VOA标准英语2009年-More than 200 Protesters Reported Arre

 

Arrest of senior members of the South's Sudan People's Liberation Movement triggered unrest, lead to wide-spread protests in Southern Sudan

Alan Boswell | Nairobi 08 December 2009

Sudan's First Vice¹ President Salva Kiir, a former rebel leader in the Sudan People's Liberation Army (File)

"This [detainment] prompted us to call for an emergency meeting of the SPLM leadership, where it was resolved that the situation must be contained. The SPLM leadership also resolved to use all the necessary means to ensure that the country does not resort to war again," says Salva Kiir, the leader of Southern Sudan

Global advocacy group Amnesty International says more than 200 people were arrested during a public demonstration² Monday in Khartoum.  Protests broke out across southern Sudan following reports senior officials of the South's ruling party had been detained.

Amnesty International condemned³ what they called a "violent crackdown" against the political demonstrators.

Researcher Rania Rajji says the use of torture on the detainees is especially troubling.

"Our concern is there is the right of people to hold a peaceful demonstration.  They seem not to have broken any Sudanese laws, so they are allowed to their freedom of expression and to peacefully demonstrate," said Rajji.  "On the other hand, [our concern is] the use of violence during the arrests but also the extended use of violence, torture, and other forms of ill-treatment during detention⁴."

Senior members of the South's Sudan People's Liberation Movement, including the secretary general Pagan Amum and his northern deputy Yasir Arman, as well as key members of northern opposition⁵ groups, were among those picked up by authorities.

The detainees were later released, but news of the government actions triggered unrest in southern Sudan. 

The offices for the National Congress Party - the party headed by Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir - were reportedly attacked in the southern cities of Wau and Rumbek, as well as in the Tur-Alei county in Warrap state.  Some NCP officials operating in the South had to flee to safety.

Sudan's First Vice President Salva Kiir, a former rebel leader in the Sudan People's Liberation Army (File)

Monday, the leader of Southern Sudan, Salva Kiir, tried to alleviate⁶ fears that the recent outburst of unrest would result in a re-ignition of conflict.

"This [detainment] prompted us to call for an emergency meeting of the SPLM leadership, where it was resolved that the situation must be contained," said Kiir.  "The SPLM leadership also resolved to use all the necessary means to ensure that the country does not resort to war again."

The NCP has been relatively⁷ quiet about the crackdown, but the Sudanese foreign minister summoned foreign envoys⁸ to brief them that the rally was held illegally, forcing the state to act.

The protest demonstration was called by a joint⁹ alliance of northern opposition groups and the SPLM, who in September this year met in Juