeping force in the nation's western Darfur region, despite worldwide pressure to allow U.N. peacekeepers to bolster³ a floundering African Union mission.

Sudan government officials say the African Union is up to the challenge, despite recent admissions by the AU that Darfur is now more dangerous than ever and that rape⁴, looting and lawlessness continue.

Foreign Ministry⁵ spokesman, Jamal Ibrahim, told VOA that a U.N. force will not be necessary if the African Union has better support.

"The problem with the African Union forces in Dafur is that they need support, they need logistics, they need money. What they need monthly is around $13 to $17 million, which is quite a huge amount of money. And the African Union hasn't got this sum," said Ibrahim. "If it is supported, the forces will perform in a better way. Without our consent, no mandate⁶ is going to be reviewed. No other forces will be allowed into the region without the approval of the Sudan government."

Ibrahim did admit that the situation in Darfur is not improving, despite the AU presence in the region.

The AU mission entered Darfur in 2004, and was meant to illustrate⁷ that African problems could be handled by Africans, without international intervention⁸. But the mission has faced chronic⁹ funding problems and has only 7,000 troops patrolling a remote area the size of France.

Late last year, AU troops became targets in skirmishes between warring rebel factions¹⁰. After the deaths of several troops, the AU mandate was called weak and ineffective by a rapidly growing contingent¹¹ of critics who charge that AU soldiers cannot protect themselves, much less Darfuri civilians¹².

The possibility of U.N. intervention in Darfur has raised the ire of the Sudan government. Top U.N. envoy to Sudan, Jan Pronk, was summoned into the offices of acting¹³ minister of Foreign Affairs, Mohamed Karti for allegedly stating that AU forces in Sudan should be replaced by U.N. forces.

Also at hand is a charge by the U.S. government that the conflict in Darfur is genocide. Ibrahim says the U. S. is targeting Sudan with baseless allegations.

"This is not genocide. There is no genocide and there is no systematic¹⁴ policy of genocide in Darfur. There is no support of any janjaweed, there is no support of any militias¹⁵, and the government is doing its best to find a resolution to the crisis," he said. "This is a unilateral position by the United States, no other countries, no other partners continue to say that there is a genocide in Sudan. Even the United Nations admitted that there is no genocide in Sudan."

The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Security Council, John Bolton, has called for a resolution to be passed on the deployment¹⁶ of U.N. peacekeepers, by the end of this month.

The three-year-old Darfur conflict began when rebels rose against the Khartoum government, complaining of economic and political marginalization. The Sudan government armed Arab militias known as janjaweed who embarked¹⁷ on a scorched¹⁸ earth campaign of rape and murder. An estimated 180,000 people have died in the fighting and 2 million more have been displaced.

1 disapproval   

n.反对，不赞成

参考例句：

• The teacher made an outward show of disapproval.老师表面上表示不同意。
• They shouted their disapproval.他们喊叫表示反对。

2 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

3 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

4 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

5 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

6 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

7 illustrate   

v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图

参考例句：

• The company's bank statements illustrate its success.这家公司的银行报表说明了它的成功。
• This diagram will illustrate what I mean.这个图表可说明我的意思。

8 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

9 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

10 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

11 contingent   

adj.视条件而定的；n.一组，代表团，分遣队

参考例句：

• The contingent marched in the direction of the Western Hills.队伍朝西山的方向前进。
• Whether or not we arrive on time is contingent on the weather.我们是否按时到达要视天气情况而定。

12 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。

13 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

14 systematic   

adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的

参考例句：

• The way he works isn't very systematic.他的工作不是很有条理。
• The teacher made a systematic work of teaching.这个教师进行系统的教学工作。

15 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

16 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

17 embarked   

乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事

参考例句：

• We stood on the pier and watched as they embarked. 我们站在突码头上目送他们登船。
• She embarked on a discourse about the town's origins. 她开始讲本市的起源。

18 scorched   

烧焦，烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（植物）枯萎，把…晒枯； 高速行驶； 枯焦

参考例句：

• I scorched my dress when I was ironing it. 我把自己的连衣裙熨焦了。
• The hot iron scorched the tablecloth. 热熨斗把桌布烫焦了。