2007年VOA标准英语-Burmese Opposition Leader Aung San Suu Kyi to R

By Ron Corben
Bangkok
25 May 2007

Burma's military leaders have extended their detention¹ of Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi for another year, despite growing international pressure. Government sources say Burmese officials visited her residence Friday and read out the extension of her term. Ron Corben reports from Bangkok.

Aung San Suu Kyi (May 2002 file photo)

For weeks, there have been renewed international calls for the release of Burma opposition² leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The calls came from fellow Nobel Prize laureates, past and current world leaders, and human rights groups. The U.S. government has said that she should be freed and Burma should implement³ political reforms quickly.

The head of the National League for Democracy has been detained continuously since May 2003, when she was taken into custody⁴ after a pro-government mob attacked her supporters while she was visiting rural Burma. She has spent 11 of the past 17 years in confinement⁵.

Debbie Stothardt, spokeswoman for the rights group the Alternative ASEAN Network, says the government fears releasing Aung San Suu Kyi could lead to unrest from her many supporters, and from rising public anger over the country's economic problems.

"The regime is definitely not releasing Aung San Suu Kyi. But it's not because of international pressure, it's because of their own fear of what could happen if Aung San Suu Kyi is released and there's a national uprising against them," said Stothardt.

Naing Aung, a former Burmese student leader and democracy rights advocate, says the government will detain Aung San Suu Kyi until a new constitution - now being drafted - is completed.

"The military regime doesn't want to have any dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi and they don't think that they need to talk to solve their problems together," he said.

Politicians from the Association of South East Asian Nations have demanded that regional governments push Burma to free more than 1,100 political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi.

Kraisak Choonhavan, a former Thai senator and rights advocate, says the ASEAN politicians have worked hard at raising the issue.

"We have been very diligent⁶ in persevering⁷ for the release of all political prisoners in Burma, and our agenda has been very, very consistent with our principles, but this extension of the detention of Aung San Suu Kyi is absolutely unacceptable, absolutely unacceptable," he said.

Stothardt of the Alternative ASEAN Network says rights groups will continue to work for change in Burma.

"We need an increase in domestic and international pressure on this regime so finally they have no choice but they have to release Aung San Suu Kyi and they have no choice but to democratize," said Stothardt.

The country has been under a military government since 1962. The National League for Democracy won a landside victory in elections in 1990, but the military refused to acknowledge the results. The government has promised general elections after a new constitution is drafted, but there is no indication of when that will be.

1 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

2 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。

3 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。

4 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

5 confinement   

n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限

参考例句：

• He spent eleven years in solitary confinement.他度过了11年的单独监禁。
• The date for my wife's confinement was approaching closer and closer.妻子分娩的日子越来越近了。

6 diligent   

adj.勤勉的，勤奋的

参考例句：

• He is the more diligent of the two boys.他是这两个男孩中较用功的一个。
• She is diligent and keeps herself busy all the time.她真勤快，一会儿也不闲着。

7 persevering   

a.坚忍不拔的

参考例句：

• They will only triumph by persevering in their struggle against natural calamities. 他们只有坚持与自然灾害搏斗，才能取得胜利。
• Success belongs to the persevering. 胜利属于不屈不挠的人。