VOA标准英语2008年-US Calls for Stronger International Action on Z

By Margaret Besheer
United Nations
19 June 2008

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called for stronger international action against political repression¹ in Zimbabwe during a meeting at the U.N. Thursday. Zimbabwe has seen increasing violence and the intimidation² of opponents of President Robert Mugabe ahead of next week's runoff presidential election. From United Nation's headquarters in New York, VOA's Margaret Besheer has more.
　

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U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (r) speaks alongside Burkina Faso Foreign Minister Djibril Bassole (l) at UN headquarters in New York, 19 Jun 2008

Secretary Rice told an informal meeting of the 15 members of the Security Council, African nations and some non-governmental groups that the political instability and economic collapse created by the Zimbabwean government's actions are destabilizing the entire region. She accused the Mugabe government of orchestrating a "campaign of violence and harassment⁴" designed to prevent the country's opposition⁵ from conducting its peaceful election campaign.

"Clearly, we have reached a point where broader, stronger international effort is needed," said Rice.

She urged the Security Council to take up the matter, and she welcomed the efforts so far of the African Union and the Southern African Development Community [SADC] as well as the 14 former African presidents and dignitaries who have called for Zimbabwean authorities to allow for a free and fair runoff election on June 27.

"We urge the SADC to increase its pressure on President Mugabe and his followers⁶ to stop this violence immediately, to permit the resumption of humanitarian⁷ activities, to allow the election to proceed freely and fairly and to peacefully abide⁸ by the results," said Rice.
　

Robert Mugabe

President Mugabe has warned that he is prepared to go to war to prevent the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) candidate from governing if he succeeds in the runoff election.

Thursday's roundtable discussion was co-chaired by Burkina Faso's Foreign Minister Djibril Bassolé, who called on the international community to closely monitor the situation. He said wider involvement is necessary to prevent the violence from escalating⁹ and throwing the country into an even more serious humanitarian crisis that could reach beyond its borders.

Zimbabwe's opposition MDC party says about 70 of its supporters have been killed, and its leader and presidential candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai, has been detained at least five times this month as he tried to campaign for next Friday's vote.

Secretary Rice said the mood among countries attending the meeting was one of "extraordinary concern" and a desire to have President Mugabe hear that there is great international concern about what he is doing to his country.

The Security Council is expected to have a formal briefing on Zimbabwe next week.

1 repression   

n.镇压，抑制，抑压

参考例句：

• The repression of your true feelings is harmful to your health.压抑你的真实感情有害健康。
• This touched off a new storm against violent repression.这引起了反对暴力镇压的新风暴。

2 intimidation   

n.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
• The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。

3 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

4 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

5 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。

6 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

7 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。

8 abide   

vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受

参考例句：

• You must abide by the results of your mistakes.你必须承担你的错误所造成的后果。
• If you join the club,you have to abide by its rules.如果你参加俱乐部，你就得遵守它的规章。

9 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句