VOA标准英语2009年-Sudanese Leader Will Not Attend Islamic Me

By Dorian Jones
Istanbul
09 November 2009

Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir has canceled a planned visit to Turkey to attend a summit of the Islamic conference in Istanbul. Turkey has faced mounting criticism from the international community for its invitation to the Sudanese leader, who has been indicted¹ for crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court. 

 
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in Egypt, 08 Nov 2009
Since Turkey announced that Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir would be attending the summit of Islamic Conference in Istanbul, controversy² has grown. The invitation was in defiance³ of a warrant from the International Criminal Court for al-Bashir on charges of crimes against humanity in Sudan's Darfur region.

Turkey does not recognize the Court's authority.

Late Sunday, Sudan's state news agency reported al-Bashir postponed⁴ his trip to return to Khartoum to discuss a deadlock⁵ over election laws with his coalition⁶ partners, the former southern rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement.

According to news reports, the European Union, which Turkey is seeking to join, sent a diplomatic note calling for Ankara to retract⁷ its invitation to al-Bashir. But Turkish President Abdullah Gul rejected the call, saying it was an interference in Turkey's affairs.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan dismissed the charges against al-Bashir, drawing on his experience from his visit to Sudan.

"We could not come to the conclusion that there was a genocide [during our trip], as it is stated," he said. He says African countries also are absolutely not agreeing with such a claim. He says African countries sided and are siding with al-Bashir on this matter.

Ankara has been steadily⁸ improving its relations with Khartoum, diplomatically and economically. Last year al-Bashir visited Turkey in defiance of international criticism. 

Mr. Erdogan addressed a meeting of his party supporters during the weekend, dismissing criticism against him for the invitation.

There people trying to make black propaganda against us for this meeting, but it will not work. He said it is not possible for a Muslim to commit genocide. 

Observers say behind the scenes diplomatic pressure has been increasing. According to Turkish reports al-Bashir's last-minute decision not to attend was to help Turkey avoid a diplomatic crisis.

Turkey, which heads the 57 nation Islamic Conference this year, is developing ties with Muslim countries, including its neighbor Iran. Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is attending the meeting .

Political scientists and newspaper columnist⁹ Nuray Mert says Turkish support for the Sudanese president could be part of a wider policy.

"It may be easily read as another sign or another message, of pursing your own independent policy," Mert said.

Turkey along with being an EU candidate country is a member of NATO and has strong ties with the United states. But according to observers, the Islamic-rooted ruling party of the secular¹⁰ government appears increasingly prepared to pursue a more assertive¹¹ and independent foreign policy.

1 indicted   

控告，起诉( indict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The senator was indicted for murder. 那位参议员被控犯谋杀罪。
• He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder. 他被大陪审团以两项谋杀罪名起诉。

2 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

3 defiance   

n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗

参考例句：

• He climbed the ladder in defiance of the warning.他无视警告爬上了那架梯子。
• He slammed the door in a spirit of defiance.他以挑衅性的态度把门砰地一下关上。

4 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

5 deadlock   

n.僵局，僵持

参考例句：

• The negotiations reached a deadlock after two hours.两小时后，谈判陷入了僵局。
• The employers and strikers are at a deadlock over the wage.雇主和罢工者在工资问题上相持不下。

6 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。

7 retract   

vt.缩回，撤回收回，取消

参考例句：

• The criminals should stop on the precipice, retract from the wrong path and not go any further.犯罪分子应当迷途知返，悬崖勒马，不要在错误的道路上继续走下去。
• I don't want to speak rashly now and later have to retract my statements.我不想现在说些轻率的话，然后又要收回自己说过的话。

8 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

9 columnist   

n.专栏作家

参考例句：

• The host was interviewing a local columnist.节目主持人正在同一位当地的专栏作家交谈。
• She's a columnist for USA Today.她是《今日美国报》的专栏作家。

10 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

11 assertive   

adj.果断的，自信的，有冲劲的

参考例句：

• She always speaks an assertive tone.她总是以果断的语气说话。
• China appears to have become more assertive in the waters off its coastline over recent years.在近些年，中国显示出对远方海洋的自信。