VOA标准英语2008年-US, Libya, Finalize Deal on Terrorism Compensat

The United States and Libya Thursday signed an agreement in Tripoli, designed to settle all remaining U.S. compensation claims from Libyan-sponsored acts of terrorism in the 1980s. Lingering claims disputes have been blocking the full normalization¹ of relations between the two countries. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.
　
Top US diplomat² for the Middle East, David Welch, embraces Ahmed al-Fatouri, Libya's Deputy Foreign Minister, after signing of cooperation agreement in Tripoli, 14 Aug 2008

The signing of the comprehensive claims settlement agreement climaxes³ a major push by the two governments in recent months to resolve the compensation issue, and Assistant Secretary of State for Near eastern Affairs David Welch said in Tripoli it will "turn a new page" in the bilateral⁴ relationship.

The U.S.-Libyan rapprochement began in 2003, when the Tripoli government renounced⁵ weapons of mass destruction and terrorism and agreed to pay compensation for terror attacks attributed to Libya - most notably⁶ the 1988 bombing of a U.S. Pan Am jumbo jet over Lockerbie, Scotland that killed 270 people.

Libya agreed to provide $10 million in compensation to the families of each Lockerbie victim in a phased payout linked to normalization steps. But the process became bogged⁷ down in legal disputes, with the remaining $500 million of the $2.7 billion package unpaid⁸.

Under the agreement signed Thursday, Libya is to put up an additional sum of about $1 billion to be distributed by a new entity⁹ set up by the U.S. government, to Lockerbie families and victims of other attacks, including the 1986 bombing of a Berlin disco that killed two U.S. soldiers. The deal would also settle Libyan claims from U.S. air strikes against Libya in the 1980s.

State Department Deputy Spokesman Robert Wood described the accord in a briefing for reporters.

"The agreement is designed to provide rapid recovery of fair compensation for American nationals with terrorism-related claims against Libya," he said. "It will also address Libyan claims arising from previous U.S. military actions. The agreement is being pursued on a purely¹⁰ humanitarian¹¹ basis, and does not constitute an admission of fault by either party."

The effort to resolve the compensation issue cleared a major hurdle¹² two weeks ago, when the U.S. Congress approved and President Bush signed, a measure giving Libya immunity¹³ from further terrorism-related U.S. lawsuits¹⁴ once compensation for remaining cases had been paid through the new fund.

Though the United States and Libya announced a normalization of relations in 2006, members of Congress concerned about compensation cases had blocked funds for building a U.S. embassy in Tripoli and prevented a full U.S. ambassador from taking up residence there.

U.S. oil companies and other firms have begun operations in Libya in recent years but Libyan investment in the United States has been severely¹⁵ limited by the prospect¹⁶ of asset seizures¹⁷ stemming from terrorism cases.

In his remarks in Tripoli, Assistant Secretary Welch said the agreement would resolve the last major historical issue that has stood in the way of a more normal U.S.-Libyan relationship.

Welch met Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi Wednesday and said he had conveyed the best wishes of the American government and a personal message to Mr. Gadhafi from President Bush.

 

1 normalization   

n.（normalisation）正常化，标准化

参考例句：

• The visit signalled the normalization of relations between the two countries.这次访问显示两国关系已经正常化。
• He was pleased to the normalization of relationship between the police and the people.他很高兴警方和人民之间关系的正常化。

2 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

3 climaxes   

n.顶点( climax的名词复数 )；极点；高潮；性高潮

参考例句：

• There are two climaxes to this novel. 这部小说有两个高潮。 来自辞典例句
• At least that is the way the February and October revolutions in Russia reached their climaxes. 至少俄国的二月革命和十月革命就是这样进入高潮的。 来自互联网

4 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

5 renounced   

v.声明放弃( renounce的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布放弃；宣布与…决裂；宣布摒弃

参考例句：

• We have renounced the use of force to settle our disputes. 我们已再次宣布放弃使用武力来解决争端。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Andrew renounced his claim to the property. 安德鲁放弃了财产的所有权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

7 bogged   

adj.陷于泥沼的v.（使）陷入泥沼， （使）陷入困境( bog的过去式和过去分词 )；妨碍，阻碍

参考例句：

• The professor bogged down in the middle of his speech. 教授的演讲只说了一半便讲不下去了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The tractor is bogged down in the mud. 拖拉机陷入了泥沼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 unpaid   

adj.未付款的，无报酬的

参考例句：

• Doctors work excessive unpaid overtime.医生过度加班却无报酬。
• He's doing a month's unpaid work experience with an engineering firm.他正在一家工程公司无偿工作一个月以获得工作经验。

9 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。

10 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

11 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。

12 hurdle   

n.跳栏，栏架；障碍，困难；vi.进行跨栏赛

参考例句：

• The weather will be the biggest hurdle so I have to be ready.天气将会是最大的障碍，所以我必须要作好准备。
• She clocked 11.6 seconds for the 80 metre hurdle.八十米跳栏赛跑她跑了十一秒六。

13 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

14 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

15 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

16 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

17 seizures   

n.起获( seizure的名词复数 )；没收；充公；起获的赃物

参考例句：

• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year. 今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Other causes of unconsciousness predisposing to aspiration lung abscess are convulsive seizures. 造成吸入性肺脓肿昏迷的其他原因，有惊厥发作。 来自辞典例句