2006年VOA标准英语-New Ideas Surfacing on Kashmir Peace

By Patricia Nunan
Srinagar
12 April 2006

Following nearly six decades of tension and fighting between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, some of the troubled region's leaders are looking for new ways to bring peace. While some experts see the debate as a sign of progress in a long stalemate, analysts¹ warn there is still a long way to go before the dispute that divides Kashmir is resolved.

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Migrant workers from Calcutta walk through a mustard field on their way to work on the outskirts² of Srinagar  
  

For years, the debate over Kashmir has been limited to a few positions: the region remains³ divided between India and Pakistan; it becomes independent; or Kashmir joins either Pakistan or India entirely⁴.

But there was no way that the governments in New Delhi and Islamabad, or the people of Kashmir, were all going to agree on one of those options.

Now, a group of Kashmiri separatist leaders are seeking different ideas - hoping to generate new thinking that ends the stalemate.

Omar Abdullah is with the National Conference, a party that favors self-rule for Kashmir while stopping short of outright⁵ independence. It is an idea popular with younger Kashmiri leaders, who see it as a way of getting past old thinking. 
 

Indian Border Security Force soldier walks on roof of observation point near border between India and Pakistan  
  
"No Indian prime minister will ever have a mandate⁶ to redraw lines," he said. "Similarly no Pakistani president or prime minister will have a mandate to agree a solution that solidifies⁷ the Line of Control as a border. But there ways around this - if that border becomes irrelevant⁸ to the extent that nobody talks about it. And then perhaps both sides have won without either side losing."

Abdullah is not alone in searching for new solutions. During the past months, Kashmir leaders have gone to Pakistan for informal meetings where different ideas are up for discussion.

One separatist leader recently suggested there be a "United States of Kashmir." The proposal calls for self-rule, with joint⁹ supervision¹⁰ by both India and Pakistan.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has also discussed the idea of self-rule for Kashmir.

No concrete proposals have been presented to officials in New Delhi and Islamabad. India has not directly commented on these ideas, but a recent Home Ministry¹¹ report says Indian-controlled Kashmir already has its own constitution and legislates¹² on its internal affairs, so no further self rule is needed.

Not all want to consider new options. Syed Ali Shah Geelani is a member of the hard-line faction¹³ of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, a group of separatist organizations in Indian-held Kashmir.

To him, there is only one way to resolve the dispute - and it dates back to 1947.

"The whole state should be given to the U.N. Security Council so that they will take control of the whole state," he said. "And then they will arrange the plebiscite for the people of Jammu and Kashmir. This is our basic demand. Other solutions and other road maps and other formulas we have all rejected because they are not according to our wishes." 

 
Kashmiri earthquake survivor¹⁴ looks toward Line of Control, which separates Indian-controlled Kashmir and Azad Kashmir
  
Indian and Pakistan troops have waged war twice across the Line of Control - the de-facto border that divides Kashmir. Since 1989, India also has faced a violent Islamic insurgency¹⁵ in the two-thirds of Kashmir it controls - a conflict that has killed thousands of civilians¹⁶ and soldiers.

After nearly going to war again in 2002, India and Pakistan resumed their intermittent¹⁷ peace process. They have initiated¹⁸ a series of measures to gain each other's trust and pledged to work toward eventually resolving the Kashmir dispute.

Those measures include opening a bus route across the border, cricket matches, and allowing some leaders based in Indian Kashmir to visit Pakistan.

Samina Ahmed is with the International Crisis Group, a non-profit conflict resolution organization. While she praises Kashmiri leaders for sparking greater debate, she warns that so far, most of the ideas remain just talk.

"But if you actually get down to the nitty-gritty - how far has India moved from its long-standing position now that no territorial¹⁹ change and no real constitutional change? And how far has Pakistan moved from its position that the territorial status quo is unacceptable? If there's going to be a change in those two positions, then we're going to see a narrowing of the gap," she said.

Ahmed says it is important that India and Pakistan push ahead with peace talks and so more to build trust. Only then there will be a real shift over how the conflict in Kashmir can be resolved.

1 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。

2 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

5 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

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 solidifies   

（使）成为固体，（使）变硬，（使）变得坚固( solidify的第三人称单数 )； 使团结一致； 充实，巩固； 具体化

参考例句：

• Jelly solidifies as it gets cold. 肉冻冷却就凝固。
• It is stirred with 10%sodium carbonate solution(50ml)and then with water (50ml), after which It'solidifies. 与10％碳酸钠溶液（50毫升）混合搅拌，然后再用50毫升水混合搅拌，从而析出固体。

8 irrelevant   

adj.不恰当的，无关系的，不相干的

参考例句：

• That is completely irrelevant to the subject under discussion.这跟讨论的主题完全不相关。
• A question about arithmetic is irrelevant in a music lesson.在音乐课上，一个数学的问题是风马牛不相及的。

9 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

10 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

11 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。

12 legislates   

v.立法，制定法律( legislate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The United Kingdom legislates the abolition of slavery in its empire. 1833年的今天，英国立法在其帝国内废除奴隶制。 来自互联网
• Legislates the reason mainly has: First, the legal rule custody the deadline not to be unreasonable. 立法上的原因主要有：第一，法律规定的羁押期限不尽合理。 来自互联网

13 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

14 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

15 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

16 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。

17 intermittent   

adj.间歇的，断断续续的

参考例句：

• Did you hear the intermittent sound outside?你听见外面时断时续的声音了吗？
• In the daytime intermittent rains freshened all the earth.白天里，时断时续地下着雨，使整个大地都生气勃勃了。

18 initiated   

n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入

参考例句：

• He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。
• The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。

19 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。