2006年VOA标准英语-Ugandan Officials in Sudan to Discuss Proposed

By Pearse Lynch
Nairobi
03 July 2006

A Uganda government delegation¹ has flown into southern Sudan to discuss an offer of peace talks from the rebel Lords Resistance Army, which has waged a 20-year war against the Ugandan government.

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Salva Kiir    
  
The Ugandan delegation flew into the city of Juba to meet with Sudanese Vice² President Salva Kiir, who has offered to act as mediator³ between the Ugandan government and the Lords Resistance Army, or LRA.

The LRA has been fighting a brutal⁴ guerrilla war in the north of Uganda since 1988. The conflict has spread into the Democratic Republic of Congo and southern Sudan.

Nearly two decades of fighting have resulted in the displacement⁵ of nearly two million people, the killing⁶ of tens-of-thousands. And, more than 30,000 children have been abducted⁷ and forced to serve as child soldiers or sex slaves.

Ugandan government spokesmen Robert Kabushenga has stressed that these talks about starting formal peace talks are very preliminary.

"Our team is basically a consultative team," he said. "It's going to meet with Vice President Salva Kiir of Sudan to get a briefing on the peace initiative. Then, on the basis of that they will return home, advise the government on how to go forward with the peace process. It's not yet the peace delegation that's supposed to meet the LRA. They are going to meet with officials of southern Sudanese government."

Okello Oryem, Uganda's international relations minister, who is leading the government delegation, has told local media, if initial consultations⁸ are successful, a stronger team would join the negotiations⁹.

The International Criminal Court, which has issued warrants for the arrest of leading LRA members, is against the peace talks.

But human rights groups say peace is more important then justice. Stephen Okello is a spokesman for the non-profit group, the Uganda Conflict Action Network.

"The underlying¹⁰ cause is ethnic¹¹. It needs a political solution," he said. "By having the LRA indicted¹² by the ICC is not going to help anyone. The issue is not getting punishment for the LRA, the issue is healing the wounds of division in Uganda between the South and the North."

The Ugandan government and the Lords Resistance Army have met for peace talks many times in the past, but have always failed to come to an agreement, with each side accusing the other of lacking commitment to peace.

1 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

2 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。

3 mediator   

n.调解人，中介人

参考例句：

• He always takes the role of a mediator in any dispute.他总是在争论中充当调停人的角色。
• He will appear in the role of mediator.他将出演调停者。

4 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

5 displacement   

n.移置，取代，位移，排水量

参考例句：

• They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。
• The displacement of all my energy into caring for the baby.我所有精力都放在了照顾宝宝上。

6 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

7 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

8 consultations   

n.磋商（会议）( consultation的名词复数 )；商讨会；协商会；查找

参考例句：

• Consultations can be arranged at other times by appointment. 磋商可以通过预约安排在其他时间。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Consultations are under way. 正在进行磋商。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 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。

10 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

11 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。

12 indicted   

控告，起诉( indict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The senator was indicted for murder. 那位参议员被控犯谋杀罪。
• He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder. 他被大陪审团以两项谋杀罪名起诉。