VOA标准英语2008年-US Expands Sanctions Against 'Illegitimate' Zim

President Bush Friday ordered expanded U.S. sanctions against what he termed the "illegitimate" government of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe. At the same time, the United States is offering the country aid if there is a negotiated end to the country's political conflict. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

The Bush administration had promised to tighten¹ unilateral U.S. sanctions against Zimbabwe after a draft U.N. Security Council resolution for international sanctions was vetoed earlier this month by Russia and China.

An announcement from the U.S. Treasury² Department said 17 Zimbabwean commercial entities³ and one individual, an Omani businessman with close ties to President Mugabe, are being added to a U.S. sanction list that already includes among others, Mr. Mugabe, his wife, and key associates.

Several government-owned or controlled companies are on the new list including the Minerals Marketing⁴ Corporation of Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation and the Agriculture Development Bank of Zimbabwe.

The Treasury Department said Mr. Mugabe, senior officials and cronies had used the entities to illegally siphon cash and foreign exchange from the Zimbabwean people.

Treasury officials said the Omani national, Thamer Bin⁵ Saeed Al-Shafari and a company he owns - Oryx National Resources - had enabled Mr. Mugabe and senior officials to derive⁶ personal benefit from mining ventures in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In a White House statement, President Bush said the action against what he termed the "illegitimate" Mugabe government is a direct result of its continued politically-motivated violence despite international appeals, and its continued ban on activity by non-governmental aid groups that could help the country's "suffering and vulnerable" people.

Mr. Bush said no regime should ignore the will of its own people and calls from the international community without consequence.

But the U.S. administration also took note of efforts begun this week among Mr. Mugabe and his political rivals, including opposition⁷ leader Morgan Tsvangirai, to negotiate an end to the political conflict spawned⁸ by the disputed presidential run-off election in June.

State Department Acting⁹ Spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos, echoing earlier White House remarks, said the United States would be ready to come to the assistance of a Zimbabwean coalition¹⁰ government:

"Should ongoing¹¹ talks in South Africa between Mugabe's regime and the Movement for Democratic Change result in a new government that reflects the will of the Zimbabwean people, we stand ready to provide a substantial assistance package, development aid, and normalization¹² with international financial institutions," he said.

Gallegos said the Bush administration in the meantime is continuing humanitarian¹³ aid to Zimbabwe, authorizing¹⁴ another two and a half million dollars in emergency funds to assist Zimbabweans displaced by ongoing political violence.

U.S. food and health assistance will also continue.

The steps by the Bush administration followed a similar broadening of Zimbabwe sanctions by the European Union, which announced Tuesday its is adding 37 new individuals and companies to an existing list of more than 130.

The Treasury Department sanctions imposed Friday freeze any assets the Zimbabwean firms may have in financial institutions under U.S. jurisdiction¹⁵. Additionally, U.S. citizens are prohibited from conducting any business with them.

 

1 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

2 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

3 entities   

实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

4 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

5 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

6 derive   

v.取得；导出；引申；来自；源自；出自

参考例句：

• We derive our sustenance from the land.我们从土地获取食物。
• We shall derive much benefit from reading good novels.我们将从优秀小说中获得很大好处。

7 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。

8 spawned   

（鱼、蛙等）大量产（卵）( spawn的过去式和过去分词 )； 大量生产

参考例句：

• The band's album spawned a string of hit singles. 这支乐队的专辑繁衍出一连串走红的单曲唱片。
• The computer industry has spawned a lot of new companies. 由于电脑工业的发展，许多新公司纷纷成立。

9 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

10 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

11 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

12 normalization   

n.（normalisation）正常化，标准化

参考例句：

• The visit signalled the normalization of relations between the two countries.这次访问显示两国关系已经正常化。
• He was pleased to the normalization of relationship between the police and the people.他很高兴警方和人民之间关系的正常化。

13 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。

14 authorizing   

授权，批准，委托( authorize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Letters of Marque: Take letters from a warning friendly power authorizing privateering. 私掠许可证：从某一个国家获得合法抢劫的证书。
• Formal phavee completion does not include authorizing the subsequent phavee. 阶段的正式完成不包括核准随后的阶段。

15 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。