VOA常速英语2008年-Africa Summit Ends With Condemnation of Chad Re

By Peter Heinlein
Addis Ababa
02 February 2008

The newly-elected head of the African Union, Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, says Chad will be expelled from the organization if rebels take power by force. VOA's Peter Heinlein has this report from the closing session of the AU summit in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

The Chadian rebel attack on N'Djamena vied with Kenya's ethnic¹ clashes for the attention of Africa's leaders Saturday as the African Union wrapped up a three-day summit meeting.

At his first news conference since his election as AU chief a day earlier, Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete condemned² the rebel offensive in Chad, and ruled out the possibility of recognition for the Sudanese-back rebels if they unseat President Idriss Deby. "Whatever happens in Chad, if the rebellion succeeds, certainly we will excommunicate them from the African Union until normalcy and democratic institutions are restored in that country," he said.

Kikwete said Congolese President Denis Sassou-Nguesso and Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi have been named to lead an African Union mission to find a peaceful settlement of Chad's crisis.

While the final summit communiqué condemned the rebel attacks in Chad, the language was milder in addressing the post-election violence in Kenya. The statement expressed 'deep concern' about Kenya's troubles, and about its potential consequences for east Africa.

The communiqué also expressed concern about tensions in the Comoros, an Indian Ocean archipelago where President Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi Friday threatened military force to crush a rebel movement on the island of Anjouan.

Amid the talk of conflict, Libya's flamboyant³ leader Moammar Gadhafi provided a welcome change of pace at the summit's final session. Mr. Gadhafi wore a flowing bronze robe and matching pillbox hat as he addressed the summit, urging prompt adoption⁴ of his proposal for a union government that has been dubbed⁵ the United States of Africa.

Speaking in Arabic through a translator, he told African leaders that union is the way to prosperity for a struggling continent. "We have indeed this will and perseverance⁶ in achieving the federal government, and the United States of Africa, so that Africa becomes like Europe, like America, like China, like all the great countries of the world," he said.

The Libyan leader urged his fellow leaders to ratify⁷ a union charter agreement before the next AU summit, which will be held in July in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheik.

The idea for a union government has strong support among African leaders at the meeting. But several are skeptical⁸ of the Gadhafi plan to move quickly, and observers at the three-day meeting say many of his fellow heads of state suspect he harbors a secret ambition to be president of the continent. But when a reporter asked Mr. Gadhafi if he would like to lead the United States of Africa, he answered with one word, "no."

Mr. Gadhafi also launched a lengthy⁹ criticism of democracy. Though a translator, he questioned the wisdom of elections on a continent where all too often, as in Kenya for instance, elections trigger violence. "Kenya is a country that is highly civilized¹⁰, and now there are bloodbaths and this is because of elections…What can we do for Kenya's sake, for the Comoros, for Chad. We don't know what to do and this is painful for us. Under the eyes of the whole world as we kill each other, and fight each other and demolish¹¹ and destroy…This is what the application of mulit-partyism has led to," he said.

The three-day gathering¹² of nearly 40 African heads of state and government also attracted a wide-range of senior officials from other countries hoping to improve ties on the continent.

Washington was represented by the top U.S. diplomat¹³ on Africa, Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi Frazer.

Former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori was here to offer a $4 million grant to help the 250,000 Kenyans displaced by political violence.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki held a news conference on the summit sidelines Saturday. He called on the U.N. Security Council to be patient, and to put off action on any further sanctions against the Tehran government until after the International Atomic Energy Agency issues its next report.

The five permanent Security Council members plus Germany were reported to have reached agreement last week on a resolution calling for a third round of sanctions.

1 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

2 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

3 flamboyant   

adj.火焰般的，华丽的，炫耀的

参考例句：

• His clothes were rather flamboyant for such a serious occasion.他的衣着在这种严肃场合太浮夸了。
• The King's flamboyant lifestyle is well known.国王的奢华生活方式是人尽皆知的。

4 adoption   

n.采用，采纳，通过；收养

参考例句：

• An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
• The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。

5 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 perseverance   

n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠

参考例句：

• It may take some perseverance to find the right people.要找到合适的人也许需要有点锲而不舍的精神。
• Perseverance leads to success.有恒心就能胜利。

7 ratify   

v.批准，认可，追认

参考例句：

• The heads of two governments met to ratify the peace treaty.两国政府首脑会晤批准和平条约。
• The agreement have to be ratify by the board.该协议必须由董事会批准。

8 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

9 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

10 civilized   

a.有教养的，文雅的

参考例句：

• Racism is abhorrent to a civilized society. 文明社会憎恶种族主义。
• rising crime in our so-called civilized societies 在我们所谓文明社会中日益增多的犯罪行为

11 demolish   

v.拆毁(建筑物等)，推翻(计划、制度等)

参考例句：

• They're going to demolish that old building.他们将拆毁那座旧建筑物。
• He was helping to demolish an underground garage when part of the roof collapsed.他当时正在帮忙拆除一个地下汽车库，屋顶的一部份突然倒塌。

12 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

13 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。