2006年VOA标准英语-Talks Open Between Somalia's Parliamentary Spea

By Cathy Majtenyi
Nairobi
07 November 2006
 
The speaker of Somalia's transitional government and members of the Islamic Courts Union are meeting near the Somali capital one week after negotiations¹ between the government and the Islamists collapsed² in Sudan.

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The Mogadishu-based news editor of Horn Afrik, Mohamed Dhoore, tells VOA that parliamentary speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan arrived in the capital Sunday and held closed-door meetings before talks officially opened Tuesday in the nearby settlement of Afgoye. 

Sharif Hassan Sheik Aden, Speaker of the Somali Parliament, left, senior Islamic official Sheik Sharif Sheikh Ahmed , middle, and leader of the Islamic movement Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, right, meet in Mogadishu, Tuesday Nov. 7, 2006

"The parliamentary speaker, Sharif Hassan, who now stayed in Mogadishu for two days, wanted to re-open the collapsed negotiations from Khartoum, or to open new dialogue between the government and Islamic Courts," he said.

Dhoore says the parliamentary speaker is being accompanied by about 50 members of Somalia's parliament, which is based in the town of Baidoa.

Negotiations between Somalia's transitional government and the Islamic Courts Union collapsed in Sudan on November 2.

Those talks were meant to finalize³ an interim⁴ peace accord that the two sides signed in September in Sudan that, among other things, called for the creation of a joint⁵ national army and police force.

But the Islamists said they would not continue negotiations until all Ethiopian troops that are supporting the transitional government leave Somalia.

And the government delegation⁶ split just before the start of the negotiations, when parliamentary speaker Adan said he would not attend the talks in Sudan because of a dispute with the president over who would head the delegation.

Journalist Dhoore says the divisions within the government are a major reason why he thinks this latest round of talks will not be successful.

"Many people believe that this will do nothing to solve the Somali problem. There is a great difference between top officials of the government such as the prime minister, parliamentary speaker, and president about how to face dialogue with the Islamic Courts," he said.

Fears of all-out war have been escalating⁷ in recent weeks, as witnesses reported seeing troops from both sides fortifying⁸ their positions in and around Baidoa.

Since civil war broke out in 1991, militias⁹ loyal to clan¹⁰ and sub-clan-based factions¹¹ have controlled different parts of the country, with no central authority to provide law and order or basic services to the population.

A transitional Somali parliament was formed in Kenya more than a year ago following a peace process.

1 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。

2 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。

3 finalize   

v.落实，定下来

参考例句：

• Let us finalize tonight.让我们今天晚上干完
• 。At the same time,industrial designers work with engineers to finalize components and assembly.同时，工业设计师和工程师一道来完成部件和组装部分的工作。

4 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。

5 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

6 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。

7 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

8 fortifying   

筑防御工事于( fortify的现在分词 )； 筑堡于； 增强； 强化（食品）

参考例句：

• Fortifying executive function and restraining impulsivity are possible with active interventions. 积极干预可能有助加强执行功能和抑制冲动性。
• Vingo stopped looking, tightening his face, fortifying himself against still another disappointment. 文戈不再张望，他绷紧脸，仿佛正在鼓足勇气准备迎接另一次失望似的。

9 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

10 clan   

n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派

参考例句：

• She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。
• The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以，中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。

11 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