2006年VOA标准英语-Ivory Coast Buries Former Leader Three Years Af

By Franz Wild
Abidjan
18 August 2006

After lying in a morgue for nearly four years, former Ivorian president, Robert Guei, is to be buried Friday. Even after his death, Robert Guei continues to generate controversy¹.

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Robert Guei (1999 file photo)   
  
A day before the funeral, the village elders are queuing up to see President Robert Guei's coffin² at the military headquarters in Ivory Coast's biggest city Abidjan. They speak in hushed tones, but no one seems particularly sad.

President Laurent Gbagbo and Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny are to attend and Mr. Guei is to receive military honors, but there is no spectacular funeral procession being planned.

Eric Kaye, who was a minister in the Guei government, says this is not because he was not a respected leader.

"Maybe the situation in the country can explain why there will not be (a) parade. Maybe also the division within his old party is an explanation. But despite this, I think he is a great person," he said.

Mr. Guei came to power in 1999 after ousting³ then president Henri Konan Bedie in a Christmas coup⁴. He ruled Ivory Coast for less than a year and was himself forced out of office by massive demonstrations⁵ that followed his refusal to accept Laurent Gbagbo's victory in the 2000 presidential elections.

Laurent Gbagbo (file photo)   
  
He was assassinated⁶ near his Abidjan home on September 19, 2002, the same day there was an attempted coup against President Gbagbo. The reason for his murder was never established and his killers⁷ never found. Some said he was killed while on the way to the national television studios to announce his return to power. Others say he was hiding from the organizers of the coup.

The ensuing civil war split Ivory Coast in two and Mr. Guei's native village of Kabakouma where he was to be buried fell into the hands of rebels. So his body was put on ice and remained frozen ever since.

But his son Franck has now decided⁸ his father will be buried at the family home in Abidjan, not at his native village, and this has stirred passionate⁹ debate and controversy.

Not far from the place where Mr. Guei's coffin is on display, some two hundred hunger strikers brandish¹⁰ placards and loudly protest the son's decision.

The leader of Mr. Guei's party's youth wing, Jean Ble Guirao, says African custom dictates¹¹ he should be buried in his native soil.

He says someone as important as Robert Guei must be buried in his home town. The son, he says, acted illegitimately when he decided where the burial should take place.

Guirao says the family elders, not the son, should decide where to bury Mr. Guei, and they have decided he should be buried in the village.

But former minister Kaye, who is now President Gbagbo's advisor¹², says this is nonsense.

"In Africa there are no customs which need to be followed. You have to take the advice of the son," he said. " And even if you did want to bury him in his village, that would not be possible now."

That is because the village of Kabakouma is still in the hands of rebels who control the north of Ivory Coast. Many hope that when peace returns and the country is whole again, President Guei's body will be moved to his native Kabakouma.

1 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

2 coffin   

n.棺材，灵柩

参考例句：

• When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
• The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。

3 ousting   

驱逐( oust的现在分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• The resulting financial chaos led to the ousting of Bristol-Myers' s boss. 随后引发的财政混乱导致了百时美施贵宝的总裁下台。
• The ousting of the president has drawn widespread criticism across Latin America and the wider world. 洪都拉斯总统被驱逐时间引起拉丁美洲甚至全世界的广泛批评。

4 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

5 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

6 assassinated   

v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
• Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后，肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句

7 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

10 brandish   

v.挥舞，挥动；n.挥动，挥舞

参考例句：

• She answered with a brandish of her umbrella.她挥动着伞回答。
• Come on together! Brandish the florid youth together!一起舞动绚丽的青春吧！

11 dictates   

n.命令，规定，要求( dictate的名词复数 )v.大声讲或读( dictate的第三人称单数 )；口授；支配；摆布

参考例句：

• Convention dictates that a minister should resign in such a situation. 依照常规部长在这种情况下应该辞职。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He always follows the dictates of common sense. 他总是按常识行事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。