VOA标准英语2008年-AU Considers Backing Power-Sharing Proposal for

Africa's top peace and security body will hold a special heads-of-state level meeting on Zimbabwe during a continental¹ summit this weekend in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. From the summit site, VOA's Peter Heinlein reports leaders are to consider backing a Kenya-style power-sharing proposal that would allow President Robert Mugabe to stay in office for another two years.
　
President Robert Mugabe reacts after casting his vote on election day in Harare, 27 Jun 2008

African Union foreign ministers argued behind closed doors Friday about how to respond to Zimbabwe's political crisis. Diplomats² attending the meeting described it as heated, with ministers sharply divided over a proposed power sharing deal similar to the one reached in Kenya after last December's disputed election.

Diplomats roughly described the deal as giving opposition³ leader Morgan Tsvangirai the post of prime minister in a government led by President Robert Mugabe, with the understanding that Mr. Mugabe would not run in the next election, to be held in 2010.

African Union Commission Chairman Jean Ping said heads of state would take up the issue at a special meeting of the AU Peace and Security Council during the summit. He told reporters he is convinced the continental body can find a credible⁴ solution.

"A debate will go on the level of heads of state, and some decisions might be taken," he said. "There are discussions going on, on an inclusive government, which was called by some as the Kenya model, which mean that sharing power. This has been mentioned according to you by Tsvangirai, himself and the government is also talking about an inclusive government."

In a sign of just how sensitive the issue is, Chairman Ping did not mention Zimbabwe's political turmoil⁵ in his opening address to the summit Friday, except in a final sentence that did not appear in the prepared text. He said only that heads of state would issue an important declaration.

Afterward⁶, he told reporters the AU was required to react to events in Zimbabwe in its role as guardian⁷ of shared African values.

"We are here playing the role of guardians⁸, of these values, so when we see there is a violation⁹ of some of these shared values, it is our duty to react, and to call some of our members to order," he added.

Ping and several foreign ministers attending Friday's meeting reacted defensively to suggestions that the African Union's credibility could be hurt by a failure to condemn¹⁰ what the United States and others have called Zimbabwe's 'sham¹¹' election.

Senegal's Foreign Minister Cheik Tidian Gadio urged non-African countries to give the continental body a chance. He noted¹² that the organization is only eight years old, and Commission Chairman Ping, a former Gabonese foreign minister, has only been in office a few months.

"The new president Jean Ping didn't even get a chance to sit on his chair and he's already in the planes running to Zimbabwe, between Chad and Sudan, trying to be a firefighter around the continent," said Cheik Tidian Gadio. "Please give a chance to the African Union. The crisis in Zimbabwe will not damage for good the credibility of this organization. The fact that today we spent most of our time discussing Zimbabwe and suggesting a way out, compromise and power sharing proves that the world is listening to us and we have something to do about this crisis."

The heads of state gathering¹³ in Sharm el-Sheik will be facing a host of difficult security issues. Peace and Security Commissioner¹⁴ Ramtane Lamamra says his priorities include efforts to bring a semblance¹⁵ of stability to Somalia, the recent fighting between Djibouti and Eritrea, and efforts to strengthen the joint¹⁶ AU/United Nations peacekeeping force in Darfur.

Diplomatic sources say Burkina Faso's foreign minister is to be named joint mediator¹⁷ on Darfur during this AU summit.

The gathering of heads of state is set to begin Monday. Zimbabwe's President Mugabe is expected to be among the more than 30 African leaders on hand for the two-day event.

 

1 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

2 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

4 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

5 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

6 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。

7 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

8 guardians   

监护人( guardian的名词复数 )； 保护者，维护者

参考例句：

• Farmers should be guardians of the countryside. 农民应是乡村的保卫者。
• The police are guardians of law and order. 警察是法律和秩序的护卫者。

9 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

10 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

11 sham   

n./adj.假冒(的)，虚伪(的)

参考例句：

• They cunningly played the game of sham peace.他们狡滑地玩弄假和平的把戏。
• His love was a mere sham.他的爱情是虚假的。

12 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

13 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。

14 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。

15 semblance   

n.外貌，外表

参考例句：

• Her semblance of anger frightened the children.她生气的样子使孩子们感到害怕。
• Those clouds have the semblance of a large head.那些云的形状像一个巨大的人头。

16 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。

17 mediator   

n.调解人，中介人

参考例句：

• He always takes the role of a mediator in any dispute.他总是在争论中充当调停人的角色。
• He will appear in the role of mediator.他将出演调停者。