2006年VOA标准英语-Most Kurds Favor Proposed Decentralization for

By Brian Padden
Irbil, Iraq
30 August 2006

In an effort to find a solution to increasing sectarian violence in Iraq, some politicians have proposed giving Shiites, Sunnis, and Kurds their own semi-autonomous¹ regions. Proponents² of the idea, including U.S. Senator Joseph Biden, say decentralization would preserve Iraq as a country.  

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At this crowded market place in the center of the city of Irbil, almost everyone wants to see more than just autonomy within Iraq.

One man says, "For many years we have struggled and died for our freedom."

Another says, "The Iraqi government has not done anything for us."

And still another says, "Iraq should be divided into four or three regions just like Shias and Sunni and Kurdistan."

Kurds in this region have been struggling for independence since the end of World War I, when their homeland was divided into parts of what are now Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey.

After the first Gulf³ war in 1991, an attempted uprising by the Kurds was brutally⁴ suppressed by Saddam Hussein. To protect the Kurds, the American military gave them autonomous control over the northern region of Iraq and established a zone that banned flights by the Iraqi air force.

Since the fall of Saddam, the northern region has grown more stable and prosperous, as the other parts of Iraq have become more dangerous.

Understandably, many Kurds support Senator Joseph Biden's proposal to partition Iraq into three semi-independent regions that would share border control responsibility and oil revenues.

Salahaddin University Political Science Professor Jafar Khidir, says the proposal offers an alternative to what he says now seems unachievable: that Iraq will evolve into a peaceful, secure, multi-ethnic democracy.

"When it will not be possible to have a democracy in a country like this situation in Iraq, then the only solution is to divide those countries into smaller countries," said Khidir. "Then democracy will be more successful. That is why we say, or people say, the smaller the nicer."

But Khidir concedes that decentralization could lead to the break-up of Iraq and to increased fighting between the regions over control of the oil fields.

Salahaddin University History Professor Kadir Pshdary says the past has taught the Kurds that it is better to be part of a strong country than to be independent and vulnerable.

He says, "Now our leaders think that living in a greater federalist Iraq is better than being totally independent for a year, then losing everything."

Surrounded by hostile neighbors, Pshdary says, an independent, yet isolated⁵ Kurdistan would not remain free for long.

1 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

2 proponents   

n.（某事业、理论等的）支持者，拥护者( proponent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Reviewing courts were among the most active proponents of hybrid rulemaking procedures. 复审法院是最积极的混合型规则制定程序的建议者。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• Proponents of such opinions were arrested as 'traitors. ' 提倡这种主张的人马上作为“卖国贼”逮捕起来。 来自辞典例句

3 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

4 brutally   

adv.残忍地，野蛮地，冷酷无情地

参考例句：

• The uprising was brutally put down.起义被残酷地镇压下去了。
• A pro-democracy uprising was brutally suppressed.一场争取民主的起义被残酷镇压了。

5 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。