2007年VOA标准英语-Clan Divisions Threaten Somalia Government

By Alisha Ryu
Mogadishu
17 January 2007

In Somalia, the demise¹ of the country's once-powerful Islamist movement is putting enormous pressure on the secular², U.N.-recognized interim³ government to rally popular support and stabilize⁴ the country.  VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu, in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, reports government leaders must first overcome growing clan⁵ divisions, which are threatening to derail the process. 

 
Somali police officers patrol a deserted⁶ street in Mogadishu, 15 Jan 2007
In early January, Somalia's interim government troops entered the capital, after defeating Islamist fighters in a string of battles and sending their leaders fleeing for their lives.

Re-taking Mogadishu from the Islamists was critical for the interim government, which was formed more than two years ago, but has had no power to legislate⁷ or to move beyond its base in Baidoa, 250 kilometers away.

Several sources in Mogadishu tell VOA the interim government has so little grassroots support it would have been nearly impossible for the government to establish itself in the capital without the military backing of regional giant, Ethiopia.

One source, who wishes to be identified only as Ibrahim, says the government's close ties with a country many Somalis dislike and distrust have only deepened the government's unpopularity.

 
Somali boy walks past two Ethiopian tanks in Mogadishu, 15 Jan 2007
"The Transitional Federal Government has never been in Mogadishu, until now, and it came by the assistance of Ethiopia, a historical enemy," he noted⁸.  "People feel you are a puppet for Ethiopians and this is losing their credibility with the citizens."  

It is less than an ideal beginning for the interim government, which has received international recognition but has struggled to shed its reputation as a fragile and weak institution.

That is because Somalia's transitional federal government, formed in 2004 in neighboring Kenya, is largely made up of the same factional leaders, who began the country's crippling civil war in 1991, by overthrowing⁹ Somalia's dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and carving¹⁰ up the country into personal fiefdoms.

Squabbling among the factional leaders doomed¹¹ more than a dozen other previous attempts to bring the warring sides together.  But this time, international and regional diplomats¹² were determined¹³ to end Somalia's political anarchy¹⁴ and pushed the warlords to cooperate to form a transitional government.

In October, 2004, newly-appointed parliament members elected then-70-year-old factional leader Abdullahi Yusuf as president. 

Mr. Yusuf is a former military officer from the semi-autonomous Somali region, Puntland, whose forces helped Ethiopia crush a militant¹⁵ Somali nationalist group called al-Itiyaad al-Islamiah in the early 1990's. 

From 1998 to 2001, Mr. Yusuf served as president of Puntland and remained a close ally of Addis Ababa.

To partly demonstrate inclusiveness in the new Somali government, Mr. Yusuf, who is a member of the Darod clan, appointed a member of the rival Hawiye clan as interim prime minister.  Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi hails from the Mogadishu area, where the Hawiye clan dominates.   

The former veterinarian has repeatedly pledged to keep factional differences from hindering the work of the transitional government.  But, now that the government is in the capital, long-established clan divisions are again proving to be formidable obstacles. 
 
 
From left to right, former warlord Muse¹⁶ Sude Yalahow, President Abdullahi Yusuf, Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi and former warlord Mohamed Qanyare Afrah, during their meeting, 12 Jan 2007
According to Mogadishu resident Ibrahim and several other sources, Prime Minister Gedi's Hawiye clan, whose members formed the core of the ousted¹⁷ Islamic courts and is the clan of many members of the interim government, is deeply unhappy that thousands of government troops, most of whom belong to President Yusuf's Darod clan, are securing the capital.

Ibrahim says when Prime Minister Gedi recently ordered the city to disarm¹⁸, Hawiye clan members that included several factional leaders in the government, refused because they feared the Darod clan could end up with most of their weapons.

"Gedi has Hawiyes against his policies," he explained.  "They say, 'If we just transfer the weapons to the government, does that not mean we are disempowering ourselves and empowering other clans¹⁹?'  That is the fear and concern in Mogadishu."

