2007年VOA标准英语-Mauritanian President Calls for Debate on Ties

By Phuong Tran
Dakar
11 April 2007

The newly-elected president of Mauritania, Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, says he wants an open debate about the Islamic country's almost decade-old diplomatic ties with Israel.  Mauritania is one of few countries with such ties that belong to the Arab League, an organization of about 20 mostly Arabic states.  Phuong Tran has more from VOA's West African Bureau in Dakar. 

Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi

Of almost 20 candidates in the recent presidential election, Mr. Abdallahi was the most moderate in his views on Israel.  Whereas others said they wanted to break ties, the winning candidate said he would turn the issue over to the population, to help decide.

Former President Maaouiya Ould Sid Ahmed Taya established full diplomatic ties with Israel in 1999.

It is widely seen in this Arab-populated West African country that the Taya-brokered relationship with Israel was a way to appease¹ the United States,  following the 1990's Persian Gulf² War.

Mauritanian leaders supported Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, during his invasion of neighboring oil-rich Kuwait in 1991.

"In order to avoid being blamed by the United States, it was strategic for him [former President Taya] to establish the diplomatic relationship," Moustapha Toure says.

Moustapha Toure is spokesman of the Association of Mauritanian Refugees in Senegal. He is one of thousands of black Mauritanians pushed out in the early 1990's, when ethnic³ and regional tensions flared⁴.

Hundreds died fleeing the violence.

For Toure, the real issue that requires open debate is national reconciliation⁵, in a country long divided by color and ethnicity.

"They [Taya administration] wanted to hide what they [had] done against the black people in Mauritania between 1989 and 1992," Toure says. The real problem for us is to build our national unity⁶."

Human rights lawyer Mohamed Ould Yarba says the Mauritanian government has used its relationship with Israel to appease the World Bank, when the country has had money problems.

Although the World Bank is an international lending institution, it is often seen as controlled by Americans.

Its presidents are citizens of the largest shareholder⁷ country -- the United States.

He says Mauritanians have the impression that, each time the government needed to hide how weak the economy was, it would make a deal with powerful countries, to hide unflattering economic data from the World Bank.

As of last June, the World Bank has pledged more than one billion dollars of assistance to Mauritania for what it says are much-needed poverty-reduction programs. 

Yarba says he wants President Abdallahi to make sure any continued ties with Israel are based on real diplomacy⁸ and peace politics and not what he calls cover-up attempts.

Israel-based analyst⁹ Meir Javedanfar says the outcome of a public debate is not the final word on Mauritanian-Israeli relations.

"This is something that could change in the future, should relations between Israelis and the Palestinian authority improve," Javedanfar says.

President Abdallahi has said his decision on Israel will depend, in part, on the outcome of talks between the leaders of Israel and Palestine on the issue of land for Palestinians.

1 appease   

v.安抚，缓和，平息，满足

参考例句：

• He tried to appease the crying child by giving him candy.他试图给那个啼哭的孩子糖果使他不哭。
• The government tried to appease discontented workers.政府试图安抚不满的工人们。

2 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

3 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

4 Flared   

adj. 端部张开的, 爆发的, 加宽的, 漏斗式的 动词flare的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The match flared and went out. 火柴闪亮了一下就熄了。
• The fire flared up when we thought it was out. 我们以为火已经熄灭，但它突然又燃烧起来。

5 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。

6 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

7 shareholder   

n.股东，股票持有人

参考例句：

• The account department have prepare a financial statement for the shareholder.财务部为股东准备了一份财务报表。
• A shareholder may transfer his shares in accordance with the law.股东持有的股份可以依法转让。

8 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

9 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。