VOA标准英语2009年-Aid Groups Want Obama to Take New Approach to C

A coalition¹ of religious groups and refugee organizations wants U.S. President-elect Barack Obama to take a new approach to Chad.

The coalition of aid groups says the Obama administration should set a new foreign policy agenda for Chad that includes a comprehensive peace process and limits on U.S. military assistance.

The appeal is backed by the Africa Faith & Justice Network, the advocacy group Africa Action, and the U.S.-based Refugees International, along with the Christian² children's group Caring for Kaela.

They want the new government in Washington to focus on Chad's domestic problems beyond the more than 200,000 Sudanese refugees in camps along the border.

"I would say the primary shift here should be about dealing³ with Chad as a country unto itself with issues that are essentially⁴ Chadian issues and not just a spill-over from Darfur," said Erin Weir⁵, an advocate for Refugees International. She says the Obama administration should expand the mandate⁶ of U.N. peacekeepers in Chad to more actively⁷ resolve the country's civil war beyond its current mission to protect civilians⁸ and support aid efforts.

"Obviously those are very important, but ultimately those are band-aid issues. You can keep people alive, but if you cannot stabilize⁹ the country, you are going to be providing that kind of support, that security for a really long time," added Weir.

Chad and Sudan both accuse the other of backing rebel groups across their remote 500-kilometer border. Chadian President Idriss Deby and Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir both deny direct involvement in their neighbor's conflict.

Many Darfur rebels are based in Chad and come from the same ethnic¹⁰ group as President Deby. Chadian rebels in Sudan reached the capital N'Djamena in 2006 and 2008 in attacks that President Deby said constituted a state of war between the two countries.

But Chad's conflict did not begin with the instability in Darfur. President Deby came to power 18 years ago at the head of a rebellion based in Sudan. He suspended the constitution and promised to create a multi-party democracy, but soon cracked down on political opponents when troops loyal to the former government began attacking from Niger.

Amnesty international accused Deby forces of human rights violations¹¹ against civilians in retaliation¹² for rebel attacks. Chad's trade-union federation¹³ was banned because of a general strike.

Deby's elections in 1996 and 2001 were both surrounded by allegations of vote fraud, with several members of the state electoral commission resigning in protest. Accusations¹⁴ of ethnic favoritism added to tensions over President Deby's use of more than $1 billion of annual oil revenue.

When the president changed the constitution to run for a third term three years ago, significant portions of Chad's army deserted¹⁵.

Years of instability have left much of the country ungoverned as N'Djamena concentrates more on suppressing rebellion than on providing essential social services.

The associate policy and communications director at the Africa Action advocacy group, Michael Stulman, says the Obama administration could best address needs in Chad by creating a new U.S. Department of Global Development.

"This would be a serious change, and it needs to be headed by a cabinet-level secretary. It would address long-term development needs, and an institutional change such as this would really address the root causes of poverty in Chad. It would give the attention deserved to issues such as health care, education, agriculture, infrastructure¹⁶ development, and especially climate change," said Stulman.

With more than 80 precent of Chad's population relying on sub-subsistence farming and livestock¹⁷, Stulman says conflicts over water use contribute to food insecurity. The U.S. Famine Early Warning System says much of Chad's eastern border region with Sudan is short of food with poor roads limiting assistance to those in need.

While much is expected of President-elect Obama, both at home and abroad, Refugees International's Erin Weir says America's first half-Kenyan president will have to approach foreign policy in Africa beyond the Bush administration's focus on fighting terrorism.

"Ultimately, I think it is going to come down to policy. How much attention that the president and his staff devote to issues in Africa. How much he is able to engage African political leaders, African civil society in a constructive¹⁸ way. And also in addressing Africa and African issues as issues to be resolved in and of themselves and not just as an extension of the war on terror," said Weir.

In Chad, the coalition of aid groups says that means improving conditions for civilians and broadening electoral reforms to include civil society and armed political groups.

1 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。

2 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

3 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

4 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

5 weir   

n.堰堤，拦河坝

参考例句：

• The discharge from the weir opening should be free.从堰开口处的泻水应畅通。
• Big Weir River,restraining tears,has departed!大堰河，含泪地去了！

6 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

7 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

8 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

9 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

10 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

11 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

12 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

14 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

15 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

16 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

17 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

18 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。