VOA标准英语2008年-Libyan Foreign Minister Visits US State Departm

By David Gollust
State Department
03 January 2008

Libyan Foreign Minister Abdel-Rahman Shalgam met Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other officials Thursday in a meeting underlining an improving bilateral¹ relationship. The U.S. side raised human rights cases and lingering compensation issues stemming from Libya's past involvement in terrorism. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

Rice has met her Libyan counterpart twice before on the sidelines of U.N. meetings in New York. But the State Department visit by Shalgam was the first by a Libyan foreign minister in 36 years, and reflected a relationship that has improved markedly since Libya renounced² weapons of mass destruction and accepted responsibility for acts of terrorism.

The Libyan minister spent about an hour with Rice and had separate meetings with Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicolas Burns and Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch.

There was no press event with Rice and Shalgam. A written statement from State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack said in each of the meetings, the U.S. side underlined the importance of resolving outstanding terrorism-related claims against the Libyan government while expressing concern about Libya's human rights record.

Libya in 2003 accepted responsibility for the 1988 bombing of a U.S. Pan Am jumbo jet over Scotland that killed 270 people, and agreed to pay $10 million compensation to families of each victim.

However Libya has withheld³ a final $2 million per-family payment in a technical dispute, drawing Congressional criticism and prompting Rice to put off a visit to Libya that had been planned for last autumn to complete the diplomatic normalization⁴ process begun in 2004.

In a talk with reporters, McCormack said Rice still intends to go to Libya but that the timing⁵ depends on Libyan actions.

"She'll go when she thinks the timing is right," he said. "I'm not going to tie her hands in terms of setting out specific conditions. She'll make a judgment⁶ based on where we stand in terms of the changing relationship and she'll decide when the timing is right to go to Libya. She does intend to. She looks forward to going there."

Libya's international political rehabilitation⁷ since 2003 was capped this week when it officially joined the U.N. Security Council and became its rotating chairman for January. Officials here say Shalgam discussed Security Council, North African and Middle East issues with the State Department team.

Speaking here at a signing ceremony for a U.S.-Libyan science and technology agreement, Shalgam said Libya - once shunned⁸ by Washington as a pariah⁹ state - can cooperate with the United States to combat terrorism and help bring peace in regional trouble spots such as Sudan's Darfur region which borders Libya.

"I think we can do, together, something for peace, especially regarding the issue of Darfur," said Abdel-Rahman Shalgam. "Also, this phenomenon of terrorism in our region and other regions of the world, we can do something. Also to help stability and development, especially in Africa and the Mediterranean¹⁰ region."

In advance of the Rice-Shalgam meeting, human rights groups appealed to the State Department to press the issue with the Libyans.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch credited the Muammar Gadhafi government with some improvements in recent years but said that there are still serious abuses including the continued jailing of political prisoners, torture of detainees and the absence of a free press.

Both Human Rights Watch and the Boston-based Physicians for Human Rights cited the case of Fathi al-Jahmi, a prominent Libyan dissident jailed and put on trial in 2005 for giving interviews critical of Mr. Gadhafi.

Human Rights Watch said no access to Mr. al-Jahmi has been allowed since August 2006 and his family does not know if he is alive or dead.

The U.S. statement said Assistant Secretary Welch raised the al-Jahmi case with Shalgam, and that Rice said human rights is an important agenda item with Libya along with resolving the outstanding terrorism claims.

Key members of Congress are blocking funds for a new U.S. embassy in Tripoli, and also barring confirmation¹¹ of a full-fledged U.S. ambassador to Libya, until the compensation issues are settled. Spokesman McCormack said he is sure Foreign Minister Shalgam is aware of that situation.

1 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

2 renounced   

v.声明放弃( renounce的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布放弃；宣布与…决裂；宣布摒弃

参考例句：

• We have renounced the use of force to settle our disputes. 我们已再次宣布放弃使用武力来解决争端。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Andrew renounced his claim to the property. 安德鲁放弃了财产的所有权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 withheld   

withhold过去式及过去分词

参考例句：

• I withheld payment until they had fulfilled the contract. 他们履行合同后，我才付款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There was no school play because the principal withheld his consent. 由于校长没同意，学校里没有举行比赛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 normalization   

n.（normalisation）正常化，标准化

参考例句：

• The visit signalled the normalization of relations between the two countries.这次访问显示两国关系已经正常化。
• He was pleased to the normalization of relationship between the police and the people.他很高兴警方和人民之间关系的正常化。

5 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

6 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

7 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。

8 shunned   

v.避开，回避，避免( shun的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was shunned by her family when she remarried. 她再婚后家里人都躲着她。
• He was a shy man who shunned all publicity. 他是个怕羞的人，总是避开一切引人注目的活动。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 pariah   

n.被社会抛弃者

参考例句：

• Shortly Tom came upon the juvenile pariah of the village.不一会儿，汤姆碰上了村里的少年弃儿。
• His landlady had treated him like a dangerous criminal,a pariah.房东太太对待他就像对待危险的罪犯、对待社会弃儿一样。

10 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

11 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。