VOA常速英语2008年-Ugandan Government, Rebels Take Step toward Pea

By Derek Kilner
Nairobi
23 February 2008

Peace negotiators for the Lord's Resistance Army rebel group and Uganda's government have taken another step forward with the signing of a cease-fire agreement. Negotiators say a final peace deal to end the two-decade conflict could be reached within days. Derek Kilner reports from Nairobi.

The cease-fire will make permanent an earlier cessation of hostilities¹ agreement signed in mid² 2006. It will take effect 24 hours after the final peace accord is signed.
 
The announcement followed agreements reached on Friday between the government and rebels, known as the LRA, on ensuring fair representation of northern Uganda in government and military positions, and on a strategy for rehabilitating³ the war-wracked northern region.  Earlier this week, the two sides agreed to try rebels accused of crimes inside Uganda rather than at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Netherlands.

On Thursday, the rebels walked out of the talks in Juba, the capital of Sudan's semi-autonomous southern region. But the chief mediator⁴, southern Sudanese vice⁵ president Riek Machar, convinced the rebels to return to the table.

The agreement on representation in the government includes far fewer guarantees than the LRA was demanding. Nevertheless, the lead negotiator for the LRA, David Matsanga, hailed the agreement.

"Today this is a landmark⁶ towards peace in our country," he said.  "Our people have yearned⁷ for that peace for the last 22 years."

The agreement for a cease-fire means the only outstanding item is how rebel soldiers will be demobilized, an issue expected to be resolved quickly.

The war in northern Uganda killed tens of thousands of people and displaced another 2 million between 1986 and 2006.

Some human rights organizations have criticized the peace talks, because LRA leaders will likely be tried in Uganda rather than at the International Criminal Court. The international body has issued arrest warrants for LRA leader Joseph Kony and his top deputies for crimes, including amputating limbs and forcibly recruiting child soldiers.

1 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。

2 mid   

adj.中央的，中间的

参考例句：

• Our mid-term exam is pending.我们就要期中考试了。
• He switched over to teaching in mid-career.他在而立之年转入教学工作。

3 rehabilitating   

改造（罪犯等）( rehabilitate的现在分词 )； 使恢复正常生活； 使恢复原状； 修复

参考例句：

• a unit for rehabilitating drug addicts 帮助吸毒者恢复正常生活的机构
• She was more concerned about protecting the public than rehabilitating the criminal. 她比较关心保护百姓，而不大关心改造罪犯。

4 mediator   

n.调解人，中介人

参考例句：

• He always takes the role of a mediator in any dispute.他总是在争论中充当调停人的角色。
• He will appear in the role of mediator.他将出演调停者。

5 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

6 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

7 yearned   

渴望，切盼，向往( yearn的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The people yearned for peace. 人民渴望和平。
• She yearned to go back to the south. 她渴望回到南方去。