VOA标准英语 New Zealand says Fiji Economy Near Collapse as Milit

Fiji's military ruler accuses judges of trying to force him to call elections. But since the judiciary was dismissed and the constitution was scrapped² by the government last week, the country's weak economy has suffered more.
　
Fiji's military chief Commodore Bainimarama being sworn in as interim³ PM during ceremony in Suva, 11 Apr 2009

In his first interview with foreign media since a state of emergency was imposed last week, Fiji's armed forces chief Commodore Frank Bainimarama indicated that the three Court of Appeal judges who ruled against him were biased⁴ against his government.

Military chief dismisses judiciary

The court ruled that his 2006 power grab was illegal, prompting Fiji's president, a close ally of Commodore Bainimarama, to scrap¹ the constitution and dismiss the entire judiciary.

This allowed for the return of the military administration, which is now in a far more powerful position than it has been since it ousted⁵ an elected prime minister in December 2006.

No press freedom

The media is being censored⁶, foreign correspondents deported⁷, and critics of Commodore Bainimarama have been arrested or dismissed from their positions. The military has seized control of Fiji's Reserve Bank and has devalued the Fijian dollar by 20 percent in an attempt to boost exports and help an ailing⁸ economy.

Tough exchange controls have also been imposed to prevent money from flowing out of the country.

Key tourism, clothing and sugar cane⁹ industries are sliding into reverse as the political turmoil¹⁰ hits the Fijian economy.

Situation causing concern

New Zealand's Foreign Minister Murray McCully calls the situation troubling.

"The fact that the military have acted in this way, particularly around the Reserve Bank, shows that they have little understanding of the complexity¹¹ of that situation and of the damage they could do. ... We cannot stop the Fijian Government from wrecking¹² their economy if they are hell-bent on doing so and it appears that they may well be hell-bent on doing so," said McCully.

New Zealand and Australia have urged Fiji's military to hold elections, demands that Commodore Bainimarama has ignored.

Why was government overthrown¹³?

Bainimarama, a former United Nations peacekeeper, says he was obliged to depose¹⁴ the democratic government because it was racist¹⁵ and corrupt¹⁶. The military says elections will be held when electoral and political reforms have been completed, although no timetable has been given.

After abandoning the constitution and reinstating the military, President Ratu Josefa Iloilo said Commodore Bainimarama would serve as interim prime minister for the next five years.

The coup¹⁷ in 2006 was Fiji's fourth in 20 years. Analysts¹⁸ say the root of the country's political instability is tension between indigenous¹⁹ Fijians, who make up about 55 percent of the population, and ethnic²⁰ Indians who were originally brought to the country as laborers²¹ in the 19th Century by colonial power Britain.

1 scrap   

n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废

参考例句：

• A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
• Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

2 scrapped   

废弃(scrap的过去式与过去分词)； 打架

参考例句：

• This machine is so old that it will soon have to be scrapped. 这架机器太旧，快报废了。
• It had been thought that passport controls would be scrapped. 人们曾认为会放开护照管制。

3 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。

4 biased   

a.有偏见的

参考例句：

• a school biased towards music and art 一所偏重音乐和艺术的学校
• The Methods: They employed were heavily biased in the gentry's favour. 他们采用的方法严重偏袒中上阶级。

5 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

6 censored   

受审查的，被删剪的

参考例句：

• The news reports had been heavily censored . 这些新闻报道已被大幅删剪。
• The military-backed government has heavily censored the news. 有军方撑腰的政府对新闻进行了严格审查。

7 deported   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的过去式和过去分词 )；举止

参考例句：

• They stripped me of my citizenship and deported me. 他们剥夺我的公民资格，将我驱逐出境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The convicts were deported to a deserted island. 罪犯们被流放到一个荒岛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 ailing   

v.生病

参考例句：

• They discussed the problems ailing the steel industry. 他们讨论了困扰钢铁工业的问题。
• She looked after her ailing father. 她照顾有病的父亲。

9 cane   

n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的

参考例句：

• This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
• English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。

10 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

11 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

12 wrecking   

破坏

参考例句：

• He teed off on his son for wrecking the car. 他严厉训斥他儿子毁坏了汽车。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Instead of wrecking the valley, the waters are put to use making electricity. 现在河水不但不在流域内肆疟，反而被人们用来生产电力。 来自辞典例句

13 overthrown   

adj. 打翻的，推倒的，倾覆的 动词overthrow的过去分词

参考例句：

• The president was overthrown in a military coup. 总统在军事政变中被赶下台。
• He has overthrown the basic standards of morality. 他已摒弃了基本的道德标准。

14 depose   

vt.免职；宣誓作证

参考例句：

• The witness is going to depose.证人即将宣誓做证。
• The emperor attempted to depose the Pope.皇帝企图废黜教皇。

15 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

16 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

17 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

18 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

19 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

20 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

21 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言