VOA常速英语2008年-Mali Government Attempts to Open Dialogue With

By Nico Colombant
Dakar
27 March 2008

Mali's government is again trying to open a dialogue with rebels from the north of its vast country, where violence, cross-border hostage takings and the number of radical¹ groups are escalating². Human rights activists⁴ say the government's use of military power to control the rebellions could be backfiring. VOA's Nico Colombant reports from our regional bureau in Dakar.

Malian officials and Tuareg rebels are expected to meet in Tripoli, Libya, to revive earlier talks that led to a deal between Mali's government and the main rebel group in late 2006.

A Malian delegation⁵, including a high-ranking military official and an ethnic⁶ Tuareg community leader arrived in Tripoli, where rebel representatives are also expected.

A long lull⁷ in fighting, briefly⁸ broken in August 2007, was broken again on March 20 when ethnic Tuareg rebels clashed with Mali's army.

Several people were killed and dozens of Malian soldiers were taken hostage. Some security officials say the hostages may have been taken to nearby Niger, where there is also an active Tuareg rebellion.

Both rebellions say they are fighting for better allocation of resources and less military presence in their areas. Some rebel elements say they just want to make money.

On Wednesday, there were more clashes in northern Mali between suspected rebels and the army near the garrison⁹ town of Agueloc.

A man calling himself Ahmed, saying he represents a group called "Mezouk," claimed responsibility for the attacks. He said he was taking up arms for money.

London-based human rights activist³ Ibrahima Kane says despite international attention, instability in the vast, impoverished¹⁰ desert region seems to be growing.

"There are many rebel groups in that part of Africa. Some of them are supposed to have very strong links with al-Qaida, and there is lots of arms trafficking, many traffics in that part of the region," said Kane.

Al-Qaida's north African wing, al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, is believed to be holding two Austrian tourists at a hideout in northern Mali.

The group is demanding freedom for several Islamic militants¹¹ being held in Algeria and Tunisia, as well as ransom¹², according to Algerian officials.

Several Malian officials say they believe the hostages may have been moved to Algeria or Niger in recent days, because of the renewed violence in northern Mali.

A Tuareg expert and author on the subject, anthropologist¹³ Jeremy Keenan, does not believe there is a link between Malian rebels and al-Qaida.

"This is connected geographically¹⁴ but that is totally separate from this rebellion. In other words, the Tuareg rebellion and the Austrian hostage situation are not connected in any way. They just happen to be in the same area, but that is coincidental," he said.

He says links between different armed groups in the region do exist, such as between the Malian and Niger rebels, but they are difficult to define.

"The linkages¹⁵ are very, very complicated.... They involve a lot of history and quite detailed¹⁶ micro-politics and micro-sociology, and so forth¹⁷ but one thing I think I will probably say is the situation in Niger up until these last couple of weeks by and large has been worse than in Mali," he said.

Keenan says he believes the situation in both Mali and Niger has been aggravated¹⁸ by raids by government militaries on civilian¹⁹ areas. The two militaries have been receiving U.S. aid and training to combat terrorism and trafficking in the area.

The U.S. military says it is trying to help local governments do a better job of making their countries more secure and preventing remote areas from becoming bases for extremists.

But human rights activists have repeatedly warned that heightened militarization of desert areas with disaffected²⁰ populations is fostering extremism and making the rebellions more popular.

1 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

2 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

3 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

4 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 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。

6 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。

7 lull   

v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇

参考例句：

• The drug put Simpson in a lull for thirty minutes.药物使辛普森安静了30分钟。
• Ground fighting flared up again after a two-week lull.经过两个星期的平静之后，地面战又突然爆发了。

8 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

9 garrison   

n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防

参考例句：

• The troops came to the relief of the besieged garrison.军队来援救被围的守备军。
• The German was moving to stiffen up the garrison in Sicily.德军正在加强西西里守军之力量。

10 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

12 ransom   

n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救

参考例句：

• We'd better arrange the ransom right away.我们最好马上把索取赎金的事安排好。
• The kidnappers exacted a ransom of 10000 from the family.绑架者向这家人家勒索10000英镑的赎金。

13 anthropologist   

n.人类学家，人类学者

参考例句：

• The lecturer is an anthropologist.这位讲师是人类学家。
• The anthropologist unearthed the skull of an ancient human at the site.人类学家在这个遗址挖掘出那块古人类的颅骨。

14 geographically   

adv.地理学上，在地理上，地理方面

参考例句：

• Geographically, the UK is on the periphery of Europe. 从地理位置上讲，英国处于欧洲边缘。 来自辞典例句
• All these events, however geographically remote, urgently affected Western financial centers. 所有这些事件，无论发生在地理上如何遥远的地方，都对西方金融中心产生紧迫的影响。 来自名作英译部分

15 linkages   

n.连接( linkage的名词复数 )；结合；联系；联动装置

参考例句：

• Only the thermosetting resins provide a strong cohesive forces; this is due to molecular cross linkages. 只有热固性树脂具有巨大的凝聚力，这是由于分子交错链所造成的。 来自辞典例句
• The linkages between the stable units must be as near as possible of equal stability. 稳定链节之间的键必须有尽可能接近的稳定性。 来自辞典例句

16 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

17 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

18 aggravated   

使恶化( aggravate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使更严重； 激怒； 使恼火

参考例句：

• If he aggravated me any more I shall hit him. 假如他再激怒我，我就要揍他。
• Far from relieving my cough, the medicine aggravated it. 这药非但不镇咳，反而使我咳嗽得更厉害。

19 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

20 disaffected   

adj.（政治上）不满的，叛离的

参考例句：

• He attracts disaffected voters.他吸引了心怀不满的选民们。
• Environmental issues provided a rallying point for people disaffected with the government.环境问题把对政府不满的人们凝聚了起来。