南非抗议者在美国大使馆前示威游行

  

South African Protestors March on US Embassy

Challiss McDonough

Pretoria

17 Aug 2001 12:27 UTC

 

In South Africa, thousands of protesters have marched on U.S. embassies and 1)consulates¹ around the country. They are angry that the United States is threatening to boycott² a U.N. racism³ conference that South Africa is scheduled to host in a few weeks. But it is now looking more likely that a U.S. delegation⁴ will go to Durban after all.

Traffic came to a 2)standstill outside the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria, as more than a 1,000 people 3)blocked the street. They chanted and sang in protest against a U.S. threat to boycott the World Conference on Racism to be held in Durban next month.

Similar scenes were found outside U.S. consulates in Cape⁵ Down and Durban. The protest marches were sponsored by the Congress of South African Trade Unions, or COSATU, and the South African Communist Party. It was a 4)dual issue protest. The marchers were also objecting to the South African government's plans to 5)privatize state-owned industries. But the signs they held aloft made their sentiments clear. They were angry that the United States wants to keep two 6)controversial issues off the 7)agenda, reparations for slavery, and 8)equating 9)Zionism with 10)racism.

One trade unionist wore a sign on his chest reading: "United States stop supporting racism.""You must remember that Americans, they are trying to control the whole country, now the whole world,"he said. "But we are fighting that America cannot control everybody in the world."

The protesters felt the U.S. government is holding the conference 11)hostage, in order to avoid discussing issues it feels uncomfortable with. But earlier in the day, the director-general of the South African Department of Foreign Affairs told reporters, it is looking increasingly likely that the United States will send a 12)delegation to the conference.

Sipho Pityana said delegates meeting in Geneva have just about worked out a 13)compromise that will keep everybody, including the United States, at the table. "I do not want to create an impression that we have an agreement on any of those issues, but I think that we are many kilometers away from where we were in June, when we deliberated on those issues,"Mr. Pityana said. "The gap has been narrowed 14)considerably, but they will be concluded in Durban."

Although, an outsider might expect the slavery reparations issue to be more important to African nations, the protesters outside the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria were actually more 15)outspoken about Zionism. They were particularly vocal⁶ in their support of the Palestinians. Many black South Africans who were once anti-apartheid activists⁷, see the Palestinians as 16)victims of oppression, and, therefore, 17)kindred spirits.

Mr. Pityana said the issue of slavery reparations will almost certainly be on the agenda in Durban. But the question of whether Zionism equals racism will not. However, he says, the conference is likely to include a discussion of recent unrest in the Middle East. "In respect of 'Zionism is racism,' there was general agreement that this matter was discussed conclusively⁸ in 1991 by the United Nations and that no useful purpose will be served in re-opening it at this conference,"said Mr. Pityana. "But there is a broad acceptance that you cannot have a conference like this, with the developments that are taking place in the Middle East, without pronouncing on those developments."

Mr. Pityana says the issue now is not whether to talk about the events in the Middle East, but what to say about them. The delegates are still trying to work that out. He says South Africa is sponsoring a discussion on the issue that is likely to continue until the Durban conference begins on August 31.

Brazil is 18)facilitating a similar discussion on reparations for slavery.

 

 

(1)      consulate[5kRnsjJlEt; (?@) 5kRnsElEt]n.领事, 领事馆

(2)      standstill[5stAndstIl]n.停止, 停顿

(3)      block[blCk]vt.防碍, 阻塞

(4)      dual[5dju:El]adj.双的, 二重的, 双重

(5)      privatize vt 使归私有，使私人化

(6)      controversial[kRntrE5v:F(E)l]adj.争论的, 争议的

(7)      agenda[E5dVendE]n.pl.议程

(8)      equate[I5kweIt]vt.使相等,视为平等vi.等同

(9)      Zionism[5zaIEnIz(E)m]n.犹太复国主义,犹太复国运动

(10)      racism n.种族主义, 人种偏见, 种族歧视

(11)      hostage[5hRstIdV]n.人质, 抵押品

(12)      delegation[delI5^eIF(E)n]n.代表团, 授权, 委托

(13)      compromise[5kRmprEmaIz]n.妥协, 折衷v.妥协, 折衷

(14)      considerably[kEn5sIdErEbElI]adv.相当地

(15)      outspoken[aJt5spEJkEn]adj.坦率直言的

(16)      victim[5vIktIm]n.受害人, 牺牲者, 牺牲品

(17)      kindred[5kIndrId]n.家族, 相似, 亲属关系adj.同族的, 血缘的, 类似的

(18)      facilitate[fE5sIlIteIt]vt.使容易, 使便利, 推动, 帮助, 促进

 

 

1 consulates   

n.领事馆( consulate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Consulates General of The People's Republic at Los Angeles. 中华人民共和国驻洛杉矶总领事馆。 来自互联网
• The country's embassies, consulates and other diplomatic missions stationed in other countries. （七）家驻外使馆、馆和其他外交代表机构。 来自互联网

2 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

3 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。

4 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

5 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

6 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

7 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》

8 conclusively   

adv.令人信服地，确凿地

参考例句：

• All this proves conclusively that she couldn't have known the truth. 这一切无可置疑地证明她不可能知道真相。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• From the facts,he was able to determine conclusively that the death was not a suicide. 根据这些事实他断定这起死亡事件并非自杀。 来自《简明英汉词典》