VOA慢速英语2017 加泰罗尼亚独立运动在比利时引发紧张局势

How Catalonia’s Independence Efforts Raise Tensions in Belgium

Catalonia’s effort to separate from Spain became more complex Sunday when the former president of the region, Carles Puigdemont, surrendered to police in Belgium. Puigdemont had fled to Brussels from Spain last week.

周日，加泰罗尼亚前主席普伊德蒙特（Carles Puigdemont）向比利时警方自首，这使得该地区从西班牙寻求独立的努力变得更加复杂。上周普伊德蒙特从西班牙逃到了布鲁塞尔。

Spain ordered the arrest of Puigdemont and other Catalan leaders. They are accused of rebellion.

西班牙下令逮捕普伊德蒙特和其它加泰罗尼亚领导人，他们被指控叛乱。

As Madrid seeks to stop the drive toward Catalan independence, similar movements, such as in Scotland, are watching with interest.

马德里试图阻止加泰罗尼亚独立的发展，而苏格兰等类似分离运动都在饶有兴趣地关注着。

On the streets of Scotland’s biggest cities, Edinburgh and Glasgow, the Scottish flag has flown alongside the Catalan flag to show support for the separatists.

在苏格兰最大的城市爱丁堡和格拉斯哥的街头，苏格兰旗帜和加泰罗尼亚旗帜一起飘扬，以表明他们对分离主义分子的支持。

Sonja Coquelin, a French student, joined the protests in Edinburgh last month.

法国学生Sonja Coquelin上个月参加了爱丁堡的示威活动。

"Whether it’s the Basque Country, Catalonia, Scotland, and then going elsewhere to Palestine, to Kurdistan, they all have the right to exist as nations,” she said.

她说：“无论是巴斯克地区、加泰罗尼亚、苏格兰，还是巴勒斯坦、库尔德斯坦，它们都有权作为国家存在。”

Scotland already enjoys some autonomy from Britain. The British government approved Scotland’s plan to hold an independence vote in 2014. The Scottish people chose to remain part of Britain.

苏格兰已经享有英国政府赋予的一定程度上的自治权。2014年，英国政府批准了苏格兰举行独立公投的计划。苏格兰人们选择留在英国。

Scottish independence supporter Chris Bambery is the writer of the new book, Catalonia Reborn. He said Spain’s government should have treated Catalonia the way Britain treated Scotland.

苏格兰独立支持者克里斯·班贝里（Chris Bambery）是《加泰罗尼亚再生》一书的作者。他说，西班牙政府应该像英国对待苏格兰一样对待加泰罗尼亚。

Bamberry said the Spanish Prime Minister may have been able to dissuade¹ Catalans from seeking independence had he been more respectful of them. He said the government acted too strongly. That angered Catalans and intensified² their support for independence.

班贝里表示，西班牙首相如果更加尊重他们，可能他已经能够阻止加泰罗尼亚人寻求独立。他说西班牙政府表现过于强硬，这激怒了加泰罗尼亚人，并加剧了他们对独立的支持。

James Ker-Lindsay, a professor at St Mary’s University in London, agrees.

伦敦圣玛丽大学教授詹姆斯·克林德（James Ker-Lindsay）对此表示赞同。

“If Scotland had voted for independence, we know that Britain would have allowed it...But Spain said absolutely no way, we’re not even going to give that vote," he said.

他说：“如果苏格兰投票支持独立，我们知道英国会允许它独立。但是西班牙说这绝不可能，我们甚至不会让你们公投。”

And, he said, the international community supported Spain’s government because it did not want to deal with European problems.

他还表示，国际社会支持西班牙政府，因为它们不想处理欧洲问题。

Independence movements are taking place elsewhere in Europe. Italy, for example, saw two of its richest areas vote last month for more autonomy from Rome.

欧洲其它地区也正在搞独立运动。例如，意大利最富有的两个地区上个月投票支持从罗马获得更大自治权。

In Belgium, tensions between the Flemish-speaking north and French-speaking south also may threaten the country.

在比利时，说法兰德语的北方和说法语的南方之间的关系也可能威胁到这个国家。

Ker-Lindsay said that other movements are troubled by events in Spain. The violence following the vote, and the reaction of the international community, demonstrate the difficulty in gaining independence.

克林德表示，其它独立运动对西班牙事件感到不安。投票之后的暴力事件和国际社会的反应表明了获得独立的困难。

The European Union supported the Spanish government. However, Chris Bambery argues, history shows it is better to be sympathetic to people who seek independence.

欧盟支持西班牙政府。然而，班贝里辩称，历史证明，应该更加同情争取独立的人们。

He said, “The EU can look back in 1989 and say when the Soviet³ Union collapsed⁴, actually the Baltic states and other countries got their independence peacefully.”

他说：“欧盟可以回顾1989年苏联解体时，波罗的海国家和其它国家实现和平独立。”

Both Catalonia and Scotland are wrong to believe the EU will help them become independent, argues Ker-Lindsay. He said the EU does not have the power to decide questions of independence.

克林德认为，加泰罗尼亚和苏格兰都错误地认为欧盟将会帮助他们独立。他说，欧盟没有权力决定独立问题。

Ker-Lindsay added that the EU is already worried about the British decision to leave the EU, and the migrant crisis.

克林德补充说，欧盟已经在担心英国脱欧和移民危机。

E.U. worries may grow: The Scottish National Party is proposing to hold another independence vote after Britain leaves the EU. If it succeeds, it may inspire the Catalans to fight harder to separate.

欧盟的担忧可能会增加。苏格兰国家党建议在英国脱欧之后再次举行独立公投。如果公投成功，可能会激发加泰罗尼亚人更努力地争取独立。

I’m Jill Robbins.

And I'm Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

autonomy – n. the power or right of a country, group, etc., to govern itself

allow – v. permit

absolutely – adv. completely or totally

inspire – v. to cause someone to have a feeling or emotion

1 dissuade   

v.劝阻，阻止

参考例句：

• You'd better dissuade him from doing that.你最好劝阻他别那样干。
• I tried to dissuade her from investing her money in stocks and shares.我曾设法劝她不要投资于股票交易。

2 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。