2007年VOA标准英语-Sudan Takes Conflicting Stand on UN Peacekeeper

By Peter Heinlein
United Nations
17 April 2007

Sudan has agreed to the first large deployment² of U.N. peacekeepers and equipment in Darfur to bolster³ a beleaguered⁴ African Union force. But as VOA's Peter Heinlein reports from U.N. headquarters, western diplomats⁵ reacted cautiously to the announcement, and Khartoum's U.N. ambassador appeared to contradict it.

Sudan formally notified the United Nations Monday it accepts phase two of a three-phase plan that could lead to eventual⁶ deployment of a 20,000 strong hybrid⁷ U.N.-African Union peace force in Darfur.

Phase two of the deal reached last November calls for adding 3,000 well-equipped U.N. police and military personnel, backed by helicopter gunships, to strengthen a badly undermanned force of 7,000 A.U. peacekeepers already in the violence-wracked region.

Word of Sudan's acceptance came at the start of two days of intensive U.N. talks on Darfur. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is consulting with African Union chief executive Alpha Oumar Konare and two U.N. envoys⁹ on a political settlement of the region's four-year civil war.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

That high-level group also attended an informal meeting of Security Council ambassadors on Darfur. Afterward¹⁰, Mr. Ban hailed Sudan's acceptance of phase two and pledged to implement¹¹ it as soon as possible.

"This is a very positive sign and I and the African Union intend to move quickly to prepare for the deployment of heavy support package and hybrid forces," he said.

But no sooner had those optimistic words been spoken than Sudan's U.N. envoy⁸ appeared to contradict the terms of the agreement. Ambassador Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem suggested to reporters that Khartoum had not agreed to allow blue-helmeted U.N. peacekeepers in Darfur.

"The issue of the U.N. is that, according to the Darfur Peace Agreement, there is no provision for the U.N. in any way," he said. "It is only for the African Union to implement with the Sudanese Authorities and the rebel groups the DPA."

Ambassador Abdalhaleem says Sudan sees the Darfur force as being commanded and staffed by Africans.

"It should be an African force, African command with U.N. backstopping in techniques of control and command," he said. "The command is fully¹² for the African leader of the African commander and African forces."

Western diplomats reacted cautiously, even skeptically, to Sudan's apparently¹³ contradictory¹⁴ stance. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, after meeting Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in Khartoum, told reporters Sudan faces increased isolation¹⁵ if it fails to accept all phases of the plan.

Washington's acting¹⁶ U.N. Ambassador Alejandro Wolff noted¹⁷ that Sudanese authorities had previously¹⁸ appeared to accept U.N. peacekeepers, only to back away. He said the United States would wait to see when blue-helmeted U.N. troops "actually start to deploy¹" in Darfur.

"We've been down this path before," noted Wolff, " including here with the U.N. and envoys, including the secretaries-general, so we will see if it happens when it happens. And before it happens, it's impossible to know."

British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett was in New York to preside over Monday's Security Council session. She also expressed skepticism about Sudan's statement, given its past record. She suggested the Council should threaten Khartoum with increasing sanctions to ensure it complies with previous agreements.

"The important thing is those who have not cooperated with implementing¹⁹ agreements already been reached understand that that is not a pain-free course," she said.

Darfur's troubles date back to early 2003, when rebels in the remote western region launched an uprising against the Khartoum government. Four years of fighting has left at least 200,000 people dead and driven more than two million others from their homes.

1 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

2 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

3 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

4 beleaguered   

adj.受到围困[围攻]的；包围的v.围攻( beleaguer的过去式和过去分词)；困扰；骚扰

参考例句：

• The beleaguered party leader was forced to resign. 那位饱受指责的政党领导人被迫辞职。
• We are beleaguered by problems. 我们被许多困难所困扰。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

7 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

8 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

9 envoys   

使节( envoy的名词复数 )； 公使； 谈判代表； 使节身份

参考例句：

• the routine tit for tat when countries expel each other's envoys 国家相互驱逐对方使节这种惯常的报复行动
• Marco Polo's travelogue mentions that Kublai Khan sent envoys to Malgache. 马可波罗游记中提到忽必烈曾派使节到马尔加什。

10 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

11 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

12 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。

13 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

14 contradictory   

adj.反驳的，反对的，抗辩的；n.正反对，矛盾对立

参考例句：

• The argument is internally contradictory.论据本身自相矛盾。
• What he said was self-contradictory.他讲话前后不符。

15 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

16 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

17 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

18 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

19 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句