2006年VOA标准英语-Philippines Hopes for Peace Deal With Musl

By Douglas Bakshian
Manila
08 February 2006

 
Silvestre Afable Jr, government's Panel Chair, left, Othman Abdul Razak, Adviser¹ to Malaysian PM, and Mohagher Iqbal, MILF Panel Chair speak during a press conference, February 7, 2006
  
A Philippine government negotiator says Manila hopes to achieve a final peace agreement with Muslim rebels by as early as September, after reaching a preliminary deal on land claims with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. A final peace pact² would end a conflict that has killed more than 120,000 people.

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The government's head negotiator, Silvestre Afable, told reporters Wednesday the contentious³ points on a key issue had been resolved with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Afable said a final agreement on the issue of ancestral domain⁴ could be signed at the end of March.

At that time, the formal peace talks will start. The discussions so far have only been exploratory. Afable says both sides believe they can reach a final agreement by September.

But he would not give details of the preliminary deal on land claims involving ancestral domain, saying they will be made public when the agreement is finalized⁵.

Ancestral domain covers precise geographical⁶ limits to the homeland proposed by the MILF, as well as mineral rights and governance.

Although Muslims claim the region of Mindanao in the southern Philippines as their ancestral home, much of the area came under the control of Christian⁷ settlers in the past century, leading to conflicts. The country is predominantly Roman Catholic.

Afable says he is confident of reaching a final agreement for many reasons, especially the good faith of the MILF representatives he is dealing⁸ with.

"I have experience across the negotiating table that there is a very good spirit of give-and-take," he added. "We are dealing with a very reasonable group who share certain aspirations⁹ with our government to have permanent peace in Mindanao and to finally end this conflict."

Afable says there is also very strong international support from Southeast Asian nations, the United States and the European Union. He says another positive factor is the stability in Mindanao, referring to a cease-fire that has been in place for several years.

One possible concern, however, is terrorism, but Afable says extremist elements will always try to undermine a settlement. Militant¹⁰ groups from with the Philippines and from elsewhere in Southeast Asia are thought to operate in the southern islands.

The MILF also expressed optimism. The rebels' chief negotiator says the sides are closer to finding a just, lasting¹¹ and comprehensive solution. The 12,000 strong MILF has been fighting for an independent Islamic state in Mindanao for more than three decades.

In the 1990s the Philippine government reached a peace agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front, granting much of Mindanao considerable autonomy. However, the MILF split from that group, saying the deal was inadequate¹². The United States has praised Manila for its talks with the rebels and over the years has also provided military aid to help the government fight terrorist groups.

1 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

2 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。

3 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

4 domain   

n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围

参考例句：

• This information should be in the public domain.这一消息应该为公众所知。
• This question comes into the domain of philosophy.这一问题属于哲学范畴。

5 finalized   

vt.完成（finalize的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The draft of this article has been finalized [done]. 这篇文章已经定稿。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The draft was revised several times before it was finalized. 稿子几经删改才定下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 geographical   

adj.地理的；地区(性)的

参考例句：

• The current survey will have a wider geographical spread.当前的调查将在更广泛的地域范围內进行。
• These birds have a wide geographical distribution.这些鸟的地理分布很广。

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 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

9 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。

10 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。

11 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。

12 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。