VOA标准英语2008年-Pakistani Lawyers Confront New Government to Re

The Pakistani lawyers whose protests helped drive President Musharraf from office have returned to the streets and this time they are targeting the country's newly- elected government. VOA's Barry Newhouse reports from Islamabad the lawyers say the political parties who backed their demands to reinstate senior judges just a few months ago have now largely abandoned them.
　
Pakistani lawyers burn a poster of Asif Ali Zardari, during a demonstration¹ in Islamabad, 28 Aug 2008

Pakistan's black-suited lawyers are widely credited with sparking the democratic movement that ended Pervez Musharraf's nearly nine-year rule.

But after the president resigned on August 18, the lawyers have replaced their well-known chant of "Go, Musharraf, Go" with a slogan against the man who once championed their cause.

"Who is responsible for betraying the judiciary? Zardari is! Zardari is!" they say.

Asif Ali Zardari is the leader of the Pakistan People's Party and likely presidential successor to Mr. Musharraf.

His party's coalition² government fell apart earlier this week after its main partner, the Pakistan Muslim League - N, accused it of failing to honor pledges to restore the judiciary.

But political leaders of the PML-N, led by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, did not join the 7,000 lawyers who protested in major cities.

A spokesman told VOA Mr. Sharif's party still supports the lawyers, but party leaders are focusing on the presidential elections scheduled for September 6.

The lack of political support and some signs of dissension among the deposed³ judges have undermined the once formidable lawyers' movement.

Deposed lawyers return to work
　
Pakistan's Sindh Province Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali (l) administrates oath from reappointed judges at a ceremony in Governor House in Karachi, 27 Aug 2008

On Wednesday, eight more judges of the 60 who were deposed by President Musharraf decided⁴ to take a new oath with the government and resume their duties. They joined about 20 others who have returned to work since last November's state of emergency.

Judges who have refused to take a new oath, including the former Supreme⁵ Court Chief Justice Iftikar Muhammad Chaudhry, say they were never legally fired and should not have to take an oath to resume their duties.

"We are struggling for the rule of law," said Athar Minallah, a senior lawyer and spokesman for the former chief justice. "And it is unfortunate that the democratic forces that are in power today - they unfortunately are bent⁶ upon validating⁷ the actions of Pervez Musharraf."

Violence continues in northwest

While political leaders prepare for next week's presidential elections, violence continues in Pakistan's northwest.

A bomb attack on a prison bus near Bannu killed nine police officers and two prisoners.

Wednesday, the military said a continuing offensive against Taliban militants⁸ in the Bajaur tribal⁹ region killed at least 44 more fighters. The military says more than 500 militants have been killed in recent weeks in the battle and more than 200,000 people have fled the fighting.

Top Pakistani and U.S. commanders met on an American aircraft carrier in the Indian Ocean on Wednesday to discuss the ongoing¹⁰ battle against al Qaida and Taliban fighters. A Pakistani military spokesman said the commanders discussed security issues, but he did not give details.

 

1 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

2 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

3 deposed   

v.罢免( depose的过去式和过去分词 )；（在法庭上）宣誓作证

参考例句：

• The president was deposed in a military coup. 总统在军事政变中被废黜。
• The head of state was deposed by the army. 国家元首被军队罢免了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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。

5 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

6 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

7 validating   

v.证实( validate的现在分词 )；确证；使生效；使有法律效力

参考例句：

• His politics at home were validating his efforts in the hemisphere. 他的国内政策也有效地支持了他对本半球所做的努力。 来自辞典例句
• A number of different experimental approaches have aided in validating the concept. 许多不同的实验方法，有助于确证这种概念。 来自辞典例句

8 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。

9 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

10 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。