2007年VOA标准英语-US Governor Visits Darfur; Urges Rebel Groups t

By Noel King
Khartoum
09 January 2007

The governor of the U.S. state of New Mexico, Bill Richardson, visited Sudan's Darfur region on Tuesday in an attempt to get holdout Darfur rebel groups to agree to a 60-day ceasefire with the Sudanese government. Richardson is in Sudan as head of a delegation¹ from a U.S.-based advocacy group, the Save Darfur Coalition². Noel King has more on the story from Khartoum.

 
Bill Richardson (l) meets with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir (r) in Khartoum, 8 Jan 2007
Governor Richardson hopes to persuade Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to drop his resistance to a U.N. peacekeeping mission for the embattled region. Richardson, a former U.N. ambassador, is also hoping to broker³ a ceasefire between the Sudanese government and rebel groups.

Richardson met with Mr. al-Bashir in Khartoum on Monday but did not report any progress on the acceptance of U.N. troops, which Sudan has likened to colonial forces.

On Tuesday, the governor focused his efforts on getting Darfur's fragmented rebel groups to enter the peace process.

 
Bill Richardson speaks during press conference in Khartoum, 9 Jan 2006
"First, the fighting has not stopped," he said. "There is chaos⁴ in some areas. The most important steps we took today is that we stressed to the rebels that they need to be part of the peace process. We urged them in the strongest terms to join the peace talks."

Sudan has continued a military campaign against the National Redemption Front, a coalition of rebel groups that have refused to sign onto the Darfur Peace Agreement.

Rebel factions⁵ in the region have undergone further splintering in recent months, complicating⁶ efforts to broker a ceasefire.

Governor Richardson is expected to press hard for the entry of United Nations troops, despite Sudan's fierce resistance to a U.N. mission.

The United Nations Security Council voted in August to send more than 20,000 troops to the region to replace an African Union mission that has struggled with funding problems and a weak mandate⁷.

Sudan has agreed to allow the U.N. to provide technical and logistical support to the cash-strapped AU, which has only 7,000 peacekeepers patrolling a remote area the size of France.

In September, Governor Richardson successfully negotiated the release of an American journalist who was being held in Darfur on charges of espionage⁸ after entering the country without a visa.

The Darfur conflict, soon to enter its fourth year, began when rebels attacked government positions. The rebels said that the region remained undeveloped due to neglect by Sudan's powerful central government.

Sudan's government is charged with arming Arab militias⁹ to crush the rebellion. At least 200,000 people are believed to have died during the conflict. More than 2.5 million others have been displaced in Darfur or eastern Chad.

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 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

3 broker   

n.中间人，经纪人；v.作为中间人来安排

参考例句：

• He baited the broker by promises of higher commissions.他答应给更高的佣金来引诱那位经纪人。
• I'm a real estate broker.我是不动产经纪人。

4 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

5 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

6 complicating   

使复杂化( complicate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• High spiking fever with chills is suggestive of a complicating pylephlebitis. 伴有寒战的高热，暗示合并门静脉炎。
• In America these actions become executive puberty rites, complicating relationships that are already complicated enough. 在美国，这些行动成了行政青春期的惯例，使本来已经够复杂的关系变得更复杂了。

7 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

8 espionage   

n.间谍行为，谍报活动

参考例句：

• The authorities have arrested several people suspected of espionage.官方已经逮捕了几个涉嫌从事间谍活动的人。
• Neither was there any hint of espionage in Hanley's early life.汉利的早期生活也毫无进行间谍活动的迹象。

9 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