VOA标准英语2008年-Turkey's Ruling Party Defending Itself in Court

Turkey's ruling AK Party Thursday defended itself in the country's constitutional court against charges it is undermining the secular¹ state. The party is facing dismantling², and dozens of its leaders, including the prime minister and president, a political ban. Dorian Jones reports for VOA from Istanbul.
　
Deputy PM Cemil Cicek speaks to the media in front of the Constitutional Court in Ankara, Turkey, 03 Jul 2008

The Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek spent the day Thursday defending his party in a closed session of the Turkish constitutional court. The Islamic-rooted AK Party is accused by the country's top prosecutor³ of seeking to overthrow⁴ the secular state.

Speaking to reporters after leaving court, Cicek, who is a lawyer, dismissed the charge.

He said he explained to the court the prosecutor's case against his party is not based on law. We said the case has to be judged on many levels, including constitutional law, human rights conventions and Turkish law. He said he told the court this case should be decided⁵ speedily is it affects the governance of the country.

Chief Prosecutor Abdurrahman Yalcinkaya told the court earlier this week the AK Party posed a "clear and present danger" that it was seeking to impose Islamic law on the country. Modern Turkey was founded in 1923 as a strictly⁶ secular state.

Along with the threat of the AK Party closure, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul, along with 69 senior party members, are facing a five-year political ban if convicted.

Political analysts⁷ predict Turkey will be thrown into a political and economic turmoil⁸ if the court orders the party to be disbanded.

More than 20 government critics, including two retired⁹ generals, were arrested earlier this week in what the opposition¹⁰ claims is the government's intimidation¹¹ campaign. The arrests are part of a year-long police investigation¹² into allegations the opposition is conspiring¹³ to topple the government.

Deputy chairman of the AK Party, Dengir Mir Mehmet Firat, dismissed the intimidation charge.

He said as the political party in power, the AK Party is acting¹⁴ with an understanding of its duties and obligations. He accused certain circles in the opposition of trying to politicize the police probe.

 

1 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

2 dismantling   

（枪支）分解

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。
• The dismantling of a nuclear reprocessing plant caused a leak of radioactivity yesterday. 昨天拆除核后处理工厂引起了放射物泄漏。

3 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

4 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

7 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

8 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。

9 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

10 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。

11 intimidation   

n.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
• The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。

12 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

13 conspiring   

密谋( conspire的现在分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致

参考例句：

• They were accused of conspiring against the king. 他们被指控阴谋反对国王。
• John Brown and his associates were tried for conspiring to overthrow the slave states. 约翰·布朗和他的合伙者们由于密谋推翻实行奴隶制度的美国各州而被审讯。

14 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。