VOA标准英语2009-Clinton Says Burmese Elections Not Legitimat

By David Gollust
Manila
13 November 2009
 
US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton (File) 
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Friday elections planned in Burma next year will not be seen as legitimate¹ unless the military government engages in dialogue with the country's opposition² and ethnic³ minorities. Clinton spoke⁴ with VOA in Manila in advance of joining President Obama in Singapore for multi-lateral meetings that could include U.S. interaction with Burmese leaders.

U.S. Secretary of State Clinton says there is no expectation that any U.S.-Burma encounter early next week in Singapore will produce a breakthrough like an easing of restrictions⁵ on democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

But she is none-the-less expressing hope for long-term change in Burma based on, among other things, unusually accommodating treatment accorded two senior U.S. diplomats⁶ who visited Burma last week.

In an interview with VOA, the Secretary of State said the American envoys⁷ not only met with Burmese government officials, but also opposition figures including an unrestricted meeting with the long-detained National League for Democracy party leader.

"It was an open and very free exchange of our ideas with them. Secondly⁸, the fact that unlike in previous visits, our ability to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi was unmonitored, unsupervised for two hours, which was quite unusual and very helpful, the fact that the diplomats were able to meet with representatives of the political opposition and ethnic groups. It was a series of meetings that were more far-ranging and more open than we have seen in reports from others who have gone," she said.

Clinton will join President Barack Obama for the summit of APEC - the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum⁹. On the sidelines of that, there will be a meeting Sunday bringing together Mr. Obama and the leaders of the ten Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, which includes Burma.

No separate U.S. Burma meeting is planned, but both the president and Secretary Clinton say they may have interaction with Burmese Prime Minister Thein Sein.

Clinton told VOA if she does have a conversation with the Burmese leader, he will again be pressed to allow a fully¹⁰ open electoral process.

"I would certainly reinforce the message that our two diplomats, Assistant Secretary (for East Asian Affairs) Kurt Campbell and Deputy Assistant Secretary Scott Marciel brought with them to Burma, underscoring the willingness of the United States to engage with Burma, but recognizing that if the government there holds elections there next year, they will not be legitimate unless they engage with a dialogue with the people of Burma and create the atmosphere for free, fair and credible¹¹ elections," she said.

Clinton has said the United States is not prepared to lift sanctions against Burma, including a near total ban on trade, without major steps toward reform, including the release of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Earlier Friday, at a "town hall meeting" with Filipino students and reporters, Clinton said she doubted the Singapore meetings would yield any major announcement by Burmese authorities like an easing of restrictions on the detained opposition leader.

She said there is no doubt that Burmese military leaders who have ruled the country since 1962 are "on the wrong side of history" but said bringing change to the country could be a slow process lasting¹² years.

Aung San Suu Kyi has been under various forms of detention¹³ most of the time since 1990, when her NLD party won national elections but was barred from taking power.

Senior U.S. officials say the detained Nobel Peace laureate told them she supports the Obama administration's effort to engage the military, and mobilize regional pressure for free elections.

1 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

2 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。

3 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。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

6 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》

7 envoys   

使节( envoy的名词复数 )； 公使； 谈判代表； 使节身份

参考例句：

• the routine tit for tat when countries expel each other's envoys 国家相互驱逐对方使节这种惯常的报复行动
• Marco Polo's travelogue mentions that Kublai Khan sent envoys to Malgache. 马可波罗游记中提到忽必烈曾派使节到马尔加什。

8 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

9 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

10 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

11 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

12 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

13 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。