VOA常速英语2007-Burkina Faso Marks Dual Anniversary

By Naomi Schwarz
Dakar
15 October 2007

Thomas Sankara, the charismatic former president of West Africa's Burkina Faso who gave the country its name, will be memorialized alongside the celebrations for progress made under the current rule of President Blaise Compaore. Mr. Compaore cam e to power in the coup¹ that overthrew² Mr. Sankara 20 years ago. Naomi Schwarz reports for VOA from Dakar.

Four P.M., Monday, October 15 is 20 years, exactly, since Thomas Sankara, himself a former Burkina Faso coup-leader, was assassinated³ during a coup.

The moment was set to be marked at his tomb. His widow, Mariam Sankara, would see the grave for the first time.

She was greeted with cheers at the airport late Sunday as she arrived from Paris. It is her first trip back to Burkina Faso since her husband was killed.

She said she was very happy to be back in her country.

The president of the committee organizing the commemoration, Cheriff Sy, says this anniversary is important because it marks a full generation since Mr. Sankara's death. It is important to share Mr. Sankara's legacy⁴, he says, with Burkina Faso's youth.

Mariam Sawadogo, a law student in Ouagadougou is among the youth who are celebrating that legacy. She says for her, Mr. Sankara was a man of integrity, who fought, and eventually sacrificed himself, for the country.

Mr. Sankara is called the "father of the revolution" for his role in the tumultuous years in the 1980s when Burkina Faso underwent several coups⁵ and experienced infighting among political leaders. He took power after a 1983 coup in which current President Blaise Compaore also took part.

Mr. Sankara renamed the country from its colonial name, Upper Volta, to Burkina Faso, which means Land of honest men.

Supporters says he took important steps to bring democracy, curb⁶ corruption⁷, create vaccination⁸ and housing programs, and promote women's rights. But detractors say his socialist⁹ government failed to bring economic growth.

Mr. Compaore, once a friend and close ally, overthrew Mr. Sankara in 1987 and the country adopted a more capitalist approach with the help of the International Monetary¹⁰ Fund.

Compaore supporters say Burkina Faso has benefited from his rule in the past 20-years.

A ruling party deputy in the national assembly party, Aline Koala, says lots of other countries in the region have had difficulties, but Burkina Faso has stayed peaceful, reduced poverty, and introduced multi-party democracy.

In a set of events running parallel to those commemorating¹¹ Mr. Sankara, President Campaores party has chosen to celebrate this progress. There are marches scheduled across the country, and in Ouagadougou, a symposium¹² on democracy in Africa with several heads of state attending.

Events commemorating Mr. Sankara's life and death culminate¹³ Thursday with a concert featuring artists from around the region. They are singing, they say, for those without voices.

Burkina Faso is one of Africa's largest cotton producers, but remains¹⁴ among the world's poorest countries. It has also faced criticism on human-rights issues and allegations that it was involved in illicit¹⁵ diamond trading with rebels during neighboring Sierra Leone's civil war.

1 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。

2 overthrew   

overthrow的过去式

参考例句：

• The people finally rose up and overthrew the reactionary regime. 人们终于起来把反动的政权推翻了。
• They overthrew their King. 他们推翻了国王。

3 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

4 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

5 coups   

n.意外而成功的行动( coup的名词复数 )；政变；努力办到难办的事

参考例句：

• China has seen many political coups within the ruling class. 中国统治阶级内部发生过很多政变。 来自互联网
• Thailand has had eighteen coups or coup attendance since nineteen thirty-two. 泰国1932年以来有18次政变或参加政变。 来自互联网

6 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

7 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

8 vaccination   

n.接种疫苗，种痘

参考例句：

• Vaccination is a preventive against smallpox.种痘是预防天花的方法。
• Doctors suggest getting a tetanus vaccination every ten years.医生建议每十年注射一次破伤风疫苗。

9 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

10 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

11 commemorating   

v.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was presented with a scroll commemorating his achievements. 他被授予一幅卷轴，以表彰其所做出的成就。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The post office issued a series commemorating famous American entertainers. 邮局发行了一个纪念美国著名演艺人员的系列邮票。 来自互联网

12 symposium   

n.讨论会，专题报告会；专题论文集

参考例句：

• What have you learned from the symposium?你参加了这次科学讨论会有什么体会？
• The specialists and scholars present at the symposium come from all corners of the country.出席研讨会的专家学者们来自全国各地。

13 culminate   

v.到绝顶，达于极点，达到高潮

参考例句：

• The celebration of the centenary will culminate with a dinner.百年庆典活动将以宴会作为高潮。
• Everyone feared that the boundary dispute between these two countries would culminate in a war.人人都担心,这两国间的边境争端将以一场战争到达顶点。

14 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。

15 illicit   

adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He had an illicit association with Jane.他和简曾有过不正当关系。
• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year.今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。