VOA常速英语2008年-Kenya Opposition Warns of Renewed Protests

By Derek Kilner
Nairobi
20 February 2008

Kenya's opposition¹ has said it will launch another round of demonstrations² if mediation³ efforts fail to resolve a political crisis in the next week.  The government and opposition have failed to agree on an acceptable power-sharing arrangement.  Derek Kilner reports from Nairobi.

The opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) has called for the creation of an office of prime minister, along with a Cabinet divided evenly between the government and opposition.

President Mwai Kibaki has said he is willing to accept some level of opposition representation in the Cabinet.  But he says any political solution must follow Kenya's constitution, which would not allow for a prime minister.

The opposition says parliament should be convened⁴ to amend⁵ the constitution to allow such changes.  ODM Secretary General Anyang' Nyong'o says there is a precedent⁶ for such action.

"Every political crisis in this country has always been settled through a constitutional amendment," he said.  "So now to say that this particular crisis has to be settled within the confines of the present constitution is actually being naughty."

Both parties have agreed on the need for a more thorough constitutional review to be undertaken in the coming year.

Nyong'o says that if the government continues to reject constitutional changes in the short term, the Orange Democratic Movement will resort to popular demonstrations.

While the Orange Democratic Movement has said the protests will be peaceful, many fear that, regardless of the intentions of the organizers, mass demonstrations will lead to renewed violence.

Nyong'o maintains that the main threat of violence comes from the police response, rather than the protesters.

"If people demonstrate peacefully as they always do and the police do not shoot them, as they did last time, nobody will die," he said.

Human rights organizations have criticized police for firing on demonstrators last month.

Political violence set off by a disputed presidential election on December 27 has left more than 1,000 people dead and displaced about 600,000.  Much of the violence has occurred along ethnic⁷ lines.

The country has returned to relative calm in the past two weeks, as former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan leads a mediation effort in Nairobi.  Those talks continue.

Annan has urged the sides to reach a power-sharing agreement, as has U.S. President George Bush.

While Annan said last week that the sides were close to a political agreement, there has since been little indication of progress in the talks.

1 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。

2 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

3 mediation   

n.调解

参考例句：

• The dispute was settled by mediation of the third country. 这场争端通过第三国的斡旋而得以解决。
• The dispute was settled by mediation. 经调解使争端得以解决。

4 convened   

召开( convene的过去式 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合

参考例句：

• The chairman convened the committee to put the issue to a vote. 主席召集委员们开会对这个问题进行表决。
• The governor convened his troops to put down the revolt. 总督召集他的部队去镇压叛乱。

5 amend   

vt.修改，修订，改进；n.[pl.]赔罪，赔偿

参考例句：

• The teacher advised him to amend his way of living.老师劝他改变生活方式。
• You must amend your pronunciation.你必须改正你的发音。

6 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

7 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。