Sudan Government, Rebels Sign Oil-Sharing Agreement

Sudan Government, Rebels Sign Oil-Sharing Agreement

 

Alisha Ryu

The Sudanese government and the country's southern rebels on Wednesday signed a key agreement on how to share the country's oil wealth, bringing the two sides one step closer to ending their two decades-long civil war.

Following a signing ceremony in the Kenyan town of Naivasha, the leader of the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army, John Garang, hailed the agreement as a major achievement toward building lasting¹ peace in Sudan.

"It takes determination and hard decisions to achieve peace and the agreement we have just signed on wealth sharing reflects this determination and seriousness. This is indeed another hill that we have surmounted³. And we shall surmount² all of the hills that are coming."

Mr. Garang and his Sudanese government counterpart, Vice⁴ President Ali Osman Taha, agreed Wednesday on a pact⁵ for the rebels to equally split oil and other revenue from southern Sudan with Khartoum during a six-year transition period of autonomy from the government.

The interim⁶ period is due to go into effect once a comprehensive peace accord is reached.

Africa's longest-running war began in 1983 when the mainly Christian⁷ and animist southern rebels took up arms against the predominantly Arab Muslim government in Khartoum. The rebels have been demanding greater equality and autonomy in the south ever since.

The struggle for control of Sudan's vast oil reserves, which are mainly located in the south, became fierce after Sudan became an oil exporter in 1999. Rebels and international human rights groups have long accused the government of brutally⁸ forcing tens of thousands of civilians⁹ to flee oil-rich areas in the south.

The country currently earns an estimated $2 billion a year from its oil production of more than 250,000 barrels per day. Some experts believe that output could increase to 450,000 barrels in the next two years, provided the country can end the war and attract enough investment from major Western energy companies.

But two toughest issues of the peace process remain unresolved - how to share power and the status of three disputed regions in central Sudan.

Last month, disagreements over details of those issues caused the warring parties to miss their self-imposed end-of-year deadline to reach a comprehensive peace accord.

 

注释：

Sudanese [su:dE5ni:z] adj. 苏丹（Sudan）的

Kenyan [5kenjEn] adj. 肯尼亚共和国（人）的

Sudan People's Liberation Army  苏丹人民解放军

hail [heil] vt. 为……欢呼

surmount [sE:5maunt] vt. 越过，征服

counterpart [5kauntEpB:t] n. 搭档

pact [pAkt] n. 协定，条约

autonomy [C:5tCnEmi] n. 自治

interim [5intErim] adj. 临时的，过渡的

due to  应该

go into effect  生效

accord [E5kC:d] n. 协定

running [5rQnIN] adj. 不断的，连续的

animist [5Animist] adj. 万物有灵论的

take up arms  拿起武器

predominantly [pri5dCminEntli] adv. 占优势地，支配其他地

Muslim [5mJzlIm] n. 穆斯林，穆罕默德信徒

reserve [ri5zE:v] n. 储藏量

fierce [fiEs] adj. 猛烈的

brutally [5bru:tlli] adv. 残忍地

barrel [5bArEl] n. 桶

provided [prE:5vaidid] conj. 倘若

status [5steitEs] n. 情形，状况

dispute [dis5pju:t] v. 争论

warring [5wC:riN] adj. 敌对的，交战的

self-imposed [5selfim5pEuzd] adj. 自愿接受的

1 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

2 surmount   

vt.克服；置于…顶上

参考例句：

• We have many problems to surmount before we can start the project.我们得克服许多困难才能著手做这项工作。
• We are fully confident that we can surmount these difficulties.我们完全相信我们能够克服这些困难。

3 surmounted   

战胜( surmount的过去式和过去分词 )； 克服（困难）； 居于…之上； 在…顶上

参考例句：

• She was well aware of the difficulties that had to be surmounted. 她很清楚必须克服哪些困难。
• I think most of these obstacles can be surmounted. 我认为这些障碍大多数都是可以克服的。

4 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

5 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

6 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。

7 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

8 brutally   

adv.残忍地，野蛮地，冷酷无情地

参考例句：

• The uprising was brutally put down.起义被残酷地镇压下去了。
• A pro-democracy uprising was brutally suppressed.一场争取民主的起义被残酷镇压了。

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。