2007年VOA标准英语-Former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Returns Home

By Steve Herman
New Delhi
07 May 2007

Bangladesh's former prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, has returned to Dhaka after being away for two months. Ms. Hasina and senior members of her political party face murder charges stemming from violent political protests last year. The charges were filed while she was in the United States for a vacation, and last month she had been denied permission to board a flight home. VOA's Steve Herman reports from our South Asia bureau in New Delhi.

Sheikh Hasina (file)

Two weeks after her first attempt to return home, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina stepped off a commercial airliner¹ at Dhaka's airport, which was surrounded by tight security.

She was greeted by ten officials of her Awami League, the maximum number allowed at the airport by the military-backed interim² government. She told reporters she was excited to be home.

No welcoming rally was permitted because the country is under a state of emergency imposed by the government in January.

Ms. Hasina returned after the government relented in its attempt to force her into exile. But now that she is back home, she faces charges ranging from extortion to abetting³ murder.

The president of the Bangladesh Political Science Association, Ataur Rahman of Dhaka University, sees the face-off as a political gamble for both the government and the former prime minister. He says both sides must now be prepared to take their battle to the courtroom.

"The government should really put [forward] some evidence to substantiate⁴ their charge. Otherwise this will boomerang, this will have a strong backlash against the government," said Rahman. "Sheikh Hasina must be prepared to do it [fight the charges] unless she makes a deal with the government."

Before boarding her flight at London's Heathrow airport, Ms. Hasina told reporters that she did not know whether she would be arrested on her return, but her immediate⁵ priority is to work for the restoration of democracy in Bangladesh.

The Awami League president first tried to return home in mid-April, but the interim government barred her return on security grounds, saying it feared unrest.

Ms. Hasina was prime minister between 1996 and 2001. She has long been a fierce rival of another former prime minister, Khaleda Zia.

A key ally of Ms. Zia's Bangladesh National party, the fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami, has filed a criminal complaint against Ms. Hasina and other Awami League leaders, alleging⁶ they were responsible for the deaths of six of their activists⁷ during a political demonstration⁸ last year.

The military-backed interim government, which declared a state of emergency in January, has made moves since then to eliminate from politics the two women, who are known as the "battling begums."

Dhaka University professor Rahman predicts their era of influence is indeed over.

"They will lose the leadership positions in their parties. And also they will not be able to play a very dominant⁹ role in Bangladesh politics in the coming years," he said. "I am sure about that. But how this will unfold, I do not know."

The two women are heirs to the country's leading political dynasties. Sheikh Hasina's father was the first president of Bangladesh, who was assassinated¹⁰. Ms. Zia's husband, a former military dictator, also was assassinated.

1 airliner   

n.客机，班机

参考例句：

• The pilot landed the airliner safely.驾驶员使客机安全着陆。
• The passengers were shepherded across the tarmac to the airliner.旅客们被引导走过跑道去上飞机。

2 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

3 abetting   

v.教唆（犯罪）( abet的现在分词 )；煽动；怂恿；支持

参考例句：

• On Earth, unknowingly abetting a criminal doesn't merit this kind of punishment. 在地球上，不知不觉地帮助罪犯并不构成这种惩罚。 来自电影对白
• "By aiding and abetting murder, the Taliban regime is committing murder." 援助和唆使谋杀的塔利班政权与杀人犯同罪。 来自互联网

4 substantiate   

v.证实；证明...有根据

参考例句：

• There is little scientific evidence to substantiate the claims.这些主张几乎找不到科学依据来证实。
• These theories are used to substantiate the relationship between the phenomenons of the universe.这些学说是用来证实宇宙现象之间的关系。

5 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

6 alleging   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• His reputation was blemished by a newspaper article alleging he'd evaded his taxes. 由于报上一篇文章声称他曾逃税，他的名誉受到损害。
• This our Peeress declined as unnecessary, alleging that her cousin Thornhill's recommendation would be sufficient. 那位贵人不肯，还说不必，只要有她老表唐希尔保荐就够了。

7 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

9 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

10 assassinated   

v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
• Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后，肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句