voa标准英语2008-DRC Rebels, Government Begin Talks in Kenya

Talks aimed at finding a solution to fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have begun in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. The meeting is expected to provide the first direct talks between the government and rebels loyal to Laurent Nkunda, but neither Nkunda nor Congolese president Joseph Kabila are in attendance.
　

Former Nigerian president and special UN envoy1 Olusegun Obasanjo and Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula during opening of Congo peace talks in Nairobi, 8 Dec. 2008

At the opening of the conference, the U.N.'s special envoy, former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo, described the need for a ceasefire and agreement to allow access for humanitarian² aid in eastern Congo. Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula pledged the support of the international community, but said the parties to the conflict would need to take responsibility.

"The International Community is here with you, to support you, to encourage you, to assist you, but at the end of the day we expect enormous responsibility great unanimity³, patriotism⁴ to your country and above all the realization⁵ that the pictures and clips that we have been seeing on international TV screens remains⁶ a terrible indictment⁷ to all of us Africans, you Congolese in particular," said Wetangula.

Meeting is first opportunity for direct talks between rebels, government

The meeting offers the first possibility for direct talks between the Congolese government and the CNDP since fighting resumed in August. But with neither Congolese president Joseph Kabila, nor rebel leader Laurent Nkunda present, the prospects⁸ for progress are limited. The rebel delegation⁹ is headed by Nkunda's deputy, Serge Kambasu Ngeve, while the government is represented by Minister for Regional Cooperation Raymond Tshibanda and the governor of North Kivu province, Julien Paluku.

Representatives from other armed groups operating in eastern Congo have also been invited, and it remains unclear what their role will be. The rebels have threatened to abandon the negotiations¹¹ unless there are direct talks with the government.

The government, has repeatedly insisted that any negotiation¹⁰ must follow the existing negotiating framework that involves all of the 20 armed groups in the region.

January agreement has not led to peace

Nkunda and the government signed a peace agreement in January, but fighting resumed in August. So far some 250,000 people have been displaced. The United Nations said on Monday that 30,000 people have fled across the border into Uganda.

After advancing to the edge of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, Nkunda declared a unilateral ceasefire, and for the past month government and rebel forces have remained in a standoff.

The United Nations has approved the deployment¹² of an additional 3,000 peacekeepers to the region. With 17,000 troops, the current peacekeeping force is the largest in the world, but spread over a large area, has struggled to prevent fighting.

European Union foreign ministers met in Brussels on Monday to discuss an appeal by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to send a temporary force of 3,000 European troops, who would stay until the U.N. reinforcements arrived.

1 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

2 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。

3 unanimity   

n.全体一致，一致同意

参考例句：

• These discussions have led to a remarkable unanimity.这些讨论导致引人注目的一致意见。
• There is no unanimity of opinion as to the best one.没有一个公认的最好意见。

4 patriotism   

n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义

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。
• They obtained money under the false pretenses of patriotism.他们以虚伪的爱国主义为借口获得金钱。

5 realization   

n.实现；认识到，深刻了解

参考例句：

• We shall gladly lend every effort in our power toward its realization.我们将乐意为它的实现而竭尽全力。
• He came to the realization that he would never make a good teacher.他逐渐认识到自己永远不会成为好老师。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 indictment   

n.起诉；诉状

参考例句：

• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
• They issued an indictment against them.他们起诉了他们。

8 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

9 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

10 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

11 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

12 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。