VOA慢速英语--利比亚人以临时政府的眼光纪念2011年的起义

Libyans Mark 2011 Uprising with Eyes on Interim¹ Government

Libyans marked the 10th anniversary of their 2011 uprising on Wednesday. The uprising led to the overthrow² and death of longtime ruler Moammar Gadhafi. Many hope the recently named caretaker government will unite the nation as it leads the country through elections in December.

Celebrations began late on Tuesday in the capital, Tripoli, where people gathered on the city's main square. The area had been cleaned and photos and signs marking the anniversary hung from the buildings.

Hassan Wanis leads the government's General Authority on Culture. He said celebrations and other events were planned in the three main areas of Libya: Tripolitania in the west, Cyrenaica in the east, and Fezzan in the southwest.

"All people are ready to celebrate...in order to unify³ the country," he said.

The uprising was known as the Arab Spring. Following the overthrow of the governments in Tunisia and Egypt, Libyans took to the streets 10 years ago to demand democratic and economic reforms.

Since then, Libya has fallen into chaos⁴, along with Yemen and Syria. Islamic militants⁵ and armed groups operate in the country, stealing and trafficking in humans.

Hisham al-Windi was among the first fighters to enter Gadhafi's palace in 2011. There, he found Gadhafi's hat, which he wore during a television interview. He became famous as the face of Libya's uprising. He spoke⁶ to Reuters news agency Wednesday.

"People say to me: ‘you took part in this disaster. How do you like it now?' Well of course I don't. But it doesn't mean you have to choose between Gadhafi and chaos. Revolution is a process. We must build a new Libya that we deserve," he said.

For the past several years, the oil-rich country has had two governments: a U.N.-backed, but weak government in Tripoli and an eastern-based government backed by General Khalifa Hifter. Each is aided by foreign governments. The city of Tripoli is mostly split up in areas controlled by different armed groups.

There have been destructive and violent events.

The most recent was in April 2019. Hifter, who is backed by the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Russia, launched an attack to capture Tripoli. His campaign failed after Turkey increased its military support for the Tripoli government with hundreds of troops and thousands of mercenaries.

The United Nations led months of talks that resulted in an agreement in October. The deal ended the fighting and required the withdrawal⁷ of all fighters within three months. It also required the acceptance of a U.N. arms ban.

Most of the requirements of the deal have not been met.

The talks also established the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum⁸. It met earlier this month and named the caretaker government to lead the country through elections on December 24 of this year.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made separate phone calls to leaders of the caretaker government. He told them of the importance of holding the elections and accepting the requirements of the deal, including the removal of all foreign soldiers from Libya. The U.N. says there are around 20,000 such fighters in the country.

Amnesty International released a report to mark the anniversary. It called for arresting and charging individuals involved in war crimes and human rights abuses of the last ten years.

Those responsible for the violence and human rights abuses must be "brought to justice" or the suffering of civilians⁹ will continue, said Diana Eltahawy, a local Amnesty official.

She added that the caretaker government must make sure that those who are suspected of crimes are not given positions in the new government.

In the past several years, Libya has become a major transportation point for migrants fleeing the war and poverty of Africa and the Middle East. Human trafficking organizations have grown very large as desperate migrants try to leave by the Mediterranean¹⁰ Sea. Thousands have died, while others have ended up in crowded and dangerous detention¹¹ centers.

Words in This Story

chaos – n. a state in which behavior and events are not controlled by anything

interview - n. a meeting at which people talk to each other in order to ask questions and get information

deserve - v. used to say that someone or something should or should not have or be given something

mercenary – n. a soldier who will fight for any group or country that hires him

1 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。

2 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

3 unify   

vt.使联合，统一；使相同，使一致

参考例句：

• How can we unify such scattered islands into a nation?我们怎么才能把如此分散的岛屿统一成一个国家呢？
• It is difficult to imagine how the North and South could ever agree on a formula to unify the divided peninsula.很难想象南北双方在统一半岛的方案上究竟怎样才能达成一致。

4 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

5 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

8 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

9 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。

10 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

11 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。