VOA标准英语2010年-Political Instability, Economic Woes F

Uzbek refugees seen near the eastern Uzbek city of Andijon while waiting to cross the border into Uzbekistan, 14 Jun 2010

Kyrgyzstan and its neighbors have long been buffeted¹ by ethnic² tensions, but political and social factors also have played a role in promoting the recent violence.

Many ethnic Uzbeks in the southern Kyrgyzstan city of Osh, the scene of the heaviest violence, are reported to have barricaded³ themselves for fear of fresh attacks by their ethnic Kyrgyz neighbors. 

Real blame

But who is to blame for the ethnic clashes? 

The origins are murky⁴, but reports point to a fist fight between some Kyrgyz and Uzbeks.  The U.N. High Commissioner⁵ for Human Rights says the clashes appear to have been well-organized, fueling suspicions about the possible role of former President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who was toppled in April and is now living in Belarus.  He has denied involvement.

But Lauren Goodrich, senior Eurasia analyst⁶ at the private intelligence firm STRATFOR, says the real blame goes to the late Soviet⁷ dictator Josef Stalin.

"The ethnic tension became especially fierce after 1924," said Goodrich. "That's when Stalin drew the lines and divided up the most important territory in all of Central Asia [Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan] between three different ethnic groups.  That was unheard of.  And it was a formula that Stalin had created just to create ethnic tension in order to prevent any one power from ever rising in Central Asia."

But Thomas Wood, a Eurasia specialist at the University of South Carolina at Aiken, says that although there have been ethnic tensions among groups, they largely have been dormant⁸.  He points out that until recently, relations have been relatively⁹ calm between native Kyrgyz and ethnic Uzbeks.  But Wood says that years of corruption¹⁰, government mismanagement and economic upheaval¹¹ contributed to the outbreak of interethnic violence.

"At the top of my list would be weakening state capacity, an interim¹² government that is in control of institutions that have been hollowed out, decades of governance in which political elites¹³ have basically stolen everything that wasn't bolted down," he said.  "And all of this has just snowballed.  And so I think we have to be cautious of the interethnic hatred¹⁴ explanation, very cautious, because we've had 20 years - by and large, not perfect - but 20 years of reasonable stability."

 

Regional crisis

But ethnic Uzbeks who live in Kyrgyzstan were the target of the latest violence.  And that, says Lauren Goodrich, turned ethnic clashes into a regional crisis as neighboring Uzbekistan moved troops to the border.

"After Uzbekistan began to move troops, Kyrgyzstan, or the Kyrgyz government, the interim government, became increasingly worried that Uzbekistan was about to invade," she said.  "I mean, when you see a few thousand Uzbek troops, who are very well trained, move to the border in the southern region where there is not a lot of Kyrgyz military, I would be worried too." 

"And that's when Kyrgyzstan started calling on Russia to get involved.  And then Uzbekistan thought, 'Okay, this was all set up by Russia in order to combat Uzbekistan.'  So it's pretty much a war of paranoias, almost, that's going on between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan," she added.

The Soviet Union sent troops to quell¹⁵ the last major outbreak of interethnic unrest in 1990.  But Russia has been reluctant to dispatch troops unilaterally or through the Collective Security Treaty Organization - a grouping of former Soviet states - in response to the current situation.

Sentiment against neighbors

Thomas Wood says Uzbekistan has exploited sentiment against its regional neighbors since it became independent in 1991.

"It has gone down the road of a form of ultranationalism where important to this nationalism was secure borders and border fences," he said. "And the regime tended to play up the idea of disorder¹⁶ and threats on the other side of the border that therefore reinforced their own legitimacy¹⁷ and right to rule."

The Kyrgyz interim government, which most analysts¹⁸ note is weak, is expected to hold a constitutional referendum on June 27, with parliamentary elections to be held sometime thereafter.  The government insists this month's vote will be held as scheduled.  But many analysts are skeptical¹⁹ that a shaky interim government will be able to organize a credible²⁰ referendum in such a tense climate.

 

1 buffeted   

反复敲打( buffet的过去式和过去分词 )； 连续猛击； 打来打去； 推来搡去

参考例句：

• to be buffeted by the wind 被风吹得左右摇摆
• We were buffeted by the wind and the rain. 我们遭到风雨的袭击。

2 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。

3 barricaded   

设路障于，以障碍物阻塞( barricade的过去式和过去分词 )； 设路障[防御工事]保卫或固守

参考例句：

• The police barricaded the entrance. 警方在入口处设置了路障。
• The doors had been barricaded. 门都被堵住了。

4 murky   

adj.黑暗的，朦胧的；adv.阴暗地，混浊地；n.阴暗；昏暗

参考例句：

• She threw it into the river's murky depths.她把它扔进了混浊的河水深处。
• She had a decidedly murky past.她的历史背景令人捉摸不透。

5 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

6 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

7 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

8 dormant   

adj.暂停活动的；休眠的；潜伏的

参考例句：

• Many animals are in a dormant state during winter.在冬天许多动物都处于睡眠状态。
• This dormant volcano suddenly fired up.这座休眠火山突然爆发了。

9 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

10 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。

11 upheaval   

n.胀起，(地壳)的隆起；剧变，动乱

参考例句：

• It was faced with the greatest social upheaval since World War Ⅱ.它面临第二次世界大战以来最大的社会动乱。
• The country has been thrown into an upheaval.这个国家已经陷入动乱之中。

12 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。

13 elites   

精华( elite的名词复数 )； 精锐； 上层集团； （统称）掌权人物

参考例句：

• The elites are by their nature a factor contributing to underdevelopment. 这些上层人物天生是助长欠发达的因素。
• Elites always detest gifted and nimble outsiders. 社会名流对天赋聪明、多才多艺的局外人一向嫌恶。

14 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

15 quell   

v.压制，平息，减轻

参考例句：

• Soldiers were sent in to quell the riots.士兵们被派去平息骚乱。
• The armed force had to be called out to quell violence.不得不出动军队来镇压暴力行动。

16 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

17 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

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 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

20 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？