VOA常速英语2007-Jimmy Carter Hopes Elections in Sudan Will Bring

By Kane Farabaugh
New York City
10 October 2007
 

More than 200,000 people have died and millions more have been displaced by the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region. U.S. President Bush has called the crisis there "genocide."  Despite international pressure and the planned deployment² of a peacekeeping force, the killing³ and suffering continues.  Former President Jimmy Carter is a frequent visitor to Sudan, and his human rights organization in Atlanta, Georgia is deeply involved in humanitarian⁴ work in the country.   He spoke⁵ to VOA's Kane Farabaugh about the Carter Center, his concerns for upcoming peace negotiations⁶ and his hopes for future elections in Sudan.

Former President Jimmy Carter routinely makes headlines in his worldwide campaign to raise awareness⁷ about issues in areas of crisis.

His recent trip to the Darfur region of Sudan was no different.  There, it was widely reported he engaged in a shouting match with a security official who prevented him from speaking with local villagers.

In an interview with Voice of America, Mr. Carter downplayed the exchange. "He was just doing his duty, but he did it in a non-diplomatic way."

When asked, "If anything else, those kinds of headlines do bring attention to the situation there, even if we're forgetting about it,” he replied, "That's beneficial. It's very important for the world not to forget about Darfur, not to forget about the persecution⁸ of a displaced person."

Sudan has long been a focus of the Carter Center.

"We've been involved in Sudan since 1988,” said the former president. “I've known the current President [Omar] al-Bashir when he was a colonel in the army before he became the leader of Sudan in 1989."

Successful efforts by the Carter Center in Sudan include agricultural programs that have increased the production of wheat, and an aggressive campaign to eradicate⁹ Guinea Worm disease by 2009.

But bringing peace to the troubled region of Darfur is a far more difficult goal.  President Carter says he is concerned about the planned peace negotiations scheduled to take place in Tripoli, Libya later this month.

"...The groups that will be represented at the negotiating table are the armed rebel groups who have earned their way to the negotiating table by the barrel of a gun.  One of the main points that we have made was that the peace-loving civilian¹⁰ population needs to be represented at the negotiating table too."

The United Nations is preparing to deploy¹ a peacekeeping force of 20,000 soldiers to Darfur later this month.  It will join an African Union force of 7,000 already in the region.  As peace talks continue amid the planned deployment, President Carter is looking ahead to future elections in Sudan.

"We hope that we can help to arrange an honest election now scheduled for 2009, including a census¹¹ that is supposed to begin next February to prepare for the voters list that will be used in the election. So we hope we can break a deadline and prevent future deadlock¹² and open up the way for progress in the future," Mr. Carter said.

Peace agreements require international observers to monitor elections in Sudan.  The Sudanese government blocked these efforts in the past, but it has invited the Carter Center to take part in the upcoming election monitoring.  It is a move that is also supported by leaders in the south of the country.

So far, the Carter Center has monitored 68 troubled elections throughout the world.  President Carter hopes that free and fair elections in Sudan will eventually bring an end to the widespread suffering of the people of Darfur.

1 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

2 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

3 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

4 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。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

7 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

8 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。

9 eradicate   

v.根除，消灭，杜绝

参考例句：

• These insects are very difficult to eradicate.这些昆虫很难根除。
• They are already battling to eradicate illnesses such as malaria and tetanus.他们已经在努力消灭疟疾、破伤风等疾病。

10 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

11 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

12 deadlock   

n.僵局，僵持

参考例句：

• The negotiations reached a deadlock after two hours.两小时后，谈判陷入了僵局。
• The employers and strikers are at a deadlock over the wage.雇主和罢工者在工资问题上相持不下。