2006年VOA标准英语-Ivory Coast Summit Ends Without Major Deci

By Joe Bavier
Yamoussoukro
01 March 2006

An unprecedented¹ summit of the principle parties in Ivory Coast's more than three-year-old civil war has ended negotiations² after just one day. But, all sides say they are ready to reopen dialogue to prepare the way for elections.

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New Forces chief Soro, right,  opposition³ leader Ouattara, left, PM  Banny, second left, President Gbagbo, center, and opposition leader Bedie, second right, meet for talks aimed at breathing life into floundering Ivory Coast peace process, February 28, 2006  
  

The talks, originally scheduled for two days and then delayed by 24 hours over security concerns, ended after just four hours.

But in a statement read by Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny, all sides reaffirmed their commitment to finding a peaceful solution to the conflict that has divided Ivory Coast into a rebel-held north and government-controlled south since September 2002.

In attendance in Yamoussoukro were President Laurent Gbagbo, ex-President Henri Bedie, former prime minister turned opposition leader Alassane Ouattara, and New Forces rebel leader Guillaume Soro. The meeting was organized by the prime minister.

And though few new decisions were made, the four men agreed that an updated timetable for disarmament of northern rebels and southern militia⁴ should be created, and government and rebel military chiefs should begin meeting regularly.

The group also agreed to the creation of a new vice⁵ president's post on the Independent Electoral Commission. Elections delayed from last year are due to take place before the end of October.

The new vice president will be charged with assuring the heavily disputed posts on the commission are distributed equally among Ivory Coast's political groups. Ouattara, who is expected to represent his party, known as the RDR, in the presidential polls, said he was happy with the talks.

"The goal was not to renegotiate the peace deals", he said after the meeting. "We were just trying to speed up their application."

New Forces spokesman Cisse Sindou said the rebels were satisfied with the summit, the first of its kind on Ivorian soil. But he said, they will wait to see if all sides follow through on their promises.

"We feel very well about the meeting. The conclusions are okay. Let us see how the implementation⁶ of all this is going to take place. But the most important thing is the start of the military dialogue between the two forces. I think that is the key word," added Sindou.

Ivory Coast's civil war has been largely frozen since a 2003 peace accord created a U.N.-patrolled buffer⁷ zone separating the rebels from government troops. But that original peace deal and a number of others have never been fully⁸ implemented⁹.

1 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

2 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

6 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。

7 buffer   

n.起缓冲作用的人(或物)，缓冲器；vt.缓冲

参考例句：

• A little money can be a useful buffer in time of need.在急需时，很少一点钱就能解燃眉之急。
• Romantic love will buffer you against life's hardships.浪漫的爱会减轻生活的艰辛。

8 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

9 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句