voa标准英语2008-African Union Suspends Guinea

The African Union has suspended Guinea following last week's military coup¹ while Guinea's new military leaders have demoted many of the country's generals.
　

Junta2 leader, Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, speaks at meeting at Camp Alpha Yaya Diallo military camp in Conakry, 27 Dec 2008

African Union leaders put Guinea's membership on hold pending³ the restoration of constitutional order. The group's Peace and Security Council Monday reiterated⁴ its firm condemnation⁵ of the coup, calling it is a flagrant violation⁶ of Guinea's constitution.

Army Captain Mussa Camara seized power last week following the death of long-time president Lansana Conte. He forced the surrender of the country's prime minister and speaker of the National Assembly, who the constitution says should have been named interim⁷ president ahead of elections in 60 days.

Camara says his new ruling council will hold elections in December 2010.

African Leaders Begin to Ease Opposition⁸ to Coup

The United States and European Union have joined the African Union in condemning⁹ the coup, but African opposition to the military takeover appears to be easing. Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade¹⁰ says Camara's ruling council deserves international support because it is promising¹¹ to hold free and fair elections.

The Senegalese leader says he believes Camara is an honest young man who has taken power to fill a dangerous vacuum. President Wade is calling on all countries, especially former colonial power France, to take the coup leader at his word and, as Mr. Wade says, "not throw the first stone."

The 15-member Economic Community of West African States has also stepped back from its initial objection, saying coup leaders should be given a chance to prove their good faith. The regional alliance says it is ready to work with the military and Guinean politicians to avoid international sanctions.

Camara Demotes Generals and Chiefs of Security Forces

Guinea's new military rulers continue to consolidate¹² power, taking charge of the national treasury¹³ and demoting more than 20 of the country's generals, including the heads of the army, navy, and air force. In a broadcast on national radio, a spokesman for the new ruling council said those chiefs would be reassigned to other jobs within the military. Chiefs of security forces were also demoted, but it is unclear how coup leaders plan to deal with Guinea's presidential guard.

Opposition leaders and human rights groups have accused the presidential guard of executing dozens of demonstrators during protests against the Conte government two years ago.

Camara met with more than 1,000 political, religious, labor¹⁴ and civil society leaders at Conakry's main army barracks Saturday, telling them that he would bring to justice anyone abusing human rights, stealing government money or selling drugs.

Camara is expected to meet with foreign diplomats¹⁵ in Conakry Tuesday.

1 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。

2 junta   

n.团体；政务审议会

参考例句：

• The junta reacted violently to the perceived threat to its authority.军政府感到自身权力受威胁而进行了激烈反击。
• A military junta took control of the country.一个军政权控制了国家。

3 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

4 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

5 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

6 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

7 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。

8 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。

9 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

10 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

11 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

12 consolidate   

v.使加固，使加强；(把...)联为一体，合并

参考例句：

• The two banks will consolidate in July next year. 这两家银行明年7月将合并。
• The government hoped to consolidate ten states to form three new ones.政府希望把十个州合并成三个新的州。

13 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

14 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

15 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》