2007年VOA标准英语-Pakistan Police Arrest Opposition Party Leaders

By Daniel Schearf
Islamabad
23 September 2007

Police in Pakistan have arrested at least four leading figures in political parties opposed to the re-election of President Pervez Musharraf. Daniel Schearf reports from VOA's Islamabad bureau.

Government officials say the arrests were to prevent ongoing¹ public protests against Mr. Musharraf's government from getting out of hand.

But opposition² parties say the 30-day detentions³ are clearly aimed at silencing critics of Mr. Musharraf's bid for re-election October sixth.

"This is a sham⁴ democracy. We condemn⁵ it. And, we will go to the courts. We will protest on this," said Ahsan Iqbal, the spokesman for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, one of the parties whose leaders were arrested late Saturday. "And, we want the world also to see what kind of democracy General Musharraf is running in Pakistan."

Opposition parties are petitioning Pakistan's Supreme⁶ Court to declare Mr. Musharraf's re-election bid unconstitutional, primarily because he is still head of the armed forces.

General Musharraf came to power in a peaceful military coup⁷ in 1999. He has been elected president once since then.

1 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

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 detentions   

拘留( detention的名词复数 )； 扣押； 监禁； 放学后留校

参考例句：

• Teachers may assign detention tasks as they wish and some detentions have been actually dangerous. 老师可能随心所欲指派关禁闭的形式，有些禁闭事实上很危险。
• Intimidation, beatings and administrative detentions are often enough to prevent them from trying again. 恐吓，拷打和行政拘留足以阻止请愿者二次进京的脚步。

4 sham   

n./adj.假冒(的)，虚伪(的)

参考例句：

• They cunningly played the game of sham peace.他们狡滑地玩弄假和平的把戏。
• His love was a mere sham.他的爱情是虚假的。

5 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

6 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

7 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。