2006年VOA标准英语-Ivory Coast Militants Seize Broadcaster, C

By Joe Bavier
Abidjan
18 January 2006

Militant¹ supporters of Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo seized the headquarters of state-run television and radio, in the third consecutive² day of violent protests in the war-divided country's government-controlled south.  Youth leaders called for a massive uprising, and U.N. peacekeepers have clashed with demonstrators.

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Protesters walk past a make shift road block in the streets of Abidjan   
  

Several hundred militant supporters of Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo stormed and seized the headquarters of Ivorian national television and radio, known as RTI.

Pro-Gbagbo militants³, known as Young Patriots⁴, forced RTI staff to allow them to broadcast an appeal to youth supporters to come out into the streets.

Youth leader Serge Koffi said in a televised address that a U.N. peacekeeping mission, and U.N.-mandated French soldiers had failed to resolve the crisis in the country.  He said it is time for them to go.

Similar appeals for massive demonstrations⁶ broadcast on the state channel led to several days of anti-French violence in November 2004.  At that time Young Patriot-organized protests sparked rioting, looting and the forced evacuation of around 8,000 foreign residents.

French military and U.N. sources said peacekeepers shot protesters at a military base in the city of Guiglo, killing⁷ four people and injuring 12.  Several-hundred Young Patriots surrounded a U.N. compound in Daloa, where U.N. staff had sought refuge.  The U.N. abandoned bases in Guiglo and nearby Duekoue.

In Abidjan, a large group of protesters blocked the entrance to the U.N. headquarters.  About 1,000 Young Patriots, led by the head of the movement, Charles Ble Goude, protested outside the French embassy.  Ble Goude said they were demanding the forced disarmament of northern rebels.

"We will stay here until we have a real response from the prime minister, from the international community, and from France," he said.

The president's supporters are protesting a recommendation by a U.N.-backed International Working Group to dissolve parliament.  The mandate⁵ of the National Assembly expired in December.  The body is dominated by the president's party and its allies and has been considered an obstacle to the implementation⁸ of successive peace efforts by opposition⁹ leaders and civil society representatives.

The head of Mr. Gbagbo's party said yesterday that its members were pulling out of the peace process.

The head of the U.N. mission in Ivory Coast, Pierre Schori, met with the president Tuesday to appeal for an end to the violence.  U.N. Secretary-General Koffi Annan late Tuesday condemned¹⁰ what he called "orchestrated violence directed against the United Nations."

1 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

2 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

3 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

4 patriots   

爱国者，爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Abraham Lincoln was a fine type of the American patriots. 亚伯拉罕·林肯是美国爱国者的优秀典型。
• These patriots would fight to death before they surrendered. 这些爱国者宁愿战斗到死，也不愿投降。

5 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

6 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。

7 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。

8 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

9 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

10 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。