2006年VOA标准英语-Nigeria Withdrawing Troops From Bakassi Peninsu

By Gilbert da Costa
Abuja
08 August 2006
 
Nigeria has begun withdrawing its troops from the disputed Bakassi peninsula ahead of a United Nations-brokered¹ deadline agreed with Cameroon.

About 3,000 Nigerian soldiers are to be pulled out of the disputed peninsula by Monday. The leaders of Nigeria and Cameroon endorsed² a deal brokered by the United Nations last June, to withdraw Nigerian troops from the region within 60 days.

A formal handover ceremony to mark the end of the troops withdrawal³ is scheduled for next week.

"The withdrawal has started and we have started pulling out our troops and we are going to invite correspondents to witness the handover, which is coming up by next week," said Brigadier General Felix Chukwuma, the defense⁴ spokesman.

The International Court of Justice in the Hague ruled in 2002 that Cameroon had sovereignty over the peninsula. Most of the population of the peninsula, who are Nigerians, have been given the option of staying under Cameroon authority or being resettled in Nigeria.

Some residents have rejected the offer and had vowed⁵ to resist the handover. Nigeria is expected to complete the process of handing of Bakassi within two years. General Chukwuma says until then, Nigeria will exercise civil authority over the oil-rich territory.

"According to the agreement, the police will not have to move out. The police will move out after two years," he noted⁶. "It is the military presence that will get out. If you check the agreement, you will know that the civil government that will be there, they will still operate under Nigerian law until after two years they will now revert⁷ to Cameroonian law."

An Abuja court will this week determine a legal challenge to the proposed handover. Some residents have asked the court to declare the transfer of sovereignty as illegal and a violation⁸ of the Nigerian constitution. A Bakassi group last Sunday declared independence and may have set the stage for a direct confrontation⁹ with the federal authorities.

The dispute over ownership of the peninsula brought the neighbors close to war in the 1980s.

1 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

2 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

4 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

5 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

6 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。

7 revert   

v.恢复，复归，回到

参考例句：

• Let us revert to the earlier part of the chapter.让我们回到本章的前面部分。
• Shall we revert to the matter we talked about yesterday?我们接着昨天谈过的问题谈，好吗？

8 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。

9 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。