VOA常速英语2007年-Lebanon's President Asks Army to Take Over Coun

By Edward Yeranian
Beirut
24 November 2007

Lebanon's outgoing president, Emile Lahoud, has asked the army to take charge of security in the country, after members of parliament again failed to elect a successor, shortly before he left office at midnight. Failure to choose a successor leaves the country facing a political power vaccum, as Edward Yeranian reports for VOA from Beirut.

 

President Lahoud's spokesman, Rafiq Shalala, told reporters that the president was giving the army control of security matters to avoid any possible vacuum. He says, the president says Lebanon is facing the dangers of a state of emergency, and is instructing the army to maintain security.

A spokesman for Prime Minister Fuad Siniora said the government rejects Mr. Lahoud's order.

Meanwhile, Al Arabiya TV is reporting that the Army Commander, Gen. Michel Sleiman, has told a member of Mr. Siniora's Cabinet that he would continue to report to the government.

Earlier, Lebanese leaders failed to reach a last-ditch accord over a compromise candidate to replace outgoing President Lahoud, and agreed to postpone¹ Friday's electoral session of parliament until November 30.

The decision to postpone the election for the fifth time in slightly more than a month has created a power vacuum, leaving Lebanon officially without a president for the second time in its history.

Druze Leader Walid Jumblatt, a key pillar of the pro-Western governing coalition², explained that he had conferred with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a member of the pro-Syrian Hezbollah-led opposition³, and they agreed about postponing⁴ the electoral session, so as to preserve peace among Lebanon's rival parties.

He said the parliamentarians must stick to the principle of consensus⁵ and keep peace among the parties.

Most members of parliament from the pro-government March 14th majority were escorted to parliament at Beirut's Nejmeh Square, amid draconian⁶ security by specially⁷ trained police units. Army tanks were also positioned along many of Beirut's main arteries⁸.

The French, Italian and Spanish foreign minister, as well as Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa have been in Beirut in recent days, helping⁹ to mediate¹⁰.

In Washington, State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack urged Lebanon's political factions¹¹ to maintain calm and promote security for Lebanon's citizens. He also urged them to continue talks aimed at electing a new president.

Deputy Speaker of Parliament Farid Makari, who belongs to the ruling March 14th coalition, scolded Hezbollah and its allies for opting¹² to boycott¹³ Friday's electoral session. He said the boycott is not a democratic decision and is completely against the constitution.

The head of Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc¹⁴ insisted that many members of the pro-government alliance had collaborated¹⁵ with Israel when it invaded Lebanon in 1982, and were not concerned then about following constitutional norms.

1 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

2 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

3 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。

4 postponing   

v.延期，推迟( postpone的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He tried to gain time by postponing his decision. 他想以迟迟不作决定的手段来争取时间。 来自辞典例句
• I don't hold with the idea of postponing further discussion of the matter. 我不赞成推迟进一步讨论这件事的想法。 来自辞典例句

5 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？

6 draconian   

adj.严苛的；苛刻的；严酷的；龙一样的

参考例句：

• You can't expect the people to obey such draconian regulations.你不能指望人民服从如此严苛的规定。
• The city needs a draconian way of dealing with robbers.这个城市需要一个严苛的办法来对付强盗。

7 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

8 arteries   

n.动脉( artery的名词复数 )；干线，要道

参考例句：

• Even grafting new blood vessels in place of the diseased coronary arteries has been tried. 甚至移植新血管代替不健康的冠状动脉的方法都已经试过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This is the place where the three main arteries of West London traffic met. 这就是伦敦西部三条主要交通干线的交汇处。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 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。

10 mediate   

vi.调解，斡旋；vt.经调解解决；经斡旋促成

参考例句：

• The state must mediate the struggle for water resources.政府必须通过调解来解决对水资源的争夺。
• They may be able to mediate between parties with different interests.他们也许能在不同利益政党之间进行斡旋。

11 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

12 opting   

v.选择，挑选( opt的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• What courses are most students opting for? 多数学生选什么课程？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Wells doesn't rule out opting out and then re-signing with Houston. 威尔斯没有排除跳出合同再与火箭重签的可能。 来自互联网

13 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。

14 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

15 collaborated   

合作( collaborate的过去式和过去分词 )； 勾结叛国

参考例句：

• We have collaborated on many projects over the years. 这些年来我们合作搞了许多项目。
• We have collaborated closely with the university on this project. 我们与大学在这个专案上紧密合作。