VOA常速英语2008年-Thai Military Leaders Say They Failed to Achiev

By Luis Ramirez
Bangkok
07 February 2008

Military leaders who staged a 2006 coup¹ in Thailand say they failed to achieve their goals after sending former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra into exile. VOA's Luis Ramirez reports from Bangkok.

Military leaders say the military government - known officially as the Council for National Security - is dissolved. Wednesday, Thailand installed its first democratically elected cabinet since the 2006 coup.

Air force chief Chalit Pukbhasuk said the council was not able to achieve 100 percent of its goals during the 15 months it was in power. Among those goals was erasing² the political influence of ousted³ Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. He was forced out after months of public protests in which opponents accused him of corruption⁴ and cronyism⁵.

The military-backed interim⁶ government dissolved his Thai Rak Thai party and banned Mr. Thaksin and more than 100 of his allies from politics for five years. Those who were not banned regrouped in the new People Power Party and other parties and won the largest number of parliamentary seats in elections last December.

The return to democracy prompted Washington's decision this week to lift sanctions imposed on after the coup. Speaking in Bangkok, U.S. Ambassador to Thailand Eric John said the United States looks forward to resuming full ties with Thailand, which he said remains⁷ a democratic nation at its core - despite the coup.

"I think that what we have seen before the coup and for many decades is that Thais are strong supporters of democracy," he said. "That if you interview, if you meet with any Thai, they are strong supporters of democracy, strong supporters of capitalism⁸. And I think that if you look at the vote, I think Thais - the number of people who voted - I think Thais eagerly embraced a return to democracy."

Many Thais supported the coup in 2006, hoping it would rid the country of widespread corruption and political favoritism. But voters interviewed at the polls in December indicated they had lost patience with the military-backed government, saying it failed to end corruption or fix the stagnant⁹ economy.

The new prime minister, Samak Sundaravej, helped win votes for his party by calling for the return and exoneration¹⁰ of Thaksin Shinawatra - who remains popular among the poor thanks to his poverty-alleviation programs. Recently Mr. Samak has insisted he is no puppet of Mr. Thaksin and can govern the country on his own.

Newspapers in Bangkok quote Mr. Samak as saying he will fulfill¹¹ his campaign promises to reinstate those who were banned from politics - but only at the end of his term.

1 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

2 erasing   

v.擦掉( erase的现在分词 )；抹去；清除

参考例句：

• He was like a sponge, erasing the past, soaking up the future. 他象一块海绵，挤出过去，吸进未来。 来自辞典例句
• Suddenly, fear overtook longing, erasing memories. 突然，恐惧淹没了渴望，泯灭了回忆。 来自辞典例句

3 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

4 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

5 cronyism   

n.任人唯亲，对好朋友的偏袒

参考例句：

• Many small town mayor and city official practice cronyism.许多小镇的市长和大城市的官员都有任人唯亲的行为。
• Bringing business people into politics can also produce corruption and cronyism.商人从政也容易带来腐败和任人唯亲。

6 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

7 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。

8 capitalism   

n.资本主义

参考例句：

• The essence of his argument is that capitalism cannot succeed.他的论点的核心是资本主义不能成功。
• Capitalism began to develop in Russia in the 19th century.十九世纪资本主义在俄国开始发展。

9 stagnant   

adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的

参考例句：

• Due to low investment,industrial output has remained stagnant.由于投资少，工业生产一直停滞不前。
• Their national economy is stagnant.他们的国家经济停滞不前。

10 exoneration   

n.免罪，免除

参考例句：

• Empathy for the criminal's childhood misery does not imply exoneration of the crimes he committed as an adult. 对罪犯悲惨的童年表示怜悯不等于可以免除他长大成人后所犯的罪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Exoneration or rehabilitation should be made known as widely as were the original wrong decisions. 原来在什么范围内弄错的，也应该在什么范围内宣布平反。 来自互联网

11 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。