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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Washington, DC
01 February 2008
Pakistan's deposed1 chief justice has called on Western leaders to stop backing President Pervez Musharraf, accusing the Pakistani leader of detaining him and his family in dire2 conditions. Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said in a statement that his family has been under house arrest since President Musharraf sacked him in November.
The statement by Iftikhar Muhammad, smuggled3 out and released by lawyers, was described as an open letter to Western leaders. It follows President Musharraf's visit to several European countries where he assured the international community about restoring democracy in his country. But some U.S. lawmakers and experts in Washington have raised doubts about the process. VOA's Ravi Khanna has more.
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf continues to assure the international community that parliamentary elections will be held on February 18th and that they will be free and fair. He was in London earlier this week (January 28th) and said, "I did inform the prime minster (of) our strong desire to go forward with the elections and to ensure that the election will be free, fair and transparent4. That is what our resolve is and we will have the elections on 18 February."
But long-time observers of the Pakistani scene and some U.S. lawmakers in Washington believe otherwise. They point to the government's move to restrict opposition5 rallies and to the strict code of conduct imposed on the Pakistani media as factors undercutting a free election.
Daniel Markey of the Council for Foreign Relations is not optimistic. "There are obvious controls on the media, the code of conduct, there are clear barriers to participation6 by the political parties, of course the most obvious one is that the judiciary has been severely7 restrained after November third," he said.
On that day President Musharraf imposed emergency rule and replaced the judiciary with pro-government judges.
The resulting political unrest and the assassination8 of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto have created a dangerous and uncertain environment for holding elections, according to Markey.
"Unfortunately, in this election in Pakistan it appears that the terrorists and the militants9 get to vote," says, Daniel Markey. "But their vote is not at the ballot10 box, their vote is through violence. It is pretty easy to imagine that you could see another spectacular attack that would throw the elections back into question. I very much hope this is not true but we have to be realistic here that it is a possibility."
But U.S. officials are more optimistic. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher told a Congressional panel [the House National Security and Foreign Affairs Subcommittee] this week any attempt at vote rigging will be difficult to hide. "Even with the restrictions11 that exist, which we think should be lifted, there is going to be a lot of reporting. There are going to be an enormous number of observers around. The political parties are well organized and they will cry foul12 if any fouls13 exist," he said.
But Walter Andersen of Johns Hopkins University says even if the parties cry foul, the problem will have to be resolved by the election commission or the judiciary, both of which are seen as pro-government. "And then you have an election commission, which is also stacked with supporters of the government. So the chances of having a fair judicial14 review of cases [election related disputes] are certainly questionable15."
Also, lawyers in Pakistan have been protesting every day in recent weeks to get independent judges appointed before the polls, saying elections under the pro-government judiciary would be considered a fraud.
But the Bush administration maintains the controversy16 can only be resolved with the help of the new government that will come to power after the elections.
However, Democratic Congressman17 Peter Welch from Vermont argues that even if the new parliament restores the judiciary, President Musharraf has the power to negate18 the action by dissolving the parliament. "There is an inherent conflict. On the one hand we believe in free and fair elections. On the other hand the person who is going to implement19 this has already sabotaged20 any possibility that the people who are going to vote can be confident that it is a free and fair election, or if it is he will be able to overturn the action of their vote by dissolving the parliament they elected."
Some U.S. lawmakers also raised doubts about the effectiveness of the foreign observers Pakistan has allowed into the country to monitor the election. They note that the observers will not be allowed to conduct exit polls and also their visas require them to leave the country just three days after the polls close.
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1
deposed
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| v.罢免( depose的过去式和过去分词 )；（在法庭上）宣誓作证 | |
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dire
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| adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的 | |
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smuggled
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| 水货 | |
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transparent
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| adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的 | |
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opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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participation
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| n.参与，参加，分享 | |
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severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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assassination
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| n.暗杀；暗杀事件 | |
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militants
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| 激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 ) | |
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ballot
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| n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票 | |
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restrictions
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| 约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则） | |
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foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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fouls
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| n.煤层尖灭；恶劣的( foul的名词复数 )；邪恶的；难闻的；下流的v.使污秽( foul的第三人称单数 )；弄脏；击球出界；（通常用废物）弄脏 | |
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judicial
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| adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的 | |
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questionable
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| adj.可疑的，有问题的 | |
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controversy
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| n.争论，辩论，争吵 | |
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Congressman
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| n.（美）国会议员 | |
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negate
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| vt.否定，否认；取消，使无效 | |
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implement
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| n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行 | |
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sabotaged
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| 阴谋破坏（某事物）( sabotage的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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