2006年VOA标准英语- Sudanese President Reinforces Opposition to UN

By Cathy Majtenyi
Nairobi
21 June 2006

Sudan's president has again said he will never allow a U.N. peacekeeping force into the volatile¹ western region of Darfur.  U.S. officials say they will continue to press for a U.N. force, but analysts³ say the Sudanese president's opposition⁴ is a major blow to the peace process.

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Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir continued his campaign against the idea of allowing a U.N. peacekeeping force into Darfur.

 
Sudanese President Omar Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir, right, and his South African counterpart Thabo Mbeki shake hands
  
The Associated Press news agency reports that Bashir accused what he called "Jewish organizations" of being behind the push to send the peacekeepers into the region.

He is quoted as making the comments at a news conference with visiting South African President Thabo Mbeki.  President Bashir referred to the U.N. troops as "colonial forces" and said the peacekeepers were out to colonize⁵ Africa, beginning with Sudan.

Many U.N. Security Council members say the Sudanese government has failed to protect its own people during the conflict in Darfur, which has killed an estimated 180,000 people and left about two million homeless.

The United States and the European Union have been pushing for a U.N. peacekeeping mission to replace an existing African Union force, which has not had the resources to end the conflict.

The State Department said Tuesday that despite President al-Bashir's comments the international community was "not going to take no for an answer."

One analyst² at the South African-based Institute for Security Studies, Mariam Jooma, expressed surprise at the Sudanese opposition to the plan.

"Actually, it has taken us aback as to the abrasiveness⁶ of the sentiments put forward by President Bashir," she said.  "I think what we expected was that the NCP [National Congress Party] government would hold out, hold out and then eventually allow a U.N. force at the last minute."

Sudanese officials have argued replacing the 7,000-member African Union force with U.N. peacekeepers would comprise Sudan's sovereignty and be tantamount to an "invasion."  The government said it would prefer to see more support given to the current African Union mission rather than bringing in U.N. troops.

Analyst Jooma says President Bashir's rejection⁷ of the force is deepening rifts⁸ within the rebel groups involved and may be hardening the positions of those groups and leaders that did not sign a peace deal.

She says the rejection may also cause the international community to turn away from Darfur.

"What is particularly worrying is that the momentum⁹ around the Darfur Peace Agreement has been of such a high level," she added.  "What has happened now in this protraction of this conflict and, of course, the back-and-forth banter¹⁰ between government and the U.N. and the mixed signals really coming out of the government side, my fear is that international interest in the Darfur conflict begins to decline, and that's when we start seeing real impacts on the ground."

A joint¹¹ U.N.-AU team is in Sudan to plan for a possible deployment¹² of a U.N. peacekeeping force.

The Darfur conflict began three years ago when rebels took up arms to protest what they say is economic and political marginalization of their area by the Khartoum government.

Two main rebel groups, the Sudanese army, and an Arab militia¹³ known as "janjaweed" said to be backed by the Sudanese government are involved in the fighting.

The United States calls the Darfur conflict "genocide" and is one of the countries pushing for U.N. peacekeepers in the area.

1 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

2 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

3 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

4 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。

5 colonize   

v.建立殖民地，拓殖；定居，居于

参考例句：

• Around 700 Arabs began to colonize East Africa.公元700年阿拉伯人开始把东非变为殖民地。
• Japan used to colonize many countries in Asia.日本曾经殖民过许多亚洲国家。

6 abrasiveness   

磨耗； 磨蚀； 磨损性； 磨蚀性

参考例句：

• This scale is based on the relative abrasiveness of minerals. 此硬度计的依据是矿物的相对研磨能力。
• The rock abrasiveness encountered in drilling using PDC bit was discussed. 利用微型钻头模拟PDC钻头的切削破岩过程，对PDC钻头的岩石研磨性进行了试验研究。

7 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

8 rifts   

n.裂缝( rift的名词复数 )；裂隙；分裂；不和

参考例句：

• After that, through the rifts in the inky clouds sparkled redder and yet more luminous particles. 然后在几条墨蓝色云霞的隙缝里闪出几个更红更亮的小片。 来自汉英文学 - 现代散文
• The Destinies mend rifts in time as man etches fate. 当人类想要再次亵渎命运的时候，命运及时修正了这些裂痕。 来自互联网

9 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

10 banter   

n.嘲弄，戏谑；v.取笑，逗弄，开玩笑

参考例句：

• The actress exchanged banter with reporters.女演员与记者相互开玩笑。
• She engages in friendly banter with her customers.她常和顾客逗乐。

11 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。

12 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

13 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。