IN THE NEWS - An Up-and-Down Week for Peace in Four Conflict

IN THE NEWS - An Up-and-Down Week for Peace in Four Conflicts
By Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: Saturday, August 20, 2005

I'm Steve Ember with IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

From East Asia to West Asia, it was a busy week in efforts for peace.

On Monday, the government of Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement signed a peace agreement in Helsinki, Finland. The treaty officially ends the conflict in Aceh province. Thousands of people have been killed in nearly thirty years of violence.

Under the agreement, the rebels will no longer demand independence. Instead, they have accepted limited self-rule and the withdrawal¹ of Indonesian troops. The government has agreed to pardon the rebels, free political prisoners and let Aceh have political parties.

 
 

On Wednesday, Indonesia freed more than four hundred rebels. That happened as the nation celebrated² sixty years of independence from the Netherlands.

Information Minister Sofyan Djalil said up to two thousand people still in jail will be freed by the end of the month. The agreement also calls for land, jobs and other measures for people in Aceh.

The earthquake and tsunami³ waves in the Indian Ocean in December heavily damaged the province. Officials say the peace treaty will help efforts to rebuild.

Recovery from tsunami damage also led to hopes for an official end to the Tamil rebellion⁴ in Sri Lanka. But some ethnic⁵ Tamil leaders charge that the government has kept millions of dollars in aid away from Tamil areas. And now there are fears of new conflict after the killing⁶ of Sri Lanka's foreign minister.

Lakshman Kadirgamar was shot on August twelfth. The government accuses the Tamil Tiger rebels. The rebels deny the accusations⁷. On Thursday, Parliament approved a one-month extension of emergency laws ordered by the government after the killing.

More than sixty thousand people died in the civil war between nineteen eighty-three and two thousand two. The Tamil Tigers fought for a independent homeland in the north and east. They accepted self-rule.

Violent incidents have increased recently. But the rebels say they will not return to war. Norway helped negotiate⁸ a cease-fire that has been in effect for three-and-a-half years.

The Sri Lankan government and the rebels have not held official meetings in more than two years. However, on Friday, Norwegian officials said the two sides have agreed to meet to discuss their cease-fire. Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga asked Norway to organize the talks.

In West Asia this week, Iraqi leaders failed to meet an August fifteenth time limit to agree on a constitution. The Parliament in Iraq gave the negotiators an extra week.

The situation was the opposite for Palestinians in Gaza. The end to thirty-eighty years of Israeli occupation has gone much faster than expected. On Wednesday, unarmed Israeli soldiers and police began to remove groups of settlers who refused to leave.

There has been resistance, but the operation could be completed next week. Four out of one hundred twenty settlements in the West Bank will also be removed.

IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English was written by Nancy Steinbach.  I'm Steve Ember.

1 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。

2 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

3 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

4 rebellion   

n.造反，叛乱，反抗

参考例句：

• The next year they rose up in rebellion.第二年他们就揭竿起义了。
• The new government quickly suppressed the rebellion.新政府迅速把叛乱镇压下去。

5 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

6 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。

7 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

8 negotiate   

v.洽谈，协商，谈判，顺利通过，成功越过

参考例句：

• I'll negotiate with their coach on the date of the match.我将与他们的教练磋商比赛的日期问题。
• I managed to negotiate successfully with the authorities.我设法同当局进行了成功的协商。