Libyan Foreign Minister Abdel-Rahman Shalgam met Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other officials Thursday in a meeting underlining an improving bilateral relationship. The U.S. side raised human rights cases and lingering compensation issues stemming from Libya's past involvement in terrorism.
利比亚外长阿卜杜-拉赫曼.沙勒格姆星期四同美国国务卿赖斯和其他美国官员举行了会晤。这次会晤凸显双边关系正在逐渐改善。美方提出了人权问题以及与利比亚过去卷入恐怖活动有关的赔偿问题。
Rice has met her Libyan counterpart twice before on the sidelines of U.N. meetings in New York. But the State Department visit by Shalgam was the first by a Libyan foreign minister in 36 years, and reflected a relationship that has improved markedly since Libya renounced weapons of mass destruction and accepted responsibility for acts of terrorism.
国务卿赖斯过去曾经在纽约联合国会议期间两次会见利比亚外长。但是沙勒格姆这次到国务院访问却是过去36年以来利比亚外长首次进行类似访问。这反映了自从利比亚宣布取缔大规模杀伤性武器并且对过去的恐怖行为承担责任之后，两国之间显著改善了关系。
The Libyan minister spent about an hour with Rice and had separate meetings with Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicolas Burns and Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch.
利比亚外长与赖斯国务卿之间的会晤进行了大约1小时。此外，他还会见了负责政治事务的国务次卿伯恩斯以及近东事务助理国务卿大卫.韦尔奇。
There was no press event with Rice and Shalgam. A written statement from State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack said in each of the meetings, the U.S. side underlined the importance of resolving outstanding terrorism-related claims against the Libyan government while expressing concern about Libya's human rights record.
赖斯与沙勒格姆会晤之后，双方都没有举行新闻发布会。国务院发言人麦科马克的一份书面声明表示，在所有上述会晤当中，美方在对利比亚人权记录表达关注的同时，强调了解决和恐怖主义活动有关的赔偿问题的重要性。
Libya in 2003 accepted responsibility for the 1988 bombing of a U.S. Pan Am jumbo jet over Scotland that killed 270 people, and agreed to pay $10 million compensation to families of each victim.
利比亚在2003年承认对1988年在苏格兰上空一架美国泛美航空公司民航飞机被炸毁负有责任。那次事件中有270人丧生。利比亚同意给每位受难者的家属赔偿1000万美金。
However Libya has withheld a final $2 million per-family payment in a technical dispute, drawing Congressional criticism and prompting Rice to put off a visit to Libya that had been planned for last autumn to complete the diplomatic normalization process begun in 2004.
但是在实际操作当中，由于技术问题上的争执，利比亚没有给每一位受难者家属支付赔偿金当中的最后200万美元。美国国会对利比亚提出了批评，赖斯也推迟了本来要在去年秋天对利比亚进行的访问。那次访问的目的是完成双方自2004年开始启动的恢复关系正常化进程。
In a talk with reporters, McCormack said Rice still intends to go to Libya but that the timing depends on Libyan actions.
国务院发言人麦科马克在与媒体会面的时候表示，赖斯目前仍然计划前往利比亚，但是具体的时间要看利比亚的表现。
"She'll go when she thinks the timing is right," he said. "I'm not going to tie her hands in terms of setting out specific conditions. She'll make a judgment based on where we stand in terms of the changing relationship and she'll decide when the timing is right to go to Libya. She does intend to. She looks forward to going there."
他说：“赖斯国务卿将在她认为时机恰当的时候去，我不会在这里设定具体条件来束缚她的手脚。她将根据双边不断改变的关系来做出判断，决定什么时候访问利比亚。她确实有这样的计划，并且也期待能够成行。”
Libya's international political rehabilitation since 2003 was capped this week when it officially joined the U.N. Security Council and became its rotating chairman for January. Officials here say Shalgam discussed Security Council, North African and Middle East issues with the State Department team.
利比亚本星期正式加入联合国安理会，并且成为1月份的轮值主席国。这是利比亚2003年以来致力于修复国际形像的努力取得的收效。有关官员表示，沙勒格姆与美国国务院官员讨论了有关安理会、北非以及中东的问题。
Speaking here at a signing ceremony for a U.S.-Libyan science and technology agreement, Shalgam said Libya - once shunned by Washington as a pariah state - can cooperate with the United States to combat terrorism and help bring peace in regional trouble spots such as Sudan's Darfur region which borders Libya.
利比亚一度是美国拒绝与之打交道的国家。这次，沙勒格姆在一个双边科技协议的签字仪式上表示，利比亚能够在抗击恐怖主义以及在包括与利比亚接壤的苏丹达尔富尔等区域问题上与美国合作，协助解决这些问题。
"I think we can do, together, something for peace, especially regarding the issue of Darfur," said Abdel-Rahman Shalgam. "Also, this phenomenon of terrorism in our region and other regions of the world, we can do something. Also to help stability and development, especially in Africa and the Mediterranean region."
沙勒格姆说：“我认为，我们可以一起来为和平而努力，尤其是在有关达尔富尔问题上。此外，在我们所处的地区间以及在世界其他地方的恐怖主义问题上，我们也能有所作为。我们同时也能在涉及非洲和地中海地区的稳定和发展方面尽一些力。”
In advance of the Rice-Shalgam meeting, human rights groups appealed to the State Department to press the issue with the Libyans.
在赖斯与沙勒格姆会晤之前，人权组织呼吁国务院方面向利比亚提出人权问题。
The New York-based Human Rights Watch credited the Muammar Gadhafi government with some improvements in recent years but said that there are still serious abuses including the continued jailing of political prisoners, torture of detainees and the absence of a free press.
总部在纽约的人权观察表示，卡扎菲领导下的利比亚近年来在人权问题上有一些进步，但是还存在著很严重的问题，包括继续对政治犯进行关押、对逮捕的人施行酷刑、没有新闻自由等等。
Both Human Rights Watch and the Boston-based Physicians for Human Rights cited the case of Fathi al-Jahmi, a prominent Libyan dissident jailed and put on trial in 2005 for giving interviews critical of Mr. Gadhafi.
人权观察以及总部设在波士顿的医生捍卫人权组织都特别提到了在采访当中对卡扎菲提出批评的利比亚著名异义人士法特希.阿尔-加赫米被关押、然后又在2005年被审判一案。
Human Rights Watch said no access to Mr. al-Jahmi has been allowed since August 2006 and his family does not know if he is alive or dead.
人权观察表示，自从2006年8月以来，就一直不允许外界与法特希有任何接触，他的家人甚至不知道他是否还在世。
The U.S. statement said Assistant Secretary Welch raised the al-Jahmi case with Shalgam, and that Rice said human rights is an important agenda item with Libya along with resolving the outstanding terrorism claims.
美方的声明表示，助理国务卿韦尔奇向沙勒格姆提出了法特希一案。赖斯也表示，人权问题、以及那些尚未解决的与恐怖主义活动有关的赔偿问题都很重要。
Key members of Congress are blocking funds for a new U.S. embassy in Tripoli, and also barring confirmation of a full-fledged U.S. ambassador to Libya, until the compensation issues are settled. Spokesman McCormack said he is sure Foreign Minister Shalgam is aware of that situation.
美国国会中一些举足轻重的议员决定在赔偿金问题解决之前不拨款给美国政府在利比亚首都的黎波里设置新的使馆，并且拒绝通过向利比亚派遣全权大使的提名。国务院发言人麦科马克表示，相信沙勒格姆一定了解上述情况。 |