VOA标准英语2008年-Thai Prime Minister Snubs Calls to Resign, Diss

Thailand's prime minister vows¹ to stay in office, despite thousands of protesters around the country demanding his resignation. As Ron Corben reports, the Cabinet plans to hold a national referendum on the political crisis.
　
Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej reacts during the no-confidence vote at the Parliament House in Bangkok, 27 Jun 2008

Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, in a nationally broadcast address Thursday morning, dismissed reports he was preparing to stand to end weeks of anti-government protests.

In a defiant² speech, Mr. Samak said the whole world was watching the unfolding events and he would not "abandon ship."

He says he will not resign and he will not dissolve parliament as he must stay to protect democracy.

Mr. Samak was elected last December, in the first elections held after a coup³ in 2006 ousted⁴ Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Just hours earlier, a leading English language daily newspaper declared in a banner headline "Samak on the brink⁵ of exit" because of the foreign minister's resignation on Wednesday.

Sompop Manarangsan, an economist⁶ at Chulalongkorn University, says Mr. Samak's decision will worsen the situation.

"The tensions in the society are going to be much more critical from now on because a lot more people - even the businessmen, academics, lecturers around the country - even senior high school students are coming out for the government to resign or to dissolve the parliament," said Sompop.

Sompop warned of the protests spreading and as they do, becoming more difficult to control.

The People's Alliance for Democracy has led the protests for nearly four months. The PAD says Mr. Samak acts as a nominee⁷ for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who recently fled to Britain to avoid trial on corruption⁸ charges. Mr. Thaksin says he is innocent.

Last week, PAD supporters escalated⁹ the protests by occupying the compound of the main government office building. They remain there, despite court orders to leave and the imposition of a state of emergency, which bans large gatherings¹⁰.

In a move seen as trying to de-fuse the situation, the Cabinet Thursday announced it would hold a national referendum asking voters to decide whether the government should resign or dissolve parliament. Mr. Samak says he hopes the Senate will approve the referendum quickly, so the vote could be held early next month.

Kraisak Choonhavan, a member of parliament from the opposition¹¹ Democrat¹² Party, says the protests are spreading and now are in 15 cities, while 45 labor¹³ unions pledge to support the PAD. The crisis, he says, undermines the administration of the country.

"The government is completely paralyzed and yet the stubbornness and unrighteousness and the arrogance¹⁴ of the prime minister remains¹⁵ unabated. And the only solution is the resignation of the prime minister," he said.

Despite the protests, the country is calm and operating normally. The army chief says that troops called in to enforce the state of emergency want to keep it that way. He rules out using force against demonstrators.

The crisis is the most severe since 2006, when after months of massive protests, the military ousted Prime Minister Thaksin, and imposed a military-led government.

1 vows   

誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿

参考例句：

• Matrimonial vows are to show the faithfulness of the new couple. 婚誓体现了新婚夫妇对婚姻的忠诚。
• The nun took strait vows. 那位修女立下严格的誓愿。

2 defiant   

adj.无礼的，挑战的

参考例句：

• With a last defiant gesture,they sang a revolutionary song as they were led away to prison.他们被带走投入监狱时，仍以最后的反抗姿态唱起了一支革命歌曲。
• He assumed a defiant attitude toward his employer.他对雇主采取挑衅的态度。

3 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

4 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

5 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

6 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

7 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

8 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

9 escalated   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The fighting escalated into a full-scale war. 这场交战逐步扩大为全面战争。
• The demonstration escalated into a pitched battle with the police. 示威逐步升级，演变成了一场同警察的混战。

10 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

11 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。

12 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

13 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

14 arrogance   

n.傲慢，自大

参考例句：

• His arrogance comes out in every speech he makes.他每次讲话都表现得骄傲自大。
• Arrogance arrested his progress.骄傲阻碍了他的进步。

15 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。