VOA标准英语2009年-Burmese Democracy Leader Meets Western Dip

By Daniel Schearf
Bangkok
09 October 2009

Burma's detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been allowed a rare meeting with Western diplomats¹ to discuss sanctions against Burma.

Burmese authorities allowed Aung San Suu Kyi Friday to meet with diplomats from Australia, Britain and the United States.

The leader of Burma's democracy movement was allowed to leave her house detention² for the rare meeting, which took place in a government guest house and lasted about an hour.

Nyan Win is Aung San Suu Kyi's lawyer and a spokesman for her National League for Democracy party. He says she and the diplomats discussed in detail the sanctions against Burma's military government.

"She need[s] to know the data and facts of the sanctions," he said. "And, she asked the diplomats about this. And, the diplomats reply to the lady that they will try their best to meet her wants about the sanctions."

Nyan Win says the diplomats also met with NLD leaders at their headquarters in Rangoon to inform them about the discussions.

The U.S. and European Union imposed sanctions against Burma after its military rulers ignored the NLD's 1990 election victory.

Aung San Suu Kyi in the past supported the sanctions as a means to pressure the military government.

But, in September, she wrote a letter to Burma's military leader, General Than Shwe, saying she was prepared to work with him to get the sanctions lifted.

And, in the last week, Aung San Suu Kyi met twice with a military government liaison³.

The United States recently changed its Burma policy to engage directly with Burmese leaders.

But Washington says the sanctions should remain in place until Burma takes steps toward democracy and the release of political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi.

She has spent most of the last two decades under house arrest. And, despite international pressure, Burma has more than two-thousand other political prisoners behind bars.

Last week, a court rejected Aung San Suu Kyi's appeal against an 18-month extension of her house arrest.

Nyan Win says they plan to submit an appeal on her detention to Burma's Supreme⁴ Court next week.

1 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

3 liaison   

n.联系，（未婚男女间的）暖昧关系，私通

参考例句：

• She acts as a liaison between patients and staff.她在病人与医护人员间充当沟通的桥梁。
• She is responsible for liaison with researchers at other universities.她负责与其他大学的研究人员联系。

4 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。