VOA标准英语2008年-Zimbabwe Power-Sharing Talks Reportedly Resume

Officials in South Africa say the stalled talks between Zimbabwe's ruling party and the opposition¹ have resumed Friday. The announcement came as the Zimbabwean government said it was lifting a ban on humanitarian² agencies working in the country. Southern Africa correspondent Scott Bobb reports from Johannesburg.

South Africa's Deputy Foreign Minister, Aziz Pahad, announced the resumption of the Zimbabwe talks more than two weeks after they stalled over power sharing between President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party and two parties of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, MDC.

"Today's talks must now try to see what else can be done to get a consensus³ among all three parties on the way forward. So if it takes them longer, I hope they will stay longer and resolve these outstanding issues," he said.
　
Zimbabwe's main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai talks to journalists in Nairobi, 21 Aug 2008

The MDC won a majority of the parliamentary seats in general elections in March and the leader of its main faction⁴, Morgan Tsvangirai, won the most votes in the presidential poll.

But Tsvangirai did not win a 50 percent majority and withdrew from the runoff election against Mr. Mugabe, ZANU-PF supporters of waging a campaign of violence that killed more than 100 activists⁵.

Since then, the two sides have been negotiating an end to the crisis. They reportedly were close to an agreement in which Mr. Mugabe would remain as head-of-state and Tsvangirai would occupy a newly created post of prime minister.

But the talks collapsed⁶ two weeks ago reportedly over the distribution of powers. Mr. Mugabe Wednesday threatened to form a Cabinet without the opposition after being heckled the day before during the opening of parliament.
　
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, during Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, 16 Aug 2008

The Zimbabwean government Friday said it was lifting a three-month ban on private humanitarian organizations that had been providing food, health care and other aid to millions of Zimbabweans.

The Red Cross has issued an urgent appeal for donations, saying five million Zimbabweans, or one-half of the population, were facing food shortages.

South African official Aziz Pahad noted⁷ that the international community has drawn⁸ up an economic recovery plan that could help ease the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe.

"But unless there's a political solution you don't have the necessary framework in order to implement⁹ an economic recovery program. So the talks are crucial, all talks are crucial now, in order to find a way forward," said Pahad.

Zimbabweans have been hard hit by an economic crisis characterized by hyper-inflation, 80 percent unemployment and shortages of food and fuel.

 

1 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。

2 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。

3 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

4 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

5 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

9 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。