2006年VOA标准英语-Belarus Police Break Up Rally, Arrest Oppo

By Bill Gasperini
Moscow
25 March 2006

Police in Belarus broke up a protest in the capital, Minsk, Saturday, after an earlier rally against the results of presidential elections. An opposition¹ presidential candidate was taken into custody².

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A riot policeman clashes with a protester in the Belarusian capital Minsk 
  

Clashes erupted in downtown Minsk, as squads³ of black-clad riot police sought to block opposition demonstrators who were marching toward a detention⁴ center, where protesters arrested Friday were being held.

Earlier, police holding large shields formed lines to force back crowds trying to reach the square where an opposition tent camp had been set up before police removed it early Friday morning, arresting hundreds.

Eventually, the protesters made their way to a city park, where they chanted anti-government slogans to denounce hard-line President Alexander Lukashenko. Police made no move against them there, and the mood was largely confident, in spite of government warnings that the rally was illegal.

Top opposition leader Alexander Milinkevich told the crowd that Belarus would soon be free from Lukashenko's rule. Lukashenko has been in power since 1994.

The long-time president was declared the winner of Sunday's election, with 83 percent of the vote. Mr. Milinkevich was credited with six percent. Protesters say the results are false, and are demanding a new election, although there is little chance the authorities will agree to that demand.

However, Milinkevich told the protesters their rallies and the tent camp protest prove that Belarusians are no longer afraid to voice their opinions. He said, "If you had asked me a month ago if something like this would happen, I would have said, 'only someone crazy would think we could stay on the square for more than three days.'"

After the rally dispersed⁵, some protesters followed a call by another top opposition leader, Alexander Kozulin, to march to the detention center, where protesters detained Friday are being held. Police detained Kozulin and an aide to Milinkevich.

On Friday, the United States and European Union announced that they will impose new sanctions against the Lukashenko government, because of apparent fraud in Sunday's election and the crackdown against the opposition.

Russia accuses Western powers of meddling⁶ in the internal affairs of Belarus, and has congratulated Mr. Lukashenko on his re-election.

1 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。

2 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

3 squads   

n.（军队中的）班( squad的名词复数 )；（暗杀）小组；体育运动的运动（代表）队；（对付某类犯罪活动的）警察队伍

参考例句：

• Anti-riot squads were called out to deal with the situation. 防暴队奉命出动以对付这一局势。 来自辞典例句
• Three squads constitute a platoon. 三个班组成一个排。 来自辞典例句

4 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

5 dispersed   

adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的

参考例句：

• The clouds dispersed themselves. 云散了。
• After school the children dispersed to their homes. 放学后，孩子们四散回家了。

6 meddling   

v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He denounced all "meddling" attempts to promote a negotiation. 他斥责了一切“干预”促成谈判的企图。 来自辞典例句
• They liked this field because it was never visited by meddling strangers. 她们喜欢这块田野，因为好事的陌生人从来不到那里去。 来自辞典例句