2006年VOA标准英语-UN Administrator Dismisses Fears Northern Kosov

By Barry Wood
Mitrovica, Kosovo
07 November 2006
 
watch Northern Kosovo

 
A NATO peacekeeper
  
The status of conflict-riven Kosovo, the UN-administered Serbian province that is 90 percent ethnic¹ Albanian, is being considered by an international envoy² who has spent nearly a year searching in vain for common ground between Serbs and Albanians. VOA's Barry Wood visited the northern city of Mitrovica, home to many of the remaining 120,000 Serbs who comprise a small minority of Kosovo's population.

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Kosovo is quiet now but NATO-led peacekeepers are on guard against any recurrence³ of the kind of anti-Serb riots that erupted in 2004. Kosovo's status could be decided⁴ shortly. Ethnic Albanians demand independence, Serbs oppose it.

Nowhere is mistrust and ethnic separation deeper than in decaying Mitrovica, a once flourishing mining center now divided by the Ibar River into a Serbian north and an Albanian south.

Jeta Xharra is a journalist and filmmaker, part of a team that produced an acclaimed⁵ video ("Does Any Body Have a Plan?") on Kosovo's future. 

 
Jeta Xharra 
  
"The worst case scenario⁶ is that the north is so upset--whatever the solution. If Kosovo is declared independent, the north (could) declare itself independent. That's the worst case scenario."

About half of Kosovo's Serbs--and only a few Albanians--live in north Mitrovica and the wide strip of territory that leads up to the Serbian border. The UN rejects any partition and yet it is very much in the minds of the local population.

Gerard Gallucci, the UN administrator⁷ of Mitrovica, says partition won't happen. "I don't think there is any real prospect⁸ of that. I don't think anyone wants it. I don't think the Serb leadership wants it. I know the Kosovo Albanian leadership doesn't want it."

Gerard Gallucci   
  
Gallucci admits that ethnic reconciliation⁹ is a long way off. But he's hopeful that Serbs and Albanians can cooperate on practical matters like municipal services. He supports decentralized local government as a means of building trust. "Decentralization simply means strong local rule in areas in which local people want to control their own lives, whether they're Serb or Albanian. I don't think anyone is explaining that to anybody, unfortunately, here in Kosovo."

Gallucci complains that because there has been little public education on the issue, many Albanians are suspicious that decentralization is a code word for partition.

Ethnic Albanian filmmaker Jeta Xharra supports decentralization and says that for Serbs to feel secure they need an urban center like north Mitrovica.

"Of course, it is sad that Serbs can't come to all the urban centers where they used to be, but unfortunately the reality is such that northern Kosovo is going to remain a largely Serb inhabited urban center," says Xharra.

For now Mitrovica and its bridge over the Ibar remain symbols of division and uncertainty¹⁰. Serbs to the north, ethnic Albanian on the south, with UN police keeping the peace.

1 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

2 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

3 recurrence   

n.复发，反复，重现

参考例句：

• More care in the future will prevent recurrence of the mistake.将来的小心可防止错误的重现。
• He was aware of the possibility of a recurrence of his illness.他知道他的病有可能复发。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 acclaimed   

adj.受人欢迎的

参考例句：

• They acclaimed him as the best writer of the year. 他们称赞他为当年的最佳作者。
• Confuscius is acclaimed as a great thinker. 孔子被赞誉为伟大的思想家。

6 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

7 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

8 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

9 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

10 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。