VOA常速英语2008年-International Diplomats Seek Solution in Secess

By Scott Bobb
Nairobi
26 February 2008

A team of international diplomats¹ has flown to a rebel island of the Comoros to try to avoid a military intervention² by the central government.  VOA's Scott Bobb reports from Nairobi the delegation³ is to meet with leaders on the island of Anjouan who are seeking to secede⁴.

The spokesman for the Comoros government, Foreign Minister Abdurahman Said Bakar, tells VOA that the purpose of the mission is to persuade Colonel Mohamed Bacar to relinquish⁵ power so elections can be organized on the island of Anjouan.

"We will never accept that a part of the country will secede," Abdurahman said. "Therefore either we manage to do it peacefully if they agree.  Otherwise the other alternative is to move in militarily to restore the authority of the union in the island."

He said the delegation, which reportedly includes representatives of the African Union and the French and U.S. embassies in Comoros, is proposing new internationally monitored elections.

Six years ago, Mohamed Bacar was elected president of Anjouan, one of four main islands that make up the Comoros federation⁶.  Comoros, with a population of 700,000,  is an archipelago lying between Madagascar and the Mozambican coast.

Bacar was re-elected president last year in a vote that the central government does not recognize.  He wants independence for the island, but the African Union views it as secession and has imposed sanctions.  The African Union says it supports military intervention if negotiations⁷ do not succeed.

About 1,200 African troops, spearheaded by Tanzanian forces, have mustered⁸ on a nearby island and the Comoros government has hired Ukrainian helicopters to support them.

A political analyst⁹ in Nairobi, Agina Ojwang, says the problem involves yet another small nation with few resources.

"The case of Comoros is that of a state with a very weak state apparatus¹⁰, what nowadays we call the failing state," Ojwang said.

But he said the Comoros lies in a strategic area of the Indian Ocean not far from the island of Diego Garcia, which is British but has a U.S. military base.  He says there are worries that if such mini-states split, they could come under the influence of foreign elements that might seek to use them for military operations.

He said the solution is to institutionalize democracy and strengthen the delivery of public services to all the islands in the archipelago.

1 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

3 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

4 secede   

v.退出，脱离

参考例句：

• They plotted to make the whole Mississippi Valley secede from the United States.他们阴谋策划使整个密西西比流域脱离美国。
• We won't allow Tibet to secede from China and become an independent nation.我们决不允许西藏脱离中国独立。

5 relinquish   

v.放弃，撤回，让与，放手

参考例句：

• He was forced to relinquish control of the company.他被迫放弃公司的掌控权。
• They will never voluntarily relinquish their independence.他们绝对不会自动放弃独立。

6 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

7 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

8 mustered   

v.集合，召集，集结（尤指部队）( muster的过去式和过去分词 )；（自他人处）搜集某事物；聚集；激发

参考例句：

• We mustered what support we could for the plan. 我们极尽所能为这项计划寻求支持。
• The troops mustered on the square. 部队已在广场上集合。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

10 apparatus   

n.装置，器械；器具，设备

参考例句：

• The school's audio apparatus includes films and records.学校的视听设备包括放映机和录音机。
• They had a very refined apparatus.他们有一套非常精良的设备。