2007年VOA标准英语-European Foreign Ministers Discuss Somalia

By Teri Schultz
Brussels
03 January 2007

The International Contact Group on Somalia meets Friday in Nairobi to discuss ways to bring stability to the African nation after the volatility¹ and violence of the past weeks. The European members of the group - Britain, Italy, Norway, Sweden and the European Union - met Wednesday in Brussels to coordinate² their strategy in advance. Teri Schultz reports from Brussels.

 
German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier, left, shares a word with Swedish counterpart Carl Bildt during a media conference at the German embassy in Brussels
After a two-hour meeting, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he and his European counterparts agree that while the situation in Somalia remains³ serious, there may now be what he called a "small space for discussion."

The meeting follows a string of victories for Somalia's transitional government, which, with the support of Ethiopian troops, has pushed Islamic militias⁴ from the country's major cities.

Steinmeier, whose country currently holds the rotating European Union presidency⁵, urged Somalia's transitional government to work harder toward national unity⁶ by broadening political dialogue.  This, he said, must include voices from Somalia's Islamic movement, however bitter the government feels toward the radical⁷ Islamic Courts Union they have just ousted⁸ from the capital.

Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Stoere expressed a similar sentiment:

"It is a window of opportunity to take the process of national reconciliation⁹ in Somalia forward," he said.  "And I believe that politically and especially from a humanitarian¹⁰ point of view, we have a real role to play."

But there also appears to be a role that Europe is not willing to play, that of peacekeeper.

"If there were to be an international presence, it would preferably be of African origin," said German Foreign Minister Steinmeier.

 
Transitional Federal Government police officers stand in formation for a parade in Mogadishu, Jan. 3, 2007
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said it was a lesson of history that foreign troops cannot be effective in Somalia, but he also acknowledged that the African Union is overburdened as it is, struggling to maintain a mission in Sudan.

Steinmeier said the question of a peacekeeping force is better left to the meeting of the full contact group on Friday, when the United States and Tanzania will also be present.  That too is where the question of financing for a peacekeeping force will be handled. 

While the Europeans told Somalia it must work for reconciliation, there was also a message for Ethiopia: Bring your troops home.

 

1 volatility   

n.挥发性，挥发度，轻快，（性格）反复无常

参考例句：

• That was one reason why volatility was so low last year.这也是去年波动性如此低的原因之一。
• Yet because volatility remained low for so long,disaster myopia prevailed.然而，由于相当长的时间里波动性小，灾难短视就获胜了。

2 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

5 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

6 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

7 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

8 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

9 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

10 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。