VOA标准英语2008年-East African Leaders Join Condemnation of Eritr

By Peter Heinlein
Addis Ababa
14 June 2008

Eritrea has dominated discussions at an East African summit in Addis Ababa attended by all regional leaders except Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. From the summit site, VOA's Peter Heinlein reports the leaders present issued a joint¹ communiqué condemning² Eritrea's military attack on its neighbor, Djibouti.
　

Djibouti's President Ismael Omar Guelleh attends the IGAD summit in Addis Ababa, 14 June 2008

MARGIN⁷-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px">When leaders of six out of seven member states of the East African development agency (IGAD) met Saturday, it was the missing member that got most of the attention.

Eritrea suspended its membership in the regional grouping last year after other members refused to criticize its archrival Ethiopia for sending troops to Somalia.

At a summit that lasted only three hours Saturday, the other IGAD members condemned³ what was described a "military attack by Eritrean troops" along the border with its tiny neighbor Djibouti. The U.N. Security Council condemned the attacks earlier in the week.

In his speech to the summit, Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki, the outgoing IGAD chief, called the border clashes a matter of grave regional concern.

"The use of force in solving disputes is both unworkable and unsustainable," he said. "I therefore wish to ask the sister states of Djibouti and Eritrea to exercise restraint and to resolve the dispute amicably⁴ through dialogue."

Djibouti's President Ismael Omar Guelleh briefed a closed-door summit session on the border clashes.

Speaking separately to VOA, President Guelleh said he does not understand why the fighting started.

"It's an Eritrean aggression⁵. Why? I don't know," he said. "We always had good relations with this regime, but suddenly they occupied one part of our country and started aggression and denying it till now with all the casualties we are suffering."

Djibouti's Foreign Minister Mohammed Ali Yusuf said his country's 4,000-strong army had lost 12 soldiers in three days of clashes. He told VOA that Eritrean forces apparently⁶ are crossing the border and setting up positions to catch army deserters fleeing to Djibouti. He says efforts to establish a dialogue with Eritrean government officials have been rebuffed.

"We have tried to get in touch with them, but they refuse all kind of diplomatic process, good offices," he explained. "They just turn down all offers. And we are trying to understand, but they don't give us any room, any margin to talk to them, and they did the same with the international community."

European Commissioner⁸ for Development Louis Michel told the East African leaders he would travel to the Eritrean capital, Asmara immediately for talks with President Isaias. His initial mission was to try to persuade Eritrea to rejoin IGAD, the regional development grouping. But he says he will also take the opportunity to engage in a bit of shuttle diplomacy⁹.

"There is no reason to go for violence between Djibouti and Eritrea," he said. "There is a very big space for peaceful means. That's the message I passed to President Guelleh this morning. That's also the message I will pass to President Isaias."

Djibouti is host to a French military base and a 1,200-strong U.S. anti-terrorism task force. It is also an important route for landlocked Ethiopia, which has vowed¹⁰ to protect its access to Djibouti's Red Sea ports.

The IGAD summit declaration also expressed concern over the escalating¹¹ hostilities¹² in Somalia, and the resulting deterioration¹³ in that country's humanitarian¹⁴ conditions. Experts fear that the number of people in Somalia requiring food aid later this year could reach a total of 3.5 million, nearly half the population.

The summit also received a closed-door briefing from Sudan's President Omar Hassan al Bashir on progress in implementing¹⁵ the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. The communiqué issued afterward¹⁶ expressed grave concern about the recent outbreak of fighting in the oil-rich Abyei region along the border between north and south Sudan.

1 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

2 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》

3 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。

4 amicably   

adv.友善地

参考例句：

• Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵，口吻也马上变得温和了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The couple parted amicably. 这对夫妻客气地分手了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

6 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

7 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

8 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

9 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

10 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

11 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

12 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。

13 deterioration   

n.退化；恶化；变坏

参考例句：

• Mental and physical deterioration both occur naturally with age. 随着年龄的增长，心智和体力自然衰退。
• The car's bodywork was already showing signs of deterioration. 这辆车的车身已经显示出了劣化迹象。

14 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

15 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

16 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。