VOA常速英语2008年-Nigerien Conflict Draws Attention to Desert Wea

By Phuong Tran
Northern Niger
25 February 2008

In West Africa, Niger's ethnic¹ Tuareg fighters have periodically led attacks for almost two decades against the government, demanding more autonomy and a greater share of uranium mining revenues in the desert north. The Niger government has responded by cracking down on the rebels by giving the army more power to conduct security operations. Reporter Phuong Tran brings VOA this report from the rebels' mountain base in northern Niger in the first part of a five-part series.

Over the past year, Nigerien rebels have launched attacks in Niger's Air Mountains. They have taken government soldiers hostage, targeted electricity plants that supply energy to uranium mines, and seized trucks and weapons.

The violence began almost two decades ago when rebels protested mining in the mineral-rich north, home for many of the country's ethnic nomad² Tuaregs.

Mining, the Tuareg say, has damaged valuable pastoral lands; while revenues have failed to benefit local communities.

Treaties signed in Mali and Niger during the mid-1990s ended a period of open Tuareg revolt and brought a decade of relative calm to the region.

But attacks broke out again a year ago. Tuareg in Niger, apparently³ frustrated⁴ by continuing inequalities, took up arms and formed the Movement of Nigeriens for Justice, or MNJ.

Top rebel Aghaly Ag Alambo told VOA 30 years of mining has not improved life for the nomads⁵.

He says, ironically, mineral wealth has further impoverished⁶ locals. Alambo says mining is destroying the land needed for crops, animals and water. He says even if nomads accept they can no longer live off the land, the mining industry does not hire them. He says this forces ill-prepared nomads to look for work in cities.

Niger's government says it has made progress developing northern mining communities. But rebels say the changes are not enough.

Schools lack teachers and supplies, clinics have little medicine and mayors in the north say they get almost no support from the state.

Niger passed a law two years ago requiring the national government to invest 15 percent of mining profits in the northern Agadez region.

But, the Agadez community has yet to see that money.

Government spokesman Mohamed Ben Omar says the money has not yet been distributed because the government is waiting to re-negotiate the price of uranium with long-time investor⁷, French mining company Areva. He says now that a new contract has been signed, the government will share profits directly with the mining community. Though, he does not specify⁸ when.

Areva agreed last month to pay the government 50 percent more per kilo of uranium. One of the world's largest producers of nuclear energy, the company mines about 40 percent of its uranium in Niger.

In the past decade, the price of uranium has multiplied six times, driven by growing international interest in nuclear energy. Some mineral experts are calling it the new gold and say prices are only expected to increase.

For more than 30 years, France has been the only mineral investor in Niger, but late last year, the government awarded dozens of contracts to mining companies from China, India and the United States, among other countries.

But even as countries are rushing to make a profit off of Niger's natural resources, U.N. officials say another type of business may be stoking the violence in the region: international drug cartels.

Antonio Mazzitelli, director of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crimes for West Africa, says rebels may be fighting to keep government authorities out of the desert, far from lucrative⁹ smuggling¹⁰ revenue.

"The fact that the territory where the rebellions are operating is also coincidentally the territory where a number of important drug seizures¹¹ have occurred, where notably¹² a lot of contraband¹³ and smuggling take place make us think that certainly there are big economic interests related to the control of those areas," he said.

This week, the Niger government extended a six-month state of alert in the northern conflict zone, which gives the army more power to conduct security operations, patrols, search homes and carry out identity checks.

1 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。

2 nomad   

n.游牧部落的人，流浪者，游牧民

参考例句：

• He was indeed a nomad of no nationality.他的确是个无国籍的游民。
• The nomad life is rough and hazardous.游牧生活艰苦又危险。

3 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

4 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 nomads   

n.游牧部落的一员( nomad的名词复数 )；流浪者；游牧生活；流浪生活

参考例句：

• For ten years she dwelled among the nomads of North America. 她在北美游牧民中生活了十年。
• Nomads have inhabited this region for thousands of years. 游牧民族在这地区居住已有数千年了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

8 specify   

vt.指定，详细说明

参考例句：

• We should specify a time and a place for the meeting.我们应指定会议的时间和地点。
• Please specify what you will do.请你详述一下你将做什么。

9 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

10 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

11 seizures   

n.起获( seizure的名词复数 )；没收；充公；起获的赃物

参考例句：

• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year. 今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Other causes of unconsciousness predisposing to aspiration lung abscess are convulsive seizures. 造成吸入性肺脓肿昏迷的其他原因，有惊厥发作。 来自辞典例句

12 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

13 contraband   

n.违禁品，走私品

参考例句：

• Most of the city markets were flooded with contraband goods.大多数的城市市场上都充斥着走私货。
• The customs officers rummaged the ship suspected to have contraband goods.海关人员仔细搜查了一艘有走私嫌疑的海轮。