VOA常速英语2007年-LRA to Meet With Uganda's President

By Derek Kilner
Nairobi
02 November 2007

Representatives of the Lord's Resistance Army rebel movement are on a historic visit to the Ugandan capital, Kampala. As Derek Kilner reports from VOA's East Africa bureau in Nairobi, the delegation¹ plans to meet with President Yoweri Museveni and consult with Ugandans in other parts of the country about ongoing² peace negotiations³.

The visit by the rebels, who arrived in Kampala on Thursday is the first by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), since peace talks began in southern Sudan in July 2006. The talks adjourned⁴ in June to allow the two sides to engage in consultations⁵ with people in Uganda.

Notably⁶ lacking from LRA's delegation are the top military commanders. Leader Joseph Kony and three of his deputies are wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes committed during the conflict, including amputations and the forced recruitment of child soldiers. They may fear being arrested if they were to show up in Kamapala.The delegation is headed by Martin Ojul.

LRA spokesman Godfrey Ayoo says the rebels plan to meet with President Museveni in coming days. He says the delegation has been warmly received in Kampala.

"The reception that the Lords Resistance Movement/Army's peace delegation has received in Uganda has been wonderful.  There's a lot of excitement, a lot of expectation," he said.

Ayoo says the purpose of the delegation is to demonstrate that his group wants peace and to involve the Ugandan people in the peace process.

"The common people must be involved in a solution to the conflict so that the implementation⁷ of this agreement that we have entered into should be supported by the people of Uganda, so that whatever agreement we sign with the government should not be strange to the people of Uganda," he added.

Manasseh Wepundi, senior analyst⁸ at the Africa Policy Institute in Nairobi, suggests that the LRA's visit may have symbolic⁹ value, but that it is less clear how much the event will do to move the peace process forward.

"It is an important confidence-building measure," he noted¹⁰.  "It serves to build the confidence not only of the LRA delegation, but also of the other stakeholders in the peace process. That includes the mediation¹¹ team and the local communities. But as to whether that in itself serves to reduce the egos¹² of either party, or to reduce the mistrust between the two parties, that still remains¹³ to be seen."

Wepundi and other analysts¹⁴ see deciding the fate of Joseph Kony, the group's leader, as a major sticking point in achieving a deal. And Kony's absence from Kampala highlights the difficulty of the task.

The American organization ENOUGH released a report on Monday by John Prendergast, a top Africa official in the Clinton administration. The report suggests that choices for dealing¹⁵ with Kony include bringing him to justice in Uganda, giving him asylum¹⁶ in another country, or forcibly arresting him if the peace process collapses¹⁷. 

There have been reports recently of a split between Joseph Kony and his deputy Vincent Otti. But the LRA delegation in Kampala has rejected the reports as unfounded.

1 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。

2 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

3 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。

4 adjourned   

（使）休会， （使）休庭( adjourn的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The court adjourned for lunch. 午餐时间法庭休庭。
• The trial was adjourned following the presentation of new evidence to the court. 新证据呈到庭上后，审讯就宣告暂停。

5 consultations   

n.磋商（会议）( consultation的名词复数 )；商讨会；协商会；查找

参考例句：

• Consultations can be arranged at other times by appointment. 磋商可以通过预约安排在其他时间。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Consultations are under way. 正在进行磋商。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

7 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

8 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

9 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

10 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。

11 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。

12 egos   

自我，自尊，自负( ego的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Their egos are so easily bruised. 他们的自尊心很容易受到伤害。
• The belief in it issues from the puerile egos of inferior men. 这种信仰是下等人幼稚的自私意识中产生的。

13 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

14 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

15 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

16 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

17 collapses   

折叠( collapse的第三人称单数 )； 倒塌； 崩溃； （尤指工作劳累后）坐下

参考例句：

• This bridge table collapses. 这张桥牌桌子能折叠。
• Once Russia collapses, the last chance to stop Hitler will be gone. 一旦俄国垮台，抑止希特勒的最后机会就没有了。