VOA标准英语2008年-Somali Islamist Sees Clear Timetable for Ethiop

By Alisha Ryu
Nairobi
19 June 2008

Somali Islamist opposition¹ leader Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed says his group signed a U.N.-mediated peace agreement with Somalia's interim² government last week because the accord provides a specific timetable for an Ethiopian troop withdrawal³ from Somalia. As VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu reports from our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi, the pressure is now on the international community to rapidly deploy⁴ a stabilization⁵ force to make the military withdrawal possible.
　

Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed (file photo)

Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, who led the opposition Alliance for the Reliberation of Somalia delegation⁶, says the peace agreement was signed last week in Djibouti because it included a timetable for the Ethiopian military to leave Somalia.

The opposition leader says the agreement clearly states that Ethiopian troops must leave Somalia and be replaced by troops friendly to Somalia within 120 days. Ahmed says obtaining a specific timetable for withdrawal was the main purpose of entering into talks with the government.

In late 2006, neighboring Ethiopia led a U.S.-supported military campaign to oust⁷ Somali Islamists from power and to install the U.N.-backed secular⁸ transitional federal government. The move sparked an Islamist-led anti-Ethiopian, anti-government insurgency⁹, which has created what the United Nations calls the worst humanitarian¹⁰ crisis in the world.

Hardliners in Ahmed's opposition group, led by Islamist leader Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys in Asmara, Eritrea, boycotted¹¹ the talks in Djibouti. They say the accord aimed at protecting the Ethiopian occupation in Somalia.

Western observers note the timetable for an Ethiopian withdrawal depends on the deployment¹² of a U.N. stabilization force and creation of a force that is sufficient to secure the country. What would constitute a sufficient force is not spelled out in the agreement.

Supporters of Aweys and leaders of an al-Qaida-linked Somali group called the Shabab have vowed¹³ to continue fighting against Ethiopia and the Somali government. The number of insurgent¹⁴ attacks in the Somali capital Mogadishu and elsewhere have surged in the past week.

Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed says he is in talks with opponents in Asmara to find a way to implement¹⁵ a three-month cease-fire, but he says the international community needs to play its role, too, in the peace process.

Speaking to VOA on the sidelines of a three-day meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conference in Kampala, Somali Foreign Minister Ali Jama Ahmed says his government is vigorously lobbying nations to support the accord and to offer peacekeeping troops.

"We are lobbying among the OIC and all other members of the United Nations, especially the members of the Security Council, so that the Security Council authorizes¹⁶ the stabilization force as soon as possible because time is not on our side," he said.

Deploying¹⁷ a U.N. force in Somalia within the next four months may pose the biggest challenge to the international community, which is struggling to fulfill¹⁸ commitments made to a U.N.-African Union peacekeeping mission in the Darfur region of western Sudan.

Six months after the mission was launched, only a fraction of the 26,000 peacekeepers promised have been deployed¹⁹ and much-needed equipment and supplies have not yet arrived.

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 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

3 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

4 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

5 Stabilization   

稳定化

参考例句：

• The position of barycentre on plane directly impacts the stabilization and manipulation of plane. 飞机重心位置直接影响飞机的稳定和操纵特性。
• With the higher olefins, stabilization of the energetic intermediates occurs more easily. 在较高的烯烃情况下，高能的中间物稳定作用更易出现。

6 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。

7 oust   

vt.剥夺，取代，驱逐

参考例句：

• The committee wanted to oust him from the union.委员会想把他从工会中驱逐出去。
• The leaders have been ousted from power by nationalists.这些领导人被民族主义者赶下了台。

8 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

9 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

10 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

11 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。

12 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

13 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

14 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

15 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

16 authorizes   

授权，批准，委托( authorize的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The dictionary authorizes the two spellings 'traveler' and 'traveller'. 字典裁定traveler和traveller两种拼法都对。
• The dictionary authorizes the two spellings "honor" and "honour.". 字典裁定 honor 及 honour 两种拼法均可。

17 deploying   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的现在分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Provides support for developing and deploying distributed, component-based applications. 为开发和部署基于组件的分布式应用程序提供支持。
• Advertisement, publishing, repair, and install-on-demand are all available when deploying your application. 在部署应用程序时提供公布、发布、修复和即需即装功能。

18 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。

19 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。