2007年VOA标准英语-Kurds Hopeful in Turkish General Election

By Dorian Jones
Diyarbakir
16 July 2007

As Turkish voters get ready to head to the polls for general elections July 22, tension is rising among the Kurds in Turkey's southeast. Although the Kurdish nationalist party has been gaining support in the region, it has been prevented from entering parliament because it has never received at least 10 percent of the vote in any national election, the percentage that Turkish law requires for parties to be represented in parliament. To get around this law, Kurdish party members are fielding candidates as independents who would then form a party once they took up their individual posts as lawmakers. For VOA, Dorian Jones has this report from southeast Turkey.

A Turkish Kurd women holds a traditional scarf during a pre-election rally of independent candidates in Istanbul, 15 Jul 2007

As Kurdish nationalist activists¹ leave their headquarters in Diyarbakir for a day of campaigning, the roar of Turkish fighter jets is a reminder² of the urgency of their work. In the last few months there has been a large Turkish military build-up in the southeast region of the country to fight the Kurdish separatist group, the Kurdish Workers Party, or PKK.

The build-up comes as a result of a resurgence³ of attacks by the PKK. But the military's increased presence in the region is also seen by analysts⁴ as a way of eroding⁵ support for the ruling AK party in the run-up to the July elections.

The military continues to portray⁶ the AK party as capitulating to Kurdish "separatism and terrorism." The army, which views itself as the protector of the policy of secularism⁷ favored by the founder⁸ of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, already has deep suspicions of the islamic roots of the governing party. In light of the political struggle, the Kurdish national party is pushing ahead.

Traveling to the Gullu village with one of the Kurdish candidates, Gulten Kisanak, on her way to drum up support among local villagers, we encounter one of the numerous army checkpoints.

"Today we are lucky, Kisanak tells me, the soldiers are from her home village and appear sympathetic. But it is not always like this," she said.

She says this is the place where they stopped us yesterday and checked for IDs. Soldiers were everywhere, some pointing their guns at us. There were even tanks. The soldiers searched all our cars and it took several hours. It was a show of force to tell everyone that they were in charge. We are little bit used to it now but we are very sad that we still face such treatment during democratic elections.

After two hours on the road, we arrive at Gullu village. For decades, it has been at the center of the conflict between separatists and the Turkish army. Over 30,000 people have been killed in the fighting. Most were villagers like the people living here.

Kisanak receives a warm welcome. Election fervor⁹ is just as strong here as in the cities of the region, fueled by the belief that their votes will count. While this region overwhelmingly votes in support of the Kurdish nationalist party, it has failed to win any parliamentary seats.

Speaking to villagers like this man, Hasan, there is widespread feeling that this election is special.

"Every election is important, but this one is even more important," said Hasan. "Because of the 10 percent barrier in the elections, our previous votes have been wasted and other parties benefited. But this time our candidates will win and they will be our eyes, ears and voice in parliament."

Listening to Hasan, Kisanak says she still expects to face numerous difficulties before Election Day. After the elections were called, the government rushed through legislation to make it more difficult for independent candidates to be elected. There have also been claims that some voters have been told to cast their ballots¹¹ in far away cities. But Kisanak, like her fellow independent candidates, remains¹² confident.

"This election is important because Turkey is at the crossroads," she said. "Either it is going to opt¹³ for developing democratic alternatives or will bring the oppressive policies back on to the agenda. We are hoping for the democratic forces to come out of these elections much stronger and help to establish the options of democracy dialog and peace. We'll search for solutions not in violence, but in parliament. The people are also hoping for this, that's why this election is very critical.

The word crossroads can often be heard among Kurds. Its believed there are over 100,000 Turkish soldiers in the region, and nearly daily clashes with Kurdish separatists.

But despite such a massive military presence, And a resurgence in attacks by the PKK, the hope here is that these elections will be the start of a new process in which the ballot¹⁰ box will replace the gun.

1 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

3 resurgence   

n.再起，复活，再现

参考例句：

• A resurgence of his grief swept over Nim.悲痛又涌上了尼姆的心头。
• Police say drugs traffickers are behind the resurgence of violence.警方说毒贩是暴力活动重新抬头的罪魁祸首。

4 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

5 eroding   

侵蚀，腐蚀( erode的现在分词 )； 逐渐毁坏，削弱，损害

参考例句：

• The coast is slowly eroding. 海岸正慢慢地被侵蚀。
• Another new development is eroding the age-old stereotype of the male warrior. 另一个新现象是，久已形成的男人皆武士的形象正逐渐消失。

6 portray   

v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等)

参考例句：

• It is difficult to portray feelings in words.感情很难用言语来描写。
• Can you portray the best and worst aspects of this job?您能描述一下这份工作最好与最坏的方面吗？

7 secularism   

n.现世主义；世俗主义；宗教与教育分离论；政教分离论

参考例句：

• Unless are devoted to God, secularism shall not leave us. 除非我们奉献于神，否则凡俗之心便不会离开我们。 来自互联网
• They are no longer a huge threat to secularism. 他们已不再是民主的巨大威胁。 来自互联网

8 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

9 fervor   

n.热诚；热心；炽热

参考例句：

• They were concerned only with their own religious fervor.他们只关心自己的宗教热诚。
• The speech aroused nationalist fervor.这个演讲喚起了民族主义热情。

10 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

11 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

13 opt   

vi.选择，决定做某事

参考例句：

• They opt for more holiday instead of more pay.他们选择了延长假期而不是增加工资。
• Will individual schools be given the right to opt out of the local school authority?各个学校可能有权选择退出地方教育局吗？