2007年VOA标准英语-Kurdish Nationalists in Iraq, Turkey Seek Land

By Simon Marks
Diyarbakir, Turkey
27 March 2007
 
watch Marks report

As violent instability convulses much of Iraq, the country's neighbors are keeping a watchful¹ eye.  In recent weeks, Turkey has warned Kurds in northern Iraq not to make any moves to declare themselves independent from Baghdad.  Turkey has a large Kurdish population of its own, and the government in Ankara is worried by the violence in Iraq, fearing that it threatens the country's territorial² integrity.  Correspondent Simon Marks traveled to the Turkish border with Iraq, and sends this report.

 
Trucks lining³ up at Turkish-Iraqi border
You see the trucks long before you see Turkey's border with Iraq.  For several miles they line the roadside, loaded with steel, cement and food.

It can take several days to secure permission to cross into Iraqi territory.  Yet every day 4,000 truckloads of Turkish goods cross the border into northern Iraq and Iraqi oil crosses the border going out.

Many of these drivers are Turkish Kurds from the southeast of the country, and they have a unique opportunity to see life on both sides of the border.  Some of them, like driver Ethem Ozer, believe that a single independent Kurdish state would better support Kurdish families in both Turkey and Iraq.

 
Turkish truck driver Ethem Ozer
"We want to unite,” he says. “Why do we want to unite?  There shouldn't be any problems between us.  If there is no business here, maybe they have some business, so we go and work there.  And if there's no work there, they could come and work here.  We have rights, and so do they, and that's why we want to unite."

But that kind of talk terrifies Turkey's government.  It vigorously opposes the idea of a Kurdish state based on Turkish or Iraqi territory.  Rebels trying to achieve that goal are now based in the mountains of northern Iraq.  The Turkish government says fighters with the outlawed⁴ Kurdistan Workers' Party -- the PKK – are being given safe haven⁵ in U.S.-occupied Iraq, even though the U.S. government brands the PKK a terrorist organization.

Abdullah Gul is Turkey's Foreign Minister.  He says, "We can't understand this, you see.  If an enemy regime gives this opportunity to them, we understand this, you see.  That is an enemy regime, you see.  But this is a friendly country.  The country we are helping⁶.  The country that is controlled by our allies, and we are helping them.  This is the problem, you see?"

The U.S. government says it is taking action against the PKK, in partnership⁷ with the Turkish government.   But the U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, Ross Wilson, concedes there are other problems in Iraq that are taking precedence.

 
Ross Wilson, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey 
"U.S. forces are rather busy.  They face a number of terrorist problems, a number of insurgent⁸ problems,” the ambassador says.  “They have focused their primary energies on those insurgent issues that directly challenge the center of gravity in Baghdad and that challenge our forces.” 

In the ancient backstreets of Diyarbakir, the largest Kurdish city in southeastern Turkey, the PKK does not appear to be winning the battle for hearts and minds. This city was originally settled more than 5,000 years ago.

Today it is home to Kurds who are struggling to make a living, a fact that carpenter Sherif Uraki believes the PKK doesn't fully⁹ understand.  "What the PKK is doing, or what the government is doing is not important to us.  We are just trying to earn enough money to buy bread,” he says. “And from the early hours of the morning we are working here. We are just trying to take bread to our homes, and I don't think either the PKK or the government has any idea of the conditions under which we are living.  We're just trying to survive."

Ongoing¹⁰ instability could lead the Turkish army to take up positions on Iraqi territory in a bid to overcome the PKK.

Retired¹¹ General Edit Baser is the Turkish government's special representative on counterterrorism.  "You cannot just sit and watch when your neighbor's house is on fire, OK?  You got to do something about it,” he explains.  “Because that fire may come into your house, your yard.  So you have to take some measures to avoid it, and to help your neighbor if you can.”

The general and many politicians back in Ankara fear Kurdish ambitions for a separate state making up northern Iraq and Kurdish areas in Turkey. They have already fought a 20-year war against the PKK and seem ready to fight another if necessary. The Kurds are caught in the middle and they wonder whether events will bring them stability and opportunity, or yet more uncertainty¹² and distress¹³.

1 watchful   

adj.注意的，警惕的

参考例句：

• The children played under the watchful eye of their father.孩子们在父亲的小心照看下玩耍。
• It is important that health organizations remain watchful.卫生组织保持警惕是极为重要的。

2 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。

3 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

4 outlawed   

宣布…为不合法（outlaw的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Most states have outlawed the use of marijuana. 大多数州都宣布使用大麻为非法行为。
• I hope the sale of tobacco will be outlawed someday. 我希望有朝一日烟草制品会禁止销售。

5 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

8 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

9 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

10 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

11 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

12 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

13 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。