2007年VOA标准英语-Ceasefire Reveals Early Cracks in Eastern DRC

By Selah Hennessy
Dakar
07 September 2007

Many civilians¹ in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are hoping for a ceasefire between the army and renegade fighters, but the rival forces as well as U.N. officials are giving conflicting information about what is happening and how to stop the violence. Selah Hennessy reports from the VOA's West and Central Africa bureau in Dakar.

 

A fragile ceasefire announced by U.N. mediators late Thursday was already showing cracks on Friday.

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Renegade ex-general Laurent Nkunda, Mar 2007

General Laurent Nkunda, the renegade army general who leads ethnic³ Tutsi dissident fighters in an ongoing⁴ struggle with the Congolese army, says government forces attacked his men on Friday.

"This morning I think there was some fighting in Rutshuru because the side of the government I think did not have the same briefing," he said. "Until now, we managed to stop and the situation is becoming calm."

NKunda says he is optimistic that peace will be brought to the troubled eastern region within days.

"We will have an agreement of ceasefire then address political problems," said Nkunda. "I think it will be the way to finish the war."

Nkunda has said this before, but efforts to integrate his fighters into a newly reunified post-conflict Congolese army have repeatedly failed.

Current Congolese Defense⁵ Minister Chikez Diemu says the government will not negotiate with people he calls bandits.

"Those matters should be discussed between states," said Diemu. "Nkunda is no more than a criminal."

Congo's government accuses Nkunda of being backed by Rwanda, something both Nkunda and Rwanda deny.

The defense minister says Nkunda's forces must disarm⁶.

"This is not a matter of just negotiating or talking to a criminal, they have to disarm, there is no other alternative," he said.

Nkunda says he is protecting the local ethnic Tutsi population in eastern Congo from Rwandan former ethnic Hutu rebels. He has accused the Congolese government of being allied⁷ with the Hutu fighters.

Rwanda's government says Congo's army must do more to get rid of ethnic Hutu fighters hiding in the forest region.

Michel Bonnardeaux is a mission spokesman for the United Nations peacekeeping force in the Congo, called MONUC.

He says no formal ceasefire has been agreed to between the government and Nkunda, contradicting what other U.N. officials were quoted as saying Thursday.

He says MONUC deployed⁸ troops to the North Kivu city of Sake on Thursday, and Nkunda's forces stopped their advance when the MONUC troops arrived.

"Now MONUC is occupying Sake," said Bonnardeaux. "So it is a de-facto ceasefire, not a negotiated ceasefire."

He says negotiations⁹ are needed to bring real stability to the region.

"This is not the first time that these two forces have opposed each other, and the underlying¹⁰ causes of this fighting are still present," said Bonnardeaux. "So we believe that they need to talk and address the underlining issues."

Wars that began in the 1990s in the Congo started with rebellions based in Rwanda aimed at chasing down ethnic Hutu fighters on the Congolese side of the border, before escalating¹¹ into regional conflicts.

1 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

2 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

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 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。

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

6 disarm   

v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和

参考例句：

• The world has waited 12 years for Iraq to disarm. 全世界等待伊拉克解除武装已有12年之久。
• He has rejected every peaceful opportunity offered to him to disarm.他已经拒绝了所有能和平缴械的机会。

7 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

8 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

9 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

10 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

11 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句