2007年VOA标准英语-Rebel Leader Takes Over as Ivory Coast's New Pr

By Phuong Tran
Dakar
05 April 2007

In Ivory Coast, Prime Minister Guillaume Soro is finalizing¹ who will be part of his new power-sharing government with President Laurent Gbagbo. Mr. Soro, who still controls rebel forces in the North, and President Gbagbo were once bitter enemies. They were brought together under a peace deal brokered² in Ouagadougou last month. Phuong Tran has more from VOA's West Africa Bureau in Dakar.

Ivory Coast's outgoing prime minister Charles Konan Banny (r) shakes hands with his successor Guillaume Soro following hand-over ceremony in Abidjan, 04 Apr 2007

Guillaume Soro was sworn in Wednesday and is now in the process of choosing more than 30 members to serve in his new government . They will come from rebel forces, unarmed opposition³ parties and Mr. Gbagbo's Ivorian Popular Front.

Mr. Soro was appointed prime minister last week by President Gbagbo. The move was part of the latest plan to reunite the divided West African nation.

 

But the director of Africa programs for the International Crisis Group, Francois Grignon, says Mr. Soro will have to become accustomed to facing political opposition.

"He is now put in a situation where he is one politico among others," he said. "There is competition, obviously, with the unarmed opposition, with the key other Ivorian leaders such as [Alassane] Ouattara and [Henri] Konan Bedie from the other parties."

Under the agreement reached last month in Ouagadougou, election will be organized later this year. Cisse Sindou, deputy chief of Soro's rebel group, the New Forces, says other opposition parties should not feel threatened.

 

"We always told them that we are the only ones that would bring fair elections because we are not candidates," he said.

"We will not let [President] Gbagbo do anything unfairly to them because we are in the same party. We are the referee⁴ and have the intention to stay a good referee so the game will be fair," he added.

Analyst⁵ Grignon says Soro will also face, what he calls, a cunning political rival in President Gbagbo.

"President Gbagbo is going to play his cards as usual, which is to divide and rule," he said. "Which is to undermine whatever support Soro may have with other members of the opposition in order to have his will. "

Deputy rebel chief Sindou dismisses this potential threat to Soro's power.

"Everybody thinks [President] Gbagbo is [the] strategic one. But do not underestimate Forces Nouvelles [New Forces rebels] also. We have been ruling 60 percent of the country [for] five years. We have gained some confidence and some experience. And we know [Mr.] Gbagbo better than anyone else. We know him for more than 20 years," he said.

Ivory Coast has been divided into a rebel-held north and government-controlled south since late 2002. U.N. and French peacekeeping forces patrol a buffer⁶ zone that separates the two sides. Last month's peace deal calls for reunification of the country and free and fair elections. Polls have been delayed twice since 2005.

One of the key rebel demands has been that many Ivorian northerners, now treated as second class citizens, get the right to vote.

1 finalizing   

vt.完成（finalize的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• You may edit registered information any time during the finalizing period. 您可以在规定期限内随时编辑修改注册资料。 来自互联网
• Natsun Trimming & Ironing, Finalizing the Perfection. 40南山整烫，完美在此定格。 来自互联网

2 brokered   

adj.由权力经纪人安排（或控制）的v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的过去式和过去分词 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• a peace plan brokered by the UN 由联合国出面协商的和平计划
• Your husband brokered the deal to go in, transfrer the assets and get our man out. 你丈夫后来插了一脚，把生意都抢了过去，我们的人也被挤了出来。 来自电影对白

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 referee   

n.裁判员．仲裁人，代表人，鉴定人

参考例句：

• The team was left raging at the referee's decision.队员们对裁判员的裁决感到非常气愤。
• The referee blew a whistle at the end of the game.裁判在比赛结束时吹响了哨子。

5 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。

6 buffer   

n.起缓冲作用的人(或物)，缓冲器；vt.缓冲

参考例句：

• A little money can be a useful buffer in time of need.在急需时，很少一点钱就能解燃眉之急。
• Romantic love will buffer you against life's hardships.浪漫的爱会减轻生活的艰辛。