Sudan Peace Talks Fail

 

By Carrie Giardino
 
Peace talks on Sudan being held in Abuja, Nigeria have been suspended. The parties failed to reach agreement on issues of security and disarmament in the western Darfur region. But the parties say they will return to talks in a few weeks.

The talks were convened² to help resolve the situation in Darfur, where fighting between rebel groups and Arab militias⁴ has claimed tens of thousands of lives and forced over a million people to flee their homes. But little progress has been made in the talks and a draft resolution for humanitarian⁵ assistance has not been signed.

A spokesman with the rebel faction⁶, Justice and Equality Movement, Ahmed Hussain Adam, says all of the parties are in talks with the African Union to set a new date and location for renewed talks on resolving the crisis.

"We told the African Union that we are ready at any time to come and continue the negotiations⁷ regarding the issues, the security issues and the humanitarian issues, and then the root causes and the political issues, as well," said Ahmed Hussain Adam. "But we need, actually, the African Union and the international community to put the pressure on the government, because the government didn't take any strategic decision to come to a political solution to this problem. We have to reach an agreement to alleviate⁸ the plight⁹ of all our people, and also to address the root problems of this conflict."

The rebels are calling on the international community to put pressure on the Sudanese government to disarm¹ the pro-government Arab Janjaweed militia³, before the rebels agree to put down their own weapons. Mr. Adam called for a commission to examine the situation in Darfur.

"As [U.S. Secretary of State] Colin Powell said and as most of the international human rights organizations are stating, the genocide now is still occurring in Darfur," he said. "How [can] we prevent this? How [can] we protect civilians¹⁰? How we can give them confidence that this genocide cannot continue? We need an impartial¹¹ commission to investigate the crimes. The government refused also this demand, clearly."

The Khartoum government does not want international forces to interfere¹² in the business of Sudan, and says it will disarm all factions¹³ at the same time.

The talks in Abuja are a second attempt by the African Union to bring the government and the rebels together. The first round of talks, in Ethiopia, collapsed¹⁴ in July.

Carrie Giardino for VOA News in Abidjan．

注释：
Abuja 阿布贾，尼日利亚首都
disarmament 裁军
conven 召集
militia 预备役部队
humanitarian 人道主义的
assistance 援助
pressure 压力
strategic 战略上的
alleviate 缓和
impartial 公平的
investigate 调查

1 disarm   

v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和

参考例句：

• The world has waited 12 years for Iraq to disarm. 全世界等待伊拉克解除武装已有12年之久。
• He has rejected every peaceful opportunity offered to him to disarm.他已经拒绝了所有能和平缴械的机会。

2 convened   

召开( convene的过去式 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合

参考例句：

• The chairman convened the committee to put the issue to a vote. 主席召集委员们开会对这个问题进行表决。
• The governor convened his troops to put down the revolt. 总督召集他的部队去镇压叛乱。

3 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

4 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

5 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

6 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

7 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

8 alleviate   

v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等)

参考例句：

• The doctor gave her an injection to alleviate the pain.医生给她注射以减轻疼痛。
• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。

9 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

10 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。

11 impartial   

adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的

参考例句：

• He gave an impartial view of the state of affairs in Ireland.他对爱尔兰的事态发表了公正的看法。
• Careers officers offer impartial advice to all pupils.就业指导员向所有学生提供公正无私的建议。

12 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

13 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

14 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。