VOA标准英语2008年-Protesters Rally to End Indian Rule Over Kashmi

Protesters staged a mass rally in Kashmir's summer capital, Srinagar, Friday to call for an end to India's rule of the disputed Himalayan region. Raymond Thibodeaux reports for VOA from Srinagar.
　
A pro-independence rally in Srinagar, the summer capital of the Jammu and Kashmir state of India, 22 Aug 2008

Tens of thousands of protesters poured onto the streets of Srinagar Friday. They were waving green and black flags and shouting slogans such as "Azadi," Urdo for independence. At a massive rally at the prayer grounds, known as Eid Gah, in the center of the city, Kashmiri leaders called for independence from India.

This protest and others earlier this week are the latest in an escalation¹ of tensions in Kashmir Valley. A controversial land deal sparked the first protests, but they quickly ballooned into a renewed independence struggle.

Younis Mir, a 25-year-old Kashmiri, is one of the protesters.

"All people have assembled here in the Eid Gah," he said. "Our main mission is the freedom of Kashmir, nothing else. We are not spreading terrorism. There is no movement of terrorism in Kashmir. It is a freedom struggle, a simple freedom struggle. Freedom from Indian occupation."

Earlier this summer, the Jammu and Kashmir state government transferred about 40 hectares of forested land (nearly 100 acres) to a Hindu shrine² board to provide temporary shelters for tens of thousands of Hindu pilgrims who visit a cave shrine. Kashmir's Muslims protested the transfer, saying it would lead to permanent Hindu settlements.

The government then rescinded³ the transfer, triggering violent protests by some of the region's Hindu population. Hindu protesters blocked the only direct road between Kashmir Valley and the rest of India, choking off supplies of food and fuel to the valley.

Hindu protestors cut off Kashmiri fruit growers from markets in New Delhi during the peak of the apple harvest, which usually brings in at least $150 million a year and is Kashmir's biggest cash crop.

Many shops were shut down Friday in anticipation⁴ of the protests, which were largely peaceful as Indian army troops stood by behind their razor wire bunkers.

The unrest has paralyzed many businesses in Kashmir Valley, just when the economy was starting to pick up, led by a resurgence⁵ of tourism in the picturesque⁶ valley tucked in the foothills of the Himalayas.

Mohammed Amin owns a grocery store in Srinagar. He says businesses in Kashmir are bracing⁷ for a long period of civil unrest.

"There are no supplies," he said. "That is the main thing. Business is suffering, about 75 percent of it has gone. Tourism is zero now. I do not know how long it will last, but for two months we are suffering."

Indian authorities claim they have opened the road leading out of Kashmir. Trucks loaded with supplies are getting through, but observers say it is only about a fourth of the normal traffic. There are almost daily reports of attacks against truck drivers by Hindu protesters.

At least 350,000 Indian troops patrol Indian-controlled Kashmir, many of them along the line of control between Indian- and Pakistani-controlled areas of Kashmir.

Since 1989, more than 45,000 people have been killed in sporadic⁸ violence between Indian troops and Muslim militants⁹. At least 6,000 suspected Muslim militants in Kashmir have disappeared after being arrested by Indian security forces, human rights groups say.

Both India and Pakistan claim Kashmir in its entirety and have fought two wars over it since the two nuclear-armed nations split in 1947.

 

1 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句

2 shrine   

n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣

参考例句：

• The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
• They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。

3 rescinded   

v.废除，取消( rescind的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Rescinded civil acts shall be null and void from the very beginning. 被撤销的民事行为从行为开始起无效。 来自互联网
• They accepted his advice and rescinded the original plan. 他们听从了他的劝告，撤销了原计划。 来自互联网

4 anticipation   

n.预期，预料，期望

参考例句：

• We waited at the station in anticipation of her arrival.我们在车站等着，期待她的到来。
• The animals grew restless as if in anticipation of an earthquake.各种动物都变得焦躁不安，像是感到了地震即将发生。

5 resurgence   

n.再起，复活，再现

参考例句：

• A resurgence of his grief swept over Nim.悲痛又涌上了尼姆的心头。
• Police say drugs traffickers are behind the resurgence of violence.警方说毒贩是暴力活动重新抬头的罪魁祸首。

6 picturesque   

adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的

参考例句：

• You can see the picturesque shores beside the river.在河边你可以看到景色如画的两岸。
• That was a picturesque phrase.那是一个形象化的说法。

7 bracing   

adj.令人振奋的

参考例句：

• The country is bracing itself for the threatened enemy invasion. 这个国家正准备奋起抵抗敌人的入侵威胁。
• The atmosphere in the new government was bracing. 新政府的气氛是令人振奋的。

8 sporadic   

adj.偶尔发生的 [反]regular；分散的

参考例句：

• The sound of sporadic shooting could still be heard.仍能听见零星的枪声。
• You know this better than I.I received only sporadic news about it.你们比我更清楚，而我听到的只是零星消息。

9 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。