VOA标准英语2008年-EU Diplomats Widen Sanctions Against Zimbabwe

The European Union Tuesday tightened¹ sanctions against Zimbabwe president, Robert Mugabe. The EU foreign ministers added 37 more people to the EU list of individuals under a visa ban and asset freeze that already includes the president and members of his inner circle. Now, for the first time, companies have also been added to the list. Tendai Maphosa has more in this report from VOA's London News Center.

The additional sanctions come a day after President Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai of the opposition² Movement for Democratic Change agreed to open power sharing talks aimed at solving Zimbabwe's political crisis.

EU spokesman John Clancy tells VOA this is a "very positive step," but there is need to maintain pressure on Mr. Mugabe.

"It's not a simple handshake over a memorandum³ of understanding despite us recognizing its importance, that suddenly means the international community must simply return to business as usual with Zimbabwe. It's simply not the case. It's very important that the average citizen in Zimbabwe realizes that the international community is not simply going to forget the last months of violence and intimidation⁴ that they have had to face coming from the government authorities," he said.

The EU has refused to recognize the result of the June 27 presidential run-off poll in which Mr. Mugabe was the sole candidate. Opposition leader Tsvangirai, who won the first round in March, withdrew from the run-off citing violence against his party and supporters.

Earlier this month, an effort by the British and U.S. governments to impose U.N. Security Council sanctions on Mr. Mugabe was vetoed by Russia and China.

Clancy stressed that the European sanctions target individuals responsible for human rights abuses and not ordinary Zimbabweans. He says the bloc⁵ will maintain humanitarian⁶ support for Zimbabwe's needy⁷.

"We would like to see as a first step the authorities in Zimbabwe allowing humanitarian aid to the full extent that is should be allowed 100 percent access for international humanitarian aid workers. Let us not forget that Robert Mugabe, his government, his authority blocked humanitarian aid to the civilian⁸ population, to the most vulnerable people just days before the second round of the elections. That situation has not changed," he said.

The EU first imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe in 2002 citing human rights abuses and electoral irregularities in the 2002 presidential election. The sanctions also include an arms and military material embargo⁹.

The travel ban does not stop Mr. Mugabe from traveling to international organization meetings such as the United Nations. Earlier this year, he took part in the summit of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome.

1 tightened   

收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
• His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。

2 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。

3 memorandum   

n.备忘录，便笺

参考例句：

• The memorandum was dated 23 August,2008.备忘录上注明的日期是2008年8月23日。
• The Secretary notes down the date of the meeting in her memorandum book.秘书把会议日期都写在记事本上。

4 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。

5 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

6 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。

7 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

8 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。

9 embargo   

n.禁运（令）；vt.对...实行禁运，禁止（通商）

参考例句：

• This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
• During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间，他们禁止与敌国通商。