VOA常速英语2020--美国谴责马里兵变

Next, an editorial reflecting the views of the United States government.President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita of Mali was arrested on August 18 in a military mutiny.“The United States strongly condemns² the. . .mutiny in Mali as we would condemn¹ any forcible seizure³ of power,” said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a statement.While it is reported that President Keita has been released to his home, it is feared that instability in Mali could empower extremists seeking to advance their Islamist agenda in Mali and in neighboring countries and lead to the displacement⁴ of millions of civilians⁵. Indeed, after a military coup⁶ in Mali in 2012, Islamist rebels, some with ties to Al Qaeda, seized control of large areas of northern Mali, including the ancient cultural capital of Timbuktu.In areas under the control of Islamic extremists, Malians were forced to follow a strict religious code, including forced marriages for women, until French forces helped the Malian military drive out the jihadists.

接下来是一篇反映美国政府观点的社论。马里总统易卜拉欣·布巴卡尔·凯塔8月18日在一次兵变中被捕。“美国强烈谴责马里兵变，我们也谴责任何强制夺权的行为，”美国国务卿迈克·蓬佩奥在一份声明中表示。尽管有报道表示凯塔总统已获释回家，但人们担心，马里的不稳定局势可能会增强寻求在马里和邻国推行伊斯兰主义的极端分子的势力，并导致数百万平民流离失所。事实上，2012年马里发生兵变后，一些与“基地”组织有联系的伊斯兰反政府武装分子夺取了马里北部大片地区的控制权，其中包括文化古都廷巴克图。在伊斯兰极端分子控制的地区，马里人被迫遵守严格的宗教法规，包括强迫女性结婚，直到法国军队帮助马里军队赶走圣战分子才结束了这种情况。

But armed groups continue to threaten civilians in rural areas, and the violence has spread into the neighboring countries of Burkina Faso and Niger.According to press reports, more than 10,000 West Africans have died and over a million have fled their homes since 2012.U.S. Special Envoy⁷ for the Sahel Region Peter Pham made clear in a post on Twitter: The United States is not providing any training to the Malian armed forces at this time. He also tweeted that “the US opposes any extra-constitutional change of government, whether by those on the streets or by the defense⁸ and security forces.”The United States joins the Economic Community of West African States and African Union, as well as other international partners, in denouncing the mutiny in Mali.“The freedom and safety of detained government officials and their families must be ensured,” stressed Secretary Pompeo.The United States calls on all political and military actors to work towards a restoration of constitutional government. “We urge all stakeholders in Mali,” said Secretary Pompeo, “to engage in peaceful dialogue, to respect Malians’ rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, and to reject violence.”That was an editorial reflecting the views of the United States government.

但是武装组织继续威胁农村地区的民众，暴力已经蔓延到邻国布基纳法索和尼日尔。据新闻报道，自2012年以来，已有1万多西非人死亡，100多万人逃离家园。美国萨赫勒地区特使范彼得·法姆在推特上发表文章明确表示：美国目前不会向马里武装部队提供任何训练。他还在推特上表示，“美国反对任何超出宪法规定的政府更迭，无论是街头民众还是国防和安全部队进行的更迭。”美国同西非国家经济共同体和非洲联盟以及其他国际伙伴一道谴责马里兵变。国务卿蓬佩奥强调：“必须确保被拘留政府官员及其家属的自由和安全。”。美国呼吁所有有关政治和军事人员努力恢复宪政。国务卿蓬佩奥表示：“我们敦促马里的所有利益相关者进行和平对话，尊重马里人的言论自由和和平集会权利自由，并拒绝暴力。”这是一篇反映美国政府观点的社论。

1 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

2 condemns   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的第三人称单数 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• Her widowhood condemns her to a lonely old age. 守寡使她不得不过着孤独的晚年生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The public opinion condemns prostitution. 公众舆论遣责卖淫。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 seizure   

n.没收；占有；抵押

参考例句：

• The seizure of contraband is made by customs.那些走私品是被海关没收的。
• The courts ordered the seizure of all her property.法院下令查封她所有的财产。

4 displacement   

n.移置，取代，位移，排水量

参考例句：

• They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。
• The displacement of all my energy into caring for the baby.我所有精力都放在了照顾宝宝上。

5 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

6 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。

7 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

8 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。