VOA常速英语2007-Rebel Absences May Imperil Darfur Peace Talks

By Derek Kilner
Nairobi
24 October 2007

A major rebel group in the Darfur region of western Sudan says it will not attend peace talks with the government that are scheduled to begin Saturday in Libya.  As Derek Kilner reports for the VOA from Nairobi, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) is the latest rebel faction¹ to announce it is boycotting³ the negotiations⁴, raising doubts about what the talks will be able to achieve.

The rebel group JEM issued a statement Tuesday saying it will not attend Saturday's talks in Sirte, Libya.

Several other rebel factions⁵ have also indicated they will boycott² the talks.  These include a Sudan Liberation Movement faction led by Ahmed Abdelshafi and the Sudan Liberation Movement-Unity faction, as well as influential⁶ Sudan Liberation Movement leader Abdelwahid al-Nur.

Researcher Mariam Jooma, with the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria, South Africa, says she believes the absence of so many key figures will make it difficult to achieve results.

"The rebel factions are not wanting to attend because they believe that they still have not reached a consensus⁷ view as to what their demands are," she said.  "Basically what this means is that the joint⁸ mediation⁹ support team that is made up of the special envoys¹⁰ of the AU [African Union] and the U.N. as well as representatives of the international community will be facing quite a difficult task." 

Previous negotiations on the Darfur conflict in 2006 produced a peace agreement that was signed by only one rebel group, the Sudan Liberation Army faction led by Minni Minawi, who has since joined the government.  That deal has had little impact and conflict has persisted between government-backed forces and the groups that refused to sign.

There are fears that without the participation¹¹ of the major factions, any agreement produced in the current round of talks could prove as ineffective at stemming violence as last year's agreement.

The challenge may be even greater this time around, as the number of rebel factions in Darfur has multiplied during the past year.

The former southern rebels of the Sudan People's Liberation (SPLM) have been mediating¹² talks between the numerous Darfur rebel factions in an attempt to forge a more unified¹³ voice for the Libya talks.

Meanwhile, the SPLM, which signed a power-sharing peace agreement with the Khartoum government in 2005, recently suspended the participation of its ministers in that government.

Jooma says this development could affect the credibility of the government as a negotiator in Darfur. 

"The withdrawal¹⁴ of the SPLM will have a major impact on who the government is, because the SPLM, at the moment, represent the second major partner after the National Congress Party of the Government of National Unity," she added.  "So if you are talking about hosting talks between the government and rebels, who will be representing the government then?  Essentially¹⁵ it will just be then the National Congress Party."

Jooma says the conflict in Darfur and the dispute between the SPLM and the Khartoum government should be addressed together, since any agreement on Darfur must take account of the provisions of the existing agreement between the north and south.

Sudan's government says the Libya talks should proceed, and international mediators have given no sign that talks may be postponed¹⁶.

1 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

2 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

3 boycotting   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They're boycotting the shop because the people there are on strike. 他们抵制那家商店，因为那里的店员在罢工。
• The main opposition parties are boycotting the elections. 主要反对党都抵制此次选举。

4 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。

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 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

7 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

8 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

9 mediation   

n.调解

参考例句：

• The dispute was settled by mediation of the third country. 这场争端通过第三国的斡旋而得以解决。
• The dispute was settled by mediation. 经调解使争端得以解决。

10 envoys   

使节( envoy的名词复数 )； 公使； 谈判代表； 使节身份

参考例句：

• the routine tit for tat when countries expel each other's envoys 国家相互驱逐对方使节这种惯常的报复行动
• Marco Polo's travelogue mentions that Kublai Khan sent envoys to Malgache. 马可波罗游记中提到忽必烈曾派使节到马尔加什。

11 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

12 mediating   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的现在分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• So many factors are mediating. 如此众多的因素在起作用。
• The contrast in mediating noted in the sitting room. 客厅中注重了调和中的对比。

13 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

14 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

15 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

16 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。