2007年VOA标准英语-UN Security Council Studies Ivory Coast Pact Am

By Nico Colombant
Dakar
12 March 2007

 
French Forces patrol buffer¹ zone
Officials at the United Nations Security Council are evaluating a new peace deal for Ivory Coast. The pact² was reached earlier this month by President Laurent Gbagbo and rebel leader Guillaume Soro to reunite the world's leading cocoa producer, divided since late 2002. The deal includes controversial provisions for a gradual retreat of U.N. and French peacekeepers, as well as several other alterations³ to the previous U.N.-mandated accord. VOA's Nico Colombant reports from our West Africa bureau in Dakar.

The spokesman for the French defense⁵ ministry⁶, Jean-Francois Bureau, says whatever the Security Council decides will be applied⁷.

Bureau says the mandate⁴ of international forces in Ivory Coast was to be re-evaluated in June anyway.

The presence of French peacekeepers has been controversial, but also crucial to stopping full-scale fighting from starting up again.

The new deal indicates French and U.N forces should leave a buffer zone between the government-run south and rebel-held north, and instead set up observation posts along a so-called green line, while rebels reintegrate into the Ivorian army.

Africa Analyst⁸ Kissy Agyeman, with London-based Global Insight, does not believe the international pull-out should be done too quickly.

"An immediate⁹ withdrawal¹⁰ could indeed lead to an escalation¹¹ of violence," she said. "If the country were to implode¹², because of the withdrawal of troops, the finger of blame would of course be pointed¹³ at the U.N. and French forces so I do not 
The dividing line between the rebel north and government south 
think it is in either of their interest to withdraw their troops immediately."

The deal also calls for an authorization¹⁴ to import light weapons, despite a U.N. arms embargo¹⁵ against Ivory Coast, and to lift individual U.N. sanctions targeting several Ivorians.

It also calls for a new government by mid-April, putting in doubt the future of current U.N.-mandated reconciliation¹⁶ Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny.

Agyeman says Mr. Gbagbo was ignoring the previous U.N resolution.

"[Mr.] Gbagbo was really sidestepping that resolution and he clearly did not respect it," she added. "Charles [Konan] Banny, the prime minister, was very much marginalized even though he was put there really by the international community."

 
President Laurent Gbagbo 
Mr. Gbagbo said an African solution to the Ivory Coast problem was needed. The deal was signed in Burkina Faso, where many of the Ivorian rebel leaders are based.

In a speech following the deal, Mr. Gbagbo pledged to do everything in his power to make sure this deal, unlike previous ones, gets implemented¹⁷.

Rebel spokesman Sidiki Konate also gave his assurances.

"I hope that we will do our best so that we get peace for this agreement," he said. "I know that this agreement is very special. The context, the spirit are not the same than with other agreements that we signed."

Another rebel official says Mr. Soro is being very careful in possibly considering the post of prime minister for himself, and that he will maybe seek a new U.N. resolution to clearly define such a role.

The former head of the U.N peacekeeping mission in Ivory Coast, Pierre Schori, who has yet to be replaced, says it is clear the rebels and President Gbagbo must accomplish, what was called for in other peace deals but always broke down amid mistrust.

"This is the moment of truth. Cote d'Ivoire is a rich country. It should not be where it is now," he said. "With political will from the main actors, you can break the deadlock¹⁸ and improve the situation, bring both peace, reconciliation, disarmament, identification and elections."

Rebels said they took up arms to make sure millions of undocumented northerners could vote in a free and fair election. The vote constitutionally scheduled for October 2005 has already been pushed back twice.

The new deal does not give a precise date for the election, while also giving more power to Mr. Gbagbo in organizing a new, simplified identification scheme.

A spokesman for the former ruling PDCI party, Niamkey Koffi, says he hopes the deal can be implemented fairly, but fears Mr. Gbagbo may seek to serve his own cause to 
Rebels say they want voting cards 
stay in power.

"We are just hopeful and we are also doubtful because we know the man and we know his plan," said Koffi.

Analyst Agyeman says these fears are well founded.

"[Mr.] Gbagbo, he is intelligent, he is very adept¹⁹ and he is good at political maneuvering," said Agyeman. "So I think that what he really wants is to maintain power and any agreement that can enable that is what he will probably push forward."

Mr. Gbagbo himself called for the talks in Burkina Faso which led to the deal, which he called "direct dialogue."

He came to power in 2000, after an election he himself called chaotic²⁰, when he claimed victory over the country's first post-coup military ruler, Robert Guei, who had excluded the two other main opposition²¹ leaders from running.

Mr. Guei and many members of his family were killed on the day the rebel insurgency²² started, in circumstances that remain unclear. The new deal also calls for a general amnesty for those involved in the civil war.

1 buffer   

n.起缓冲作用的人(或物)，缓冲器；vt.缓冲

参考例句：

• A little money can be a useful buffer in time of need.在急需时，很少一点钱就能解燃眉之急。
• Romantic love will buffer you against life's hardships.浪漫的爱会减轻生活的艰辛。

2 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

3 alterations   

n.改动( alteration的名词复数 )；更改；变化；改变

参考例句：

• Any alterations should be written in neatly to the left side. 改动部分应书写清晰，插在正文的左侧。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code. 基因突变是指DNA 密码的改变。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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。

5 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。

6 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。

7 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

8 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

9 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

10 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。

11 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句

12 implode   

v.内爆，剧减

参考例句：

• The engine imploded.发动机内爆了。
• He has nightmares about the tanks imploding.他老是做油箱爆炸的噩梦。

13 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

14 authorization   

n.授权，委任状

参考例句：

• Anglers are required to obtain prior authorization from the park keeper.垂钓者必须事先得到公园管理者的许可。
• You cannot take a day off without authorization.未经批准你不得休假。

15 embargo   

n.禁运（令）；vt.对...实行禁运，禁止（通商）

参考例句：

• This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
• During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间，他们禁止与敌国通商。

16 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

17 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

18 deadlock   

n.僵局，僵持

参考例句：

• The negotiations reached a deadlock after two hours.两小时后，谈判陷入了僵局。
• The employers and strikers are at a deadlock over the wage.雇主和罢工者在工资问题上相持不下。

19 adept   

adj.老练的，精通的

参考例句：

• When it comes to photography,I'm not an adept.要说照相，我不是内行。
• He was highly adept at avoiding trouble.他十分善于避开麻烦。

20 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

21 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

22 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