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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Rebels examine their weapons in this handout2 picture released by The Liberation Tigers for Tamil Eeelam (LTTE) website Tamilnet (file photo) |
Sri Lankan government spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella says the rebels must lay down their weapons before any negotiations3 can begin. He says the government cannot trust Tamil Tiger rebels "with arms in their hands."
Rambukwella was responding to reports that the rebels are ready for a truce. Over the weekend, a pro4 rebel website said that "there is no hesitation5 on our side to reiterate6 our position that we have always wanted a ceasefire." The Tamil Tigers say they have been forced into a "defensive7 war" by the government.
But Minister Rambukwella says the guerrillas call for a ceasefire each time they get weakened militarily.
The head of Colombo's National Peace Council, Jehan Perera, says the government fears that the Tamil Tigers, also known as the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) could use a ceasefire to rearm.
"They [the government] want to make sure that the LTTE does not use any opportunity of a ceasefire to replenish8 its arms, to regain9 its strength when it is weak," Perera said, "so if the LTTE is serious about talks then they must prove their bonafides by laying down their arms."
Sri Lanka's Tamil rebels have lost considerable territory in the north to the army. The government says troops are now closing in on the political and administrative10 headquarters of the Tamil Tigers - Killinochi.
The government launched an offensive against the Tamil Tigers in the north earlier in the year after evicting11 them from their eastern bases.
Political observers say the military has made dramatic progress in its bid to crush the guerrillas. But Jehan Perera of the National Peace Council says the government has made little progress in addressing the political issues which ignited the ethnic12 conflict.
"It is also very slow in coming up with a political package that could address long standing13 Tamil grievances," Perera said. "This is the major weakness that we see in the government position and its own sincerity14 with regard to ending this conflict."
The Tamil Tigers began fighting for an independent Tamil homeland in the 1980's, after complaints of discrimination against the minority Tamil community by the majority Sinhalese. The violent civil war has claimed more than 70,000 lives.
1 truce | |
n.休战,(争执,烦恼等的)缓和;v.以停战结束 | |
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2 handout | |
n.散发的文字材料;救济品 | |
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3 negotiations | |
协商( negotiation的名词复数 ); 谈判; 完成(难事); 通过 | |
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4 pro | |
n.赞成,赞成的意见,赞成者 | |
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5 hesitation | |
n.犹豫,踌躇 | |
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6 reiterate | |
v.重申,反复地说 | |
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7 defensive | |
adj.防御的;防卫的;防守的 | |
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8 replenish | |
vt.补充;(把…)装满;(再)填满 | |
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9 regain | |
vt.重新获得,收复,恢复 | |
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10 administrative | |
adj.行政的,管理的 | |
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11 evicting | |
v.(依法从房屋里或土地上)驱逐,赶出( evict的现在分词 ) | |
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12 ethnic | |
adj.人种的,种族的,异教徒的 | |
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13 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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14 sincerity | |
n.真诚,诚意;真实 | |
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