2007年VOA标准英语-Liberian Lawmakers Ordered to Testify on Speake

By Kari Barber
Dakar
24 January 2007

Lawmakers in Liberia are being ordered to testify before the Supreme¹ Court about their recent vote to oust² controversial House Speaker Edwin Snowe. Earlier in the week, the court reinstated Snowe pending³ his appeal that his removal was done illegally. Some representatives who oppose Snowe say they will not follow the court's orders, while others say this case is a test of the country's post-war government. Kari Barber reports from our West Africa bureau in Dakar.

Edwin Snowe tells reporters that he is still in power at a press conference in Monrovia (file photo)

Thursday lawmakers who voted against Snowe will be called for testimony⁴ at the Monrovia high court.

One of them is Armah Sarnour who says he served as interim⁵ Speaker of Liberia's lower house on Wednesday. He told VOA he plans to do more work in the House Thursday rather than going to the Supreme Court.

"As I speak, we are holding session today and people are coming," he said. "We held session today and tomorrow we will hold session again."

Other Snowe opponents have also said they will not honor the court's rulings. They say the court does not have the right to impede⁶ the proceedings⁷ of the legislative⁸ branch.

Other lawmakers are taking a more careful approach.

Parliament Member Vinicius Hodges says he wants Snowe out of power, but he says he petitioned the court for Snowe's reinstatement. Hodges says he does not believe the method used to remove Snowe was fair.

"I want Snowe to go," he said. "I have always opposed Snowe being my speaker. During his election I stood on the floor and opposed him."

"So Snowe going, I do not have a problem with that. I have a problem with flouting¹⁰ the rule of law. We just came from a war. If we begin to flout⁹ our constitution, we are heading for another war," he added.

Human rights lawyer Dempster Browne says he is optimistic most lawmakers will heed¹¹ the Supreme Court's call.

"If there are lawmakers who want to defy the law of the land, we will see that," he said. "I think the minister of justice will advise them not to defy the Supreme Court because nobody is above the law."

Liberian House Speaker Edwin Snowe was ousted¹² in an unusual parliamentary vote last week held in a facility outside the capital, Monrovia.

The current contention¹³ against Snowe is that he broke parliamentary rules by interfering¹⁴ with the state's foreign diplomacy¹⁵.

Snowe has appealed to the Supreme Court saying the vote to oust him was invalid¹⁶ and has accused lawmakers of accepting bribes¹⁷.

Snowe, an ally of jailed former President Charles Taylor, has long been a political opponent of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 oust   

vt.剥夺，取代，驱逐

参考例句：

• The committee wanted to oust him from the union.委员会想把他从工会中驱逐出去。
• The leaders have been ousted from power by nationalists.这些领导人被民族主义者赶下了台。

3 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

4 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

5 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。

6 impede   

v.妨碍，阻碍，阻止

参考例句：

• One shouldn't impede other's progress.一个人不应该妨碍他人进步。
• The muddy roads impede our journey.我们的旅游被泥泞的道路阻挠了。

7 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

8 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

9 flout   

v./n.嘲弄，愚弄，轻视

参考例句：

• Parents who flout Family Court orders may be named in the media in Australia.在澳洲父母亲若是藐视家庭法庭的裁定可能在媒体上被公布姓名。
• The foolish boy flouted his mother's advice.这个愚蠢的孩子轻视他母亲的劝告。

10 flouting   

v.藐视，轻视( flout的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• By selling alcohol to minors,the shop is deliberately flouting the law. 向未成年人出售烈性酒，是商店故意犯罪法。 来自口语例句
• By selling alcohol to minor, the shop is deliberately flouting the law. 向未成年人出售烈性酒，是商店故意犯法。 来自互联网

11 heed   

v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心

参考例句：

• You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
• For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。

12 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。

13 contention   

n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张

参考例句：

• The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。
• The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道，争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。

14 interfering   

adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词

参考例句：

• He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事！
• I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预，让我自己拿主意。

15 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

16 invalid   

n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的

参考例句：

• He will visit an invalid.他将要去看望一个病人。
• A passport that is out of date is invalid.护照过期是无效的。

17 bribes   

n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• corrupt officials accepting bribes 接受贿赂的贪官污吏