2007年VOA标准英语-Burundi Proposes Offering Troops for Somalia, U

By Cathy Majtenyi
Nairobi
01 February 2007

Burundi has agreed to offer troops for the African Union peacekeeping initiative in Somalia. Meanwhile, Uganda's parliament is brushing aside attempts by the ruling party to push through a motion to send Ugandan troops to Somalia. Cathy Majtenyi reports for VOA from Nairobi.

Burundi's Minister of Foreign Affairs Antoinette Batumubwira tells VOA that the proposal to send 1,000 troops to Somalia needs to be approved by Burundi's parliament and senate.

Antoinette Batumubwira

She explains the reasons behind the proposal.

"The African Union has asked to any country that could contribute troops that it could do so," said Batumubwira. "We have a battalion¹ that is ready, that is trained for this kind of mission. We have been helped also when we had difficulties so we would like to also contribute to peacekeeping on the continent."

The foreign minister was referring to troops that were brought into Burundi as part of a peace process to end to more than a decade of civil war.

Meanwhile, in Uganda, the ruling party's efforts to push through a motion in parliament to debate the issue of Ugandan peacekeepers was voted down Wednesday, primarily because most opposition² MPs had walked out of the house earlier to protest another issue.

The lawmakers had argued that it would be improper³ for the house to discuss the issue with so many opposition members absent.

The ruling National Resistance Movement last month approved a plan to send a contingent⁴ of Ugandan peacekeeping troops into Somalia.

At the time, the party's director of information, Ofwono Opondo, told VOA that "the deployment⁵ is as good as done," largely because the National Resistance Movement's caucus⁶ constitutes more than two-thirds of the members of parliament.

But some Ugandan lawmakers are doubtful about the proposal. Member of Parliament for Gulu Betty Aol Ocan explains.

"We still have problems also here, and we do not know the terms of these people [peacekeepers]. We do not know whether they are going as peacekeepers, or they are going as fighters, because right now there is still fighting in Somalia. So, there is a lot of mixed feelings there - we are not very sure," said Ocan.

The African Union has approved a plan to send 8,000 African peacekeepers into Somalia as part of efforts to stabilize⁷ the country, particularly after the ouster of the Islamic Courts Union.

During its summit earlier this week, African Union officials were pushing African countries to contribute troops to the mission. Several countries had indicated that they were thinking of doing so.

Since civil war broke out in 1991, militias⁸ loyal to clan⁹ and sub-clan-based factions¹⁰ have controlled different parts of the country, with no central authority to provide law and order and even basic services to the population.

A transitional Somali parliament was formed in Kenya more than two years ago following a peace process.

1 battalion   

n.营；部队；大队(的人)

参考例句：

• The town was garrisoned by a battalion.该镇由一营士兵驻守。
• At the end of the drill parade,the battalion fell out.操练之后，队伍解散了。

2 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。

3 improper   

adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的

参考例句：

• Short trousers are improper at a dance.舞会上穿短裤不成体统。
• Laughing and joking are improper at a funeral.葬礼时大笑和开玩笑是不合适的。

4 contingent   

adj.视条件而定的；n.一组，代表团，分遣队

参考例句：

• The contingent marched in the direction of the Western Hills.队伍朝西山的方向前进。
• Whether or not we arrive on time is contingent on the weather.我们是否按时到达要视天气情况而定。

5 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。

6 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

7 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

8 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

9 clan   

n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派

参考例句：

• She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。
• The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以，中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。

10 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