VOA常速英语2007年-Georgia's Besieged President Calls Early Electi

By Andre de Nesnera
Washington
08 November 2007

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, who is mired¹ in a deep political crisis, Thursday agreed to call early presidential elections and said he would lift the state of emergency. In this background report from Washington, VOA Senior Correspondent André de Nesnera looks at what led to the latest unrest in the former Soviet² republic of Georgia.

Georgia is under a state of emergency, imposed after riot police used tear gas, water cannons³, baton⁴ charges and rubber bullets to disperse⁵ thousands of demonstrators in Georgia's capital, Tbilisi. For six days, protesters rallied near Georgia's parliament building, calling for early parliamentary and presidential elections, as well as the resignation of President Mikhail Saakashvili. After the imposition of the state of emergency, opposition⁶ leaders said they would suspend their demonstrations⁷.

Experts say this is the most severe political crisis facing Mr. Saakashvili since he was elected president by an overwhelming margin⁸ in January 2004 following a popular movement that became known as the Rose Revolution. It forced the resignation of Eduard Shevardnadze, the former Soviet foreign minister who became president following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Since coming to power, Mr. Saakashvili has been following a pro-western foreign policy while attempting to diminish Russia's influence in Georgia.

Olga Oliker with the RAND Corporation, says that has aggravated⁹ tensions with Russia.

"Though, I think, for instance, what some folks in the Russian government are more concerned about is the very strong pro-western policies that he's adopted: Georgia has sent forces to Iraq, Georgia has worked very, very hard to build strong ties with the United states; it has been very clear about its desire to eventually join the NATO [North Atlantic Treaty Organization] alliance," said Olga Oliker.

On the domestic side, he has been attempting to fight corruption¹⁰ and trying to restore Georgia's territorial¹¹ integrity - bringing back the separatist and autonomous¹² regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia under Tbilisi's full control.

But Oliker says Mr. Saakashvili has also been consolidating¹³ power - a key criticism of the opposition.

"There is less press freedom," she said. "It is much more difficult to be part of the political opposition in Georgia than it used to be. There was a lot more press freedom actually under President Shevardnadze than there has evolved under Saakashvili."

Experts say, when Mr. Saakashvili came to power in 2004, there was a lot of enthusiasm and hope that things would get better in Georgia.

But Oliker says that has changed.

"There is a lot of concern in Georgia that the promise that they felt they had from Saakashvili when he came to power, which was of freedom and democracy and free press, isn't what they are actually seeing - that they are seeing a pro-western foreign policy, but they are seeing domestic policies that seem to constrain¹⁴ freedoms rather than entrench¹⁵ them," said Olga Oliker.

That concern, say experts, has manifested itself by anti-government street demonstrations in Georgia's capital, Tbilisi. But analysts¹⁶ say it is unclear whether the opposition has supporters elsewhere who could trigger protests in other parts of the country.

President Saakashvili has accused Russia of helping¹⁷ the opposition - a claim Russian officials described as an irresponsible provocation¹⁸.

Robert Legvold, a Russia expert from Columbia University, says the relationship between Mr. Saakashvili and Russian President Vladimir Putin is unique.

"Uniquely hostile," he said. "I believe that the relationship between Russia and Georgia is the only, almost unmitigated hostile relationship within the post-Soviet space involving Russia."

Experts say relations between Georgia and Russia are at an all-time low. And they say it will be interesting to see if Moscow tries to capitalize on the Georgian domestic unrest.

1 mired   

abbr.microreciprocal degree 迈尔德（色温单位）v.深陷( mire的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The country was mired in recession. 这个国家陷入了经济衰退的困境。
• The most brilliant leadership can be mired in detail. 最有才干的领导也会陷于拘泥琐事的困境中。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

3 cannons   

n.加农炮，大炮，火炮( cannon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Cannons bombarded enemy lines. 大炮轰击了敌军阵地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• One company had been furnished with six cannons. 某连队装备了六门大炮。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 baton   

n.乐队用指挥杖

参考例句：

• With the baton the conductor was beating time.乐队指挥用指挥棒打拍子。
• The conductor waved his baton,and the band started up.指挥挥动指挥棒，乐队开始演奏起来。

5 disperse   

vi.使分散；使消失；vt.分散；驱散

参考例句：

• The cattle were swinging their tails to disperse the flies.那些牛甩动着尾巴驱赶苍蝇。
• The children disperse for the holidays.孩子们放假了。

6 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

7 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

8 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

9 aggravated   

使恶化( aggravate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使更严重； 激怒； 使恼火

参考例句：

• If he aggravated me any more I shall hit him. 假如他再激怒我，我就要揍他。
• Far from relieving my cough, the medicine aggravated it. 这药非但不镇咳，反而使我咳嗽得更厉害。

10 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

11 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

12 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

13 consolidating   

v.（使）巩固， （使）加强( consolidate的现在分词 )；（使）合并

参考例句：

• These measures are meant for consolidating the system of basic medical care. 这些举措旨在夯实基层医疗体系，让老百姓看大病不必出远门。 来自互联网
• We are consolidating the Chinese and English versions of our homepage. 我们将为您提供中英文版本一起的主页。 来自互联网

14 constrain   

vt.限制，约束；克制，抑制

参考例句：

• She tried to constrain herself from a cough in class.上课时她竭力忍住不咳嗽。
• The study will examine the factors which constrain local economic growth.这项研究将考查抑制当地经济发展的因素。

15 entrench   

v.使根深蒂固；n.壕沟；防御设施

参考例句：

• A series of measures were designed to entrench democracy and the rule of law.采取一系列措施旨在巩固民主和法制。
• These dictators have entrenched themselves politically and are difficult to move.这些独裁者在政治上已经站稳了脚跟，很难推翻他们。

16 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。

17 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

18 provocation   

n.激怒，刺激，挑拨，挑衅的事物，激怒的原因

参考例句：

• He's got a fiery temper and flares up at the slightest provocation.他是火爆性子，一点就着。
• They did not react to this provocation.他们对这一挑衅未作反应。