VOA标准英语2009年-Iranian Opposition Leader Encourages Follo

By Edward Yeranian
Cairo
19 October 2009

 
Mir Hossein Moussavi (File photo)
Iranian opposition¹ leader, Mir Hossein Moussavi, is encouraging his supporters to continue their struggle, despite the government's control of the media. 

Iran's top opposition leader and erstwhile presidential candidate, Mir Hossein Mousavi, encouraged his supporters to remain steadfast² in a message broadcast via the Internet.

Mr. Mousavi remains³ under a virtual house-arrest and has been prevented from using either government TV or the local press to speak to the Iranian people.

The one-time Iranian prime minister, who claims to have won Iran's disputed June 12th presidential election, has been the victim of a government media blackout, despite sporadic⁴ news in the international press about his activities.

Mr. Mousavi told his followers⁵ in the video, which appeared on his Facebook website, to continue their "struggle," despite the insurmountable odds⁶, and to use alternative media, such as the internet, to broadcast their message

He says "struggle has become our way of life, and that our movement cannot be stopped. " Making use of the media, he insists, is key to our movement. The incredible thing, he notes, is that we have no media (at our disposal), so we use other tools (such as the internet) to create a vast movement with international outreach."

Mousavi also said his movement would not be defeated by government attempts to asphyxiate⁷ it. He said the movement is "a current, made up of the dreams, ideals, and way of life of our people."

He also discussed recent talk of forming a broad coalition⁸ of opposition parties, as a solution to the wave of unrest following the disputed June 12th election, which the government claims was won in a landslide⁹ by incumbent¹⁰ President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad in a landslide.

Mr. Mousavi warned that the only real solution to the current crisis in Iran is for those in power to start listening to the will of the people:

He says that there can be no global solution to the present crisis in Iran until (those in power) realize that there is a crisis and stop pointing to the majority of people as agitators¹¹. They must count everyone in the equation of power, he stressed, and allow the people to determine their own destiny.

Reza Moini, of Reporters Without Borders in Paris, says the Iranian media continues to ignore Mr. Mousavi upon order of the government:

He says Mr. Mousavi is still deprived of most means of communication and Internet sites inside Iran are censored¹², so this was the first time he was able to address supporters directly to spread his message. Reporters Without Borders, he says, insists he be allowed to speak freely with the Iranian media. 

Moini also complained the Iranian judiciary "continues to hold over 30 journalists in jail, arbitrarily" despite the recent release of several, including Newsweek correspondent Maziar Bihari and veteran journalist Said Hajjarian. "One blogger," he notes, "has been held without charges for over a year."

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 steadfast   

adj.固定的，不变的，不动摇的；忠实的；坚贞不移的

参考例句：

• Her steadfast belief never left her for one moment.她坚定的信仰从未动摇过。
• He succeeded in his studies by dint of steadfast application.由于坚持不懈的努力他获得了学业上的成功。

3 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。

4 sporadic   

adj.偶尔发生的 [反]regular；分散的

参考例句：

• The sound of sporadic shooting could still be heard.仍能听见零星的枪声。
• You know this better than I.I received only sporadic news about it.你们比我更清楚，而我听到的只是零星消息。

5 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

6 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

7 asphyxiate   

v.无法呼吸，窒息而死

参考例句：

• We must trace the source of these noxious gases before they asphyxiate us.在我们被这些有毒气体窒息之前，必须查出其来源。
• Three people were asphyxiated in the crush for last week's train.在上周的火车撞车事故中有3人窒息死亡。

8 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。

9 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

10 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

11 agitators   

n.（尤指政治变革的）鼓动者( agitator的名词复数 )；煽动者；搅拌器；搅拌机

参考例句：

• The mud is too viscous, you must have all the agitators run. 泥浆太稠，你们得让所有的搅拌机都开着。 来自辞典例句
• Agitators urged the peasants to revolt/revolution. 煽动者怂恿农民叛变（革命）。 来自辞典例句

12 censored   

受审查的，被删剪的

参考例句：

• The news reports had been heavily censored . 这些新闻报道已被大幅删剪。
• The military-backed government has heavily censored the news. 有军方撑腰的政府对新闻进行了严格审查。