2007年VOA标准英语-Kenya Urges Eritrea To Rejoin IGAD

By Cathy Majtenyi
Nairobi
23 April 2007

Kenya will ask Eritrea to re-join a regional grouping of countries that spearheads peace and development efforts in the Horn of Africa and East Africa. Eritrea withdrew from the organization Saturday widely believed to be because of peacekeeping policies in war-torn Somalia. Cathy Majtenyi reports for VOA from Nairobi.

Eritrea was one of seven member countries of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, or IGAD, a group created in 1996 from an earlier organization that focused on drought and development.

Eritrea has become increasingly disillusioned¹ with IGAD, especially after the organization endorsed² a plan to allow foreign peacekeepers into war-torn Somalia to bring stability there.

Ethiopian troops and tanks at international airport in Mogadishu, Somalia, 29 Dec 2006

The tiny Horn of Africa nation vehemently³ opposes the presence of Ethiopian soldiers in Somalia posted there to help the transitional government oust⁴ the Islamic Courts Union last year. The Ethiopian soldiers are still there and engage in battles with insurgents⁵, causing a huge humanitarian⁶ crisis.

Eritrea is also upset with the organization's plan to mediate⁷ a border dispute between it and archenemy Ethiopia. The two countries fought bitterly over their disputed border from 1998 to 2000, killing⁸ tens of thousands of people.

Discussions over the border issue, Eritrea maintains, are moot⁹ because a boundary commission had already demarcated the border. Eritrea says Ethiopia is bound to respect the commission's ruling, whereas Ethiopia says there should be more discussion on the issue.

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki is the current chairman of IGAD. The Kenyan government says it will try to convince Eritrea to come back on board.

Kenya's assistant minister of foreign affairs Moses Wetangula explains what is being done.

"This morning my minister [Raphael Tuju] has had discussions with the new Eritrean ambassador to Nairobi, who presented his papers to the president today," he said.

"My colleague, the [Foreign Affairs] Minister Raphael Tuju, the chairman of the IGAD Council of Ministers [will] also take some steps to see whether either by himself or one of us, can engage the Eritreans in discussion, and to encourage them that we are better off being together than being apart," he continued.

VOA could not reach the Eritrean government for comment.

Eritrea announced its pullout on the official government Web site on Saturday. The statement said that it had "suspended" its membership because of its failure to promote peace and security in the region.

The country has often accused Kenya of being biased¹⁰ in favor of Ethiopia, especially in peacekeeping policies regarding Somalia.

Member countries of the Djibouti-based IGAD include: Kenya; Ethiopia; Djibouti; Uganda; Sudan; and Somalia.

Among IGAD's most high-profile accomplishments¹¹ are the holding of peace talks in Kenya between north and south Sudan that ended with the signing of a Comprehensive Peace Accord, ending more than two decades of civil war in Sudan.

IGAD also facilitated the Somali peace talks in Kenya that resulted in the formation of Somalia's current transitional federal government, and is endorsing¹² an African-Union peacekeeping operation in Somalia.

1 disillusioned   

a.不再抱幻想的，大失所望的，幻想破灭的

参考例句：

• I soon became disillusioned with the job. 我不久便对这个工作不再抱幻想了。
• Many people who are disillusioned in reality assimilate life to a dream. 许多对现实失望的人把人生比作一场梦。

2 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 vehemently   

adv. 热烈地

参考例句：

• He argued with his wife so vehemently that he talked himself hoarse. 他和妻子争论得很激烈，以致讲话的声音都嘶哑了。
• Both women vehemently deny the charges against them. 两名妇女都激烈地否认了对她们的指控。

4 oust   

vt.剥夺，取代，驱逐

参考例句：

• The committee wanted to oust him from the union.委员会想把他从工会中驱逐出去。
• The leaders have been ousted from power by nationalists.这些领导人被民族主义者赶下了台。

5 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

6 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

7 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。

8 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

9 moot   

v.提出；adj.未决议的；n.大会；辩论会

参考例句：

• The question mooted in the board meeting is still a moot point.那个在董事会上提出讨论的问题仍未决的。
• The oil versus nuclear equation is largely moot.石油和核能之间的关系还很有争议。

10 biased   

a.有偏见的

参考例句：

• a school biased towards music and art 一所偏重音乐和艺术的学校
• The Methods: They employed were heavily biased in the gentry's favour. 他们采用的方法严重偏袒中上阶级。

11 accomplishments   

n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就

参考例句：

• It was one of the President's greatest accomplishments. 那是总统最伟大的成就之一。
• Among her accomplishments were sewing,cooking,playing the piano and dancing. 她的才能包括缝纫、烹调、弹钢琴和跳舞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

12 endorsing   

v.赞同( endorse的现在分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• Yet Communist leaders are also publicly endorsing religion in an unprecedented way. 不过，共产党领导层对宗教信仰的公开认可也是以前不曾有过的。 来自互联网
• Connecticut Independent Senator Joseph Lieberman is endorsing Republican Senator John McCain. 康涅狄格州独立派参议员约瑟夫。列波曼将会票选共和议员约翰。麦凯恩。 来自互联网