2007年VOA标准英语-Sudan Balks at Threat of US Sanctions

By Noel King
Khartoum
29 May 2007

Sudan says President Bush is unjustified in his decision to impose new sanctions on Khartoum because of the situation in Darfur. Before the sanctions were even announced at the White House on Monday, Sudanese officials protested the threat, saying every effort is being made to end the conflict in Darfur. Noel King reports for VOA from Sudan's capital, Khartoum.

A displaced Sudanese woman carries her sons in the Otach Displaced Persons camp in the city of Nyala in Sudan's strife-torn Darfur region, (File)

The United States is hoping that sanctions will propel Sudan to take concrete action to end the four-year Darfur conflict by allowing a large United Nations presence in the region.

 

A Sudanese Foreign Ministry¹ spokesman said Sudan hopes to preserve good relations with the United States, but called the sanctions unjustified.

 

Ali al-Sadiq spoke² to VOA by phone in Khartoum.

 

"We believe any sanctions targeting the government of Sudan have nothing to do with the situation in Darfur," said Sadiq. "It is not going to solve the problem of Darfur. The government of Sudan is working with the United Nations and the African Union to reach a solution."

 

The United States first imposed sanctions on Sudan in 1997, accusing the country of harboring terrorists, including Osama Bin³ Laden⁴, who once lived in Khartoum.

 

Much of the international community has accused Sudan of obstructing⁵ the entry of U.N. peacekeepers into Darfur.

 

At present, a poorly funded African Union mission of 7,000 troops is struggling amid often chaotic⁶ violence, while attacks by militias⁷ known as janjaweed continue to displace thousands.

 

Sudan in April accepted the first two phases of a U.N. support package, which will see about 3,000 peacekeepers deployed⁸ to the region.

But Sudan has resisted a so-called U.N./AU "hybrid⁹" force of more than 23,000 peacekeepers. The hybrid force is believed to be the best bet to ending the conflict, due to its size.

 

The Darfur conflict has cost an estimated 200,000 lives. Sudan is charged with arming Arab militias to crush a rebellion by African tribesmen who complained that remote Darfur, a region the size of France, had been neglected by Sudan's powerful government in Khartoum.

1 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

4 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

5 obstructing   

阻塞( obstruct的现在分词 )； 堵塞； 阻碍； 阻止

参考例句：

• You can't park here, you're obstructing my driveway. 你不能在这里停车，你挡住了我家的车道。
• He was charged for obstructing the highway. 他因阻碍交通而受控告。

6 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

7 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

8 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

9 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。