Further complicating²⁰ the issue is the fact that every clan is subdivided²¹ into many smaller clans and each one has its own ideas about how things should progress in Somalia. 

Somali journalist Mohamed Gureh warns that clan tensions are threatening not only to undermine the government's ability to function, but also to cause enough instability and chaos²² to provide an opportunity for radical²³ Islamists to regroup and attempt a comeback.

"If they [the Darod] marginalize the Hawiye clan, it will be like Sunnis in Iraq," he noted.  "Everything depends on how the international community understands this and acts."

A Somali journalist in Mogadishu, Mohamed Ibrahim Mohamed, adds the influence and power of clans in Somali society cannot be underestimated.

"We would like to forget the problems of the clans and sub-clans, but we cannot," he said.  "When we became a failed state, the only system that we had was the clans."

In the past week, Somali experts have called for the West, particularly the United States, to formulate²⁴ a comprehensive policy on Somalia that is not based solely²⁵ on counter-terrorism.

But, in Somalia's dizzying political environment, Somalis acknowledge that will be an enormously difficult task.

1 demise   

n.死亡；v.让渡，遗赠，转让

参考例句：

• He praised the union's aims but predicted its early demise.他赞扬协会的目标，但预期这一协会很快会消亡。
• The war brought about the industry's sudden demise.战争道致这个行业就这么突然垮了。

2 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

3 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

4 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

5 clan   

n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派

参考例句：

• She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。
• The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以，中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。

6 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

7 legislate   

vt.制定法律；n.法规，律例；立法

参考例句：

• Therefore,it is very urgent to legislate for the right of privacy.因此，为隐私权立法刻不容缓。
• It's impossible to legislate for every contingency.为每一偶发事件都立法是不可能的。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 overthrowing   

v.打倒，推翻( overthrow的现在分词 )；使终止

参考例句：

• They succeeded in overthrowing the fascist dictatorship. 他们成功推翻了法西斯独裁统治。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I always delight in overthrowing those kinds of schemes. 我一向喜欢戳穿人家的诡计。 来自辞典例句

10 carving   

n.雕刻品，雕花

参考例句：

• All the furniture in the room had much carving.房间里所有的家具上都有许多雕刻。
• He acquired the craft of wood carving in his native town.他在老家学会了木雕手艺。

11 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

12 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

14 anarchy   

n.无政府状态；社会秩序混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• There would be anarchy if we had no police.要是没有警察，社会就会无法无天。
• The country was thrown into a state of anarchy.这国家那时一下子陷入无政府状态。

15 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

16 muse   

n.缪斯（希腊神话中的女神），创作灵感

参考例句：

• His muse had deserted him,and he could no longer write.他已无灵感，不能再写作了。
• Many of the papers muse on the fate of the President.很多报纸都在揣测总统的命运。

17 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。

18 disarm   

v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和

参考例句：

• The world has waited 12 years for Iraq to disarm. 全世界等待伊拉克解除武装已有12年之久。
• He has rejected every peaceful opportunity offered to him to disarm.他已经拒绝了所有能和平缴械的机会。

19 clans   

宗族( clan的名词复数 )； 氏族； 庞大的家族； 宗派

参考例句：

• There are many clans in European countries. 欧洲国家有很多党派。
• The women were the great power among the clans [gentes], as everywhere else. 妇女在克兰〈氏族〉里，乃至一般在任何地方，都有很大的势力。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源

20 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。

21 subdivided   

再分，细分( subdivide的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The compound was subdivided into four living areas. 那个区域被划分成4个居住小区。
• This part of geologic calendar has not been satisfactorily subdivided. 这部分地质年代表还没有令人满意地再细分出来。

22 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。

23 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。

24 formulate   

v.用公式表示；规划；设计；系统地阐述

参考例句：

• He took care to formulate his reply very clearly.他字斟句酌，清楚地做了回答。
• I was impressed by the way he could formulate his ideas.他陈述观点的方式让我印象深刻。

25 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。