VOA常速英语2008年-Military, Diplomatic Tensions Peak as UN Peacek

By Peter Heinlein
Mekele, Ethiopia
15 February 2008

The United Nations is halting peacekeeping operations in Eritrea, and closing its mission headquarters in Asmara. The pullout comes two months after the Eritrean government cut off vital fuel supplies and ordered the peacekeepers out. The entire operation is being relocated to the Ethiopian side of the two countries' disputed border. From the Ethiopian town of Mekele, VOA's Peter Heinlein reports the pullout points up the world body's impotence in the face of a tiny country determined¹ to expel its blue-helmeted peacekeepers.

The Mekele office of UNMEE (the U.N. Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea) is buzzing.  The mission chief, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Special Representative Azouz Ennifar is arriving shortly for an important meeting with a senior regional official. This office is soon to become temporary mission headquarters, and hasty preparations are underway. But the officer in charge, Greek Navy Lieutenant² Commander Ioannis Vanizelos says no one is authorized³ to talk.

"Here is a liaison⁴ office for military observers. Today we have one visit.  First we cannot give any kind of statement.  Second, this is not the right time.  We are expecting a visit from Addis and from Asmara.  It's very important.  So it's not the right time for any kind of discussions," he said.

The reluctance⁵ to talk reflects UNMEE's tenuous⁶ position here. U.N. missions operate only with the consent of the countries involved.  Care must be taken not to make a diplomatic misstep.  Special representative Ennifar declined to be interviewed for this report.

The U.N. Security Council created UNMEE in 2000, after a two-year border war between Ethiopia and Eritrea that killed 70,000 people.  For seven years, the force helped keep border tensions low.  But the situation changed late last year, when a commission appointed to settle the boundary dispute gave up trying to get the parties to agree and closed its doors, declaring that a line it drew in 2002 is the valid⁷ border.  That line awards a small town at the heart of the dispute to Eritrea.

Ethiopia rejected the ruling, but Eritrea hailed it as a final and legally binding⁸ settlement. Eritrea then cut off fuel supplies to the peacekeepers, and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki sent a letter to Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon saying the presence of U.N. troops amounted to an illegal occupation.

The result was predictable. Tensions flared⁹ as Eritrean soldiers surged forward, past the peacekeepers, to the edge of the frontier.

At the border 140 kilometers up the road from Mekele, the two armies are dug in, eyeball to eyeball, as the first U.N. trucks roll past to begin the evacuation.  Heavily-armed Ethiopian troops shelter in a ravine at the side of the road.  Eritrean soldiers look down from a hilltop a few hundred meters away.

At the border checkpoint, Ethiopian soldier Balacho Tesfaye keeps one eye on the hills above as he lifts a flimsy pole to allow the U.N. convoy¹⁰ to pass.  Speaking through an interpreter, he worries that one false step could trigger a war.

TESFAY:  "Eritrean troops are here in the near place. If you go there, maybe the Ethiopian troops may attack you, because this is a tension area. The Eritrean troops are there, and the Ethiopian there.
HEINLEIN:  "So we're right in the middle? So right over there are the Ethiopian troops, and over there, in those trees are the Eritrean troops?"
TESFAY:  "Sure, sure."

UNMEE peacekeepers privately¹¹ express frustration¹² at being forced to leave at a time when tensions are rising.  One military observer who requested anonymity¹³, because he is not authorized to speak conceded that the world body is powerless in the face of Eritrea's expulsion order.

Many Ethiopians find the world body's inaction puzzling.  In Mekele, prominent businessman Guesh Weldegebreal says it is hard to believe the international community would remain passive when a volatile¹⁴ region seems to be spinning toward conflict.

"If the international community or the U.N. is interested to resolve the conflict, they have the economic power, they have the political power, they have the military power, they have every power to resolve the conflict, and they should not let the two countries fight again," he said.  "Now the international community seems to be weak in resolving the conflicts."

U.N. headquarters in New York issued a statement Thursday acknowledging that the "'relocation" of UNMEE peacekeepers is under way. The carefully worded statement alluded¹⁵ to another sensitive issue.

It read, "So far, some of UNMEE's convoys¹⁶ have been allowed to cross the border without any obstruction¹⁷, while others have been stopped and asked to turn back."

A source close to the UN mission tells VOA that Eritrea is demanding that departing peacekeepers leave behind much of their hardware, including vehicles and communications gear.

The statement also said UNMEE officials are working with authorities in Eritrea to ensure that Eritrean troops receive instructions to allow the peacekeepers to take their equipment with them when they leave.

An UNMEE spokesman in Addis Ababa repeated Friday that there would be no comment whatsoever¹⁸, underlining that tensions, both military and diplomatic, have reached a critical stage.

1 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

2 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

3 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

4 liaison   

n.联系，（未婚男女间的）暖昧关系，私通

参考例句：

• She acts as a liaison between patients and staff.她在病人与医护人员间充当沟通的桥梁。
• She is responsible for liaison with researchers at other universities.她负责与其他大学的研究人员联系。

5 reluctance   

n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿

参考例句：

• The police released Andrew with reluctance.警方勉强把安德鲁放走了。
• He showed the greatest reluctance to make a reply.他表示很不愿意答复。

6 tenuous   

adj.细薄的，稀薄的，空洞的

参考例句：

• He has a rather tenuous grasp of reality.他对现实认识很肤浅。
• The air ten miles above the earth is very tenuous.距离地面十公里的空气十分稀薄。

7 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

8 binding   

有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的

参考例句：

• The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

9 Flared   

adj. 端部张开的, 爆发的, 加宽的, 漏斗式的 动词flare的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The match flared and went out. 火柴闪亮了一下就熄了。
• The fire flared up when we thought it was out. 我们以为火已经熄灭，但它突然又燃烧起来。

10 convoy   

vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队

参考例句：

• The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
• Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。

11 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

12 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

13 anonymity   

n.the condition of being anonymous

参考例句：

• Names of people in the book were changed to preserve anonymity. 为了姓名保密，书中的人用的都是化名。
• Our company promises to preserve the anonymity of all its clients. 我们公司承诺不公开客户的姓名。

14 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

15 alluded   

提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• In your remarks you alluded to a certain sinister design. 在你的谈话中，你提到了某个阴谋。
• She also alluded to her rival's past marital troubles. 她还影射了对手过去的婚姻问题。

16 convoys   

n.（有护航的）船队( convoy的名词复数 )；车队；护航（队）；护送队

参考例句：

• Truck convoys often stop over for lunch here. 车队经常在这里停下来吃午饭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A UN official said aid programs will be suspended until there's adequate protection for relief convoys. 一名联合国官员说将会暂停援助项目，直到援助车队能够得到充分的保护为止。 来自辞典例句

17 obstruction   

n.阻塞，堵塞；障碍物

参考例句：

• She was charged with obstruction of a police officer in the execution of his duty.她被指控妨碍警察执行任务。
• The road was cleared from obstruction.那条路已被清除了障碍。

18 whatsoever   

adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么

参考例句：

• There's no reason whatsoever to turn down this suggestion.没有任何理由拒绝这个建议。
• All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them.你想别人对你怎样，你就怎样对人。