VOA慢速英语2020--白俄罗斯罢工领导人被拘留

Strike Leader Detained in Belarus

Officials in Belarus detained the organizer of a strike at a major factory on Monday. The move is part of government efforts to suppress weeks of demonstrations². Protesters are demanding the resignation of President Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus for 26 years.

Lukashenko has dismissed the protesters as Western puppets and rejected European Union offers to help settle the political crisis. Government officials say Lukashenko won re-election in presidential elections on August 9. Opposition³ leaders reject the election results arguing that Lukashenko and his supporters cheated. The E.U. and the United States also criticized the election as neither free nor fair.

After launching a fierce operation on protesters in the first days after the vote, the government has sought to end the demonstrations with threats and the jailing of some activists⁴.

Police on Monday detained Anatoly Bokun, who leads the strike committee at Belaruskali, a huge fertilizer factory in Soligorsk. He is facing a 15-day jail sentence on charges of organizing an unofficial protest.

The factory, a big money maker⁵ for Belarus, produces a fifth of the world's potash fertilizer.

The Belaruskali strike committee said officials had halted a two-week long strike at the factory and that all its potash mines are now working. Gleb Sandras, a spokesman for the group, said that agents of Belarus' State Security Committee had pressured workers to end the labor⁶ action.

Strikes at Belaruskali and other industrial centers have created problems for Lukashenko, who has kept most of the economy under government control. He depends on workers as his main base of support.

Belarus Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Nazarov confirmed Monday that the strikes caused a problem, but added that all major industrial centers are operating normally.

Bokun's detention⁷ follows the arrests last week of strike leaders at two other industrial plants in the capital, Minsk. The organizer of a strike at the Grodno Azot, a major producer of nitrogen fertilizers, fled to neighboring Poland to avoid detention.

Seeking to limit the protests, the Belarusian government has opened a criminal investigation⁸ of the opposition Coordination⁹ Council. Government lawyers have accused its members of harming the country's security. Last week, Belarusian courts gave 10-day jail sentences to two council members and ordered several others to appear for questioning. Among them is Svetlana Alexievich, winner of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature.

The European Union and United States have urged Belarusian officials to open talks with the opposition. Lukashenko has rejected the idea.

In an effort to win over critics and end the unrest, Lukashenko has spoken about the possibility of a constitutional reform that could lead to new presidential elections. On Monday, he dismissed the opposition's demand that the country reestablish its former constitution.

In the days after the August 9 vote, the government detained nearly 7,000 people. Police used rubber bullets and other non-deadly weapons against the demonstrators. They also beat protesters, killing¹⁰ three and wounding hundreds of others.

During the next two weeks, police officers did little to stop the demonstrations. But last week, they returned to measures to end the dissent¹¹.

The Belarusian government also acted against the news media, expelling some foreign reporters from the country and barring the work of many Belarusian reporters. Two Moscow-based Associated Press reporters covering the recent protests in Belarus were deported¹² to Russia on Saturday. In addition, the government told the AP's Belarusian reporters that they were barred from working.

United States and EU officials have strongly condemned¹³ the Belarusian government's actions against the media.

The opposition held another large demonstration¹ on Sunday. An estimated 100,000 protesters gathered in Minsk, while many police officers watched.

On Monday, German Chancellor¹⁴ Angela Merkel's spokesman praised the bravery of the protesters. He urged Lukashenko to recognize the need for open talks between leadership, opposition forces and all Belarusians to, in his words, "bring about a peaceful solution to this current crisis."

I'm Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

puppet – n. one whose actions are controlled by an outside force or influence

1 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

2 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

3 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

4 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

6 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

7 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

8 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

9 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

10 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

11 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

12 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》

13 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

14 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。