VOA标准英语2008年-Turkish PM Announces Plan to Revitalize Kurdish

By Dorian Jones
Istanbul
27 May 2008

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has unveiled the details of an ambitious $12 billion plan to re-vitalize the country's predominantly Kurdish southeast. The region has been hit hard by more than 20 years of war between the Turkish state and Kurdish insurgents¹ of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The economic plan is seen as a key part of the government's strategy to defeat the insurgency².  For VOA, Dorian Jones in Istanbul has this report.

Diyarbakir, the main city in the predominantly Kurdish southeast, was where Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced his plan to transform the region.

He says what they are announcing Tuesday is not a mere³ report or a project. It is a well-defined, scheduled and a funded action plan to remove regional differences in economic and social development, unemployment and migration⁴.

At the heart of the program is the completion of a plan to tap the region's major rivers through a series of dams.

When completed, Mr. Erdogan says the project will provide 4 million new jobs and quadruple the wealth of the local population as well as much needed water for irrigation.

Pro-Kurdish Mayor Osman Baydemir and other Kurdish politicians boycotted⁵ Mr. Erdogan's speech Tuesday. The Kurdish politicians were quoted by the Associated Press as saying the newest incentives⁶ did not go far enough, and they called for the Kurds to be recognized as an official minority with cultural protections and a level of political autonomy. Kurds constitute about 20 percent of Turkey's 70 million population.

The region has always been blighted⁷ by underdevelopment and poverty. But since the start of the Kurdish insurgency by the PKK in 1984, it has been on a further downward spiral both economically and socially. According to a local business association's figures, unemployment in most of the region is more than 50 percent.

Mr. Erdogan also said he would ease restrictions⁸ on the broadcasting of Kurdish on TV and radio. The prime minister claimed the program is a key part in their battle against the Kurdish insurgency.

Mr. Erdogan says all wounds caused by the terrorism will be healed. He said the greatest threat to terrorism is freedom and prosperity.

The announcement of the economic program will likely be welcomed by Washington, which has been pressing Ankara for economic reforms for the Kurds.  But questions remain over how effective the government's development plan will be.  In the last two decades there have been more than a dozen projects to revitalize the region, all of which observers say have failed.

Retired⁹ General Haldun Solmazturk, who spent more than a decade fighting the Kurdish insurgency, says this latest initiative could share the fate of its predecessors¹⁰.
 
"There is a weakness of state, there is a poor governance, there is huge scale corruption¹¹ throughout Turkey," he said.  "I mean, as long as this weakness of the state, as long as this poor governance persists, no plan, however comprehensive will achieve anything."

But the prime minister maybe thinking more in the short term. With his AK party facing closure by the constitutional court for undermining secularism¹², there is growing expectation of early elections next year. His AK party in last year poll scored a surprise victory in the region and, this latest program is already being seen by observers as an attempt to build on that success in any early election.

1 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

2 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

3 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

4 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

5 boycotted   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Athletes from several countries boycotted the Olympic Games. 有好几国的运动员抵制奥林匹克运动会。
• The opposition party earlier boycotted the Diet agenda, demanding Miyaji's resignation. 反对党曾杯葛国会议程，要宫路下台。

6 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

7 blighted   

adj.枯萎的，摧毁的

参考例句：

• Blighted stems often canker.有病的茎往往溃烂。
• She threw away a blighted rose.她把枯萎的玫瑰花扔掉了。

8 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

9 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

10 predecessors   

n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Will new plan be any more acceptable than its predecessors? 新计划比原先的计划更能令人满意吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 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。

12 secularism   

n.现世主义；世俗主义；宗教与教育分离论；政教分离论

参考例句：

• Unless are devoted to God, secularism shall not leave us. 除非我们奉献于神，否则凡俗之心便不会离开我们。 来自互联网
• They are no longer a huge threat to secularism. 他们已不再是民主的巨大威胁。 来自互联网