VOA常速英语2007-Pressure Mounts for Government Talks with Niger

By Phuong Tran
Dakar
07 October 2007

In Niger, civil society and government officials are increasing pressure on the president to negotiate with rebels to end a months-long deadly uprising in the north. Phuong Tran has more from VOA's West African bureau in Dakar.

Niger human rights organizations recently sent a letter to President Mamadou Tandja asking him to shut down what they believe is a government-sponsored website that condemns¹ as traitors² people who support dialogue with the rebels.

Government spokesman Mohamed Ben Omar denies any government support of the site.

President Tandja has refused to discuss the fighters' complaints of government neglect until they disarm³. He dismisses them as violent bandits and drug traffickers who created the rebellion to hide criminal activities.

Weila Ilguilas, a member of the Collective of Organizations for the Defense⁴ of Human Rights and Democracy, says it is urgent for the government to break its silence. Ilguilas says it does not matter who the rebels are or whether their rebellion is justified⁵. He says as long as people are dying and the economy is suffering, political dialogue is needed.

Ilguilas adds that fighting has cut off access to the north, making it hard to deliver food and medicine to an already remote area.

Since the rebellion started eight months ago, landmines⁶ in the war zone have killed dozens of government soldiers.

Government spokesman Omar says people who support dialogue are misguided. Omar says private organizations that do not clearly understand the situation are defending the rebels and calling for talks, but that the government knows how dangerous the rebels are. He says the rebels want to take land from Niger and Mali to form their own republic.

The fighters have not made recent secession demands. They have demanded more uranium profits and say the government has not fulfilled the 1995 peace deal after the last rebellion. Officials say the agreement has been mostly honored, and that uranium monies are for the entire country, not just those who live close to the mines.

Recent government efforts to end the fighting include sending a delegation⁷ to Libya to discuss the rebellion with President Muammar Gadhafi.

Earlier this week, a small group of Nigerien lawmakers traveled to the north to meet with rebel leaders.

Tuareg rebel spokesman Mohamed El Kontchi Kriska says even if the government proposed formal talks now, the rebels would refuse. "We want the government to respect our rebellion. If he (the president) confirms our rebellion, then we can start negotiations," he said.

The Niger rebels have declared a temporary cease fire until the end of the Muslim holiday of Ramadan, which ends next week.

1 condemns   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的第三人称单数 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• Her widowhood condemns her to a lonely old age. 守寡使她不得不过着孤独的晚年生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The public opinion condemns prostitution. 公众舆论遣责卖淫。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 traitors   

卖国贼( traitor的名词复数 )； 叛徒； 背叛者； 背信弃义的人

参考例句：

• Traitors are held in infamy. 叛徒为人所不齿。
• Traitors have always been treated with contempt. 叛徒永被人们唾弃。

3 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。

4 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

5 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

6 landmines   

潜在的冲突； 地雷，投伞水雷( landmine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The treaty bans the use production and trade of landmines. 该条约规定，禁止使用地雷相关产品及贸易。
• One of the weapon's of special concern was landmines. 在引起人们特别关注的武器中就有地雷。

7 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。