南非为联合国种族大会做充分准备

 

South Africa Prepares for Racism¹ Conference

Challiss McDonough

Johannesburg

8 Aug 2001 21:37 UTC

 

The world will be watching later this month as South Africa, seven years after the death of 1)apartheid, hosts an international conference on 2)racism, 3)xenophobia, and other forms of 4)intolerance. As delegates in Geneva try to agree on an agenda for the conference, South African officials are still working out some of the less glamorous² details such as whether there will be enough hotel rooms for all the dignitaries who want to attend.

Where will they put everyone? It has become a major problem for the planners of the World Conference Against Racism. Between 20 and 30 heads of state are expected to attend, plus another 60 to 70 foreign ministers. Some countries are also sending other high-level delegates, such as their ministers of education or labor³.

South African Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad says many of those government ministers are demanding 5)luxury hotel 6)suites⁵, but there simply are not enough to go around. "We do not have enough suites in Durban, unfortunately, and we have gone right out of Durban now," he said. "We have had to take all hotel 7)accommodation up to 40-50 kilometers away. Durban has got an excellent conference center, but the hotel accommodation was mainly changed for South African tourism, so there are very few suites. One of the problems is going to be many delegations⁶ who are raising the question that if each of the ministers does not have a suite⁴, they would have to consider not coming as ministers. These are all threats they keep making. We hope that we can convince them that for two-days, they can stay in a nice room."

The presence of so many heads of state and senior government officials is also presenting a challenge to South African security officials. Authorities have set up a special committee to prepare. Half a dozen different security agencies including the national and Durban police, the military and the intelligence service are 8)collaborating to ensure that the conference goes off without a 9)hitch.

South African police spokeswoman Charmaine Muller says they are ready. "I must say at this point our intelligence for this event looks good, there is nothing to be worried about," she said.

In addition to a heated debate within the conference walls, South African authorities are expecting a hot time on the streets of Durban. Tens-of-thousands of protesters are expected to 10)show up for the summit, to demonstrate against a variety of issues only some of them related to racism.

Ms. Muller says anyone who wants to protest will have to 11)register with local authorities. Police will arrest unregistered protesters and keep them out of the conference area. She insists this is not being done to silence anyone. "The reason for this is to control them. To help them to get their message through, and not to 12)hinder them," she said. "Definitely, it is only to make it orderly and to assist them to get their message through. And also to have them safe and secure."

Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad says South Africa does not intend to 13)squash protests in Durban. He says the government agrees with many of the demonstrators' viewpoints. At the very least, he says, South Africa supports their right to express themselves.

But he is concerned about the violence that has accompanied mass protests at other international meetings during the past year. "There are many demonstrations⁷ going to take place. As you know, these days any international conference attracts demonstrations," said Mr. Pahad. "Our own view is that many of the issues that the demonstrators in Genoa, in Seattle, in Sweden have been demonstrating about are very 14)legitimate issues. Our only criticism is the violent element of it. Similarly in Durban we are going to have many demonstrations, not only related to the racism conference, but people demonstrating on the land issue in South Africa, etc. We expect that we are going to be able to ensure that these demonstrations are peaceful and the people's 15)reflection is quite taken into account, whatever the issue that they are going to raise."

The police spokeswoman, Ms. Muller, says security officials have studied the earlier events and used them to form a plan for 16)handling the racism conference. She is confident that there will be enough security forces on hand and that they will be trained well enough to do the job right.

 

 

(1)      apartheid[E5pB:theIt]n.(南非)种族隔离

(2)      racism n.种族主义, 人种偏见, 种族歧视

(3)      xenophobia[zenE5fEJbIE]n.仇外, 惧外者

(4)      intolerance[In`tClErLns]n.(尤指对别人的意见)不能忍耐, 不容异说

(5)      luxury hotel豪华饭店

(6)      suite[swi:t]n.(一批)随员, (一套)家具, 套房

(7)      accommodation[EkRmE5deIF(E)n]n.住处, 膳宿, (车, 船, 飞机等的)预定铺位

(8)      collaborate[kE5lAbEreIt]vi.合作, 通敌

(9)      hitch[hItF]n.猛拉,故障vt.猛拉, 系住, 套住vi.蹒跚, 被钩住

(10)      show up v.揭露, 露出, 露面

(11)      register[5redVIstE(r)]n.记录, 登记簿, 登记vt.登记, 注册vi.登记, 挂号

(12)      hinder[5haIndE(r)]adj.后面的v.阻碍, 打扰

(13)      squash[skwRF]n.易压烂的物品, 拥挤的人群v.压制, 镇压

(14)      legitimate[lI5dVItImEt]adj.合法的, 合理的v.合法

(15)      reflection[rI5flekF(E)n]n.反射, 映象, 倒影,反映

(16)      handle v.处理

 

 

1 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

2 glamorous   

adj.富有魅力的；美丽动人的；令人向往的

参考例句：

• The south coast is less glamorous but full of clean and attractive hotels.南海岸魅力稍逊，但却有很多干净漂亮的宾馆。
• It is hard work and not a glamorous job as portrayed by the media.这是份苦差，并非像媒体描绘的那般令人向往。

3 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。

4 suite   

n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员

参考例句：

• She has a suite of rooms in the hotel.她在那家旅馆有一套房间。
• That is a nice suite of furniture.那套家具很不错。

5 suites   

n.套( suite的名词复数 )；一套房间；一套家具；一套公寓

参考例句：

• First he called upon all the Foreign Ministers in their hotel suites. 他首先到所有外交部长住的旅馆套间去拜访。 来自辞典例句
• All four doors to the two reserved suites were open. 预定的两个套房的四扇门都敞开着。 来自辞典例句

6 delegations   

n.代表团( delegation的名词复数 )；委托，委派

参考例句：

• In the past 15 years, China has sent 280 women delegations abroad. 十五年来，中国共派280批妇女代表团出访。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• The Sun Ray decision follows the federal pattern of tolerating broad delegations but insisting on safeguards. “阳光”案的判决仿效联邦容许广泛授权的做法，但又坚持保护措施。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

7 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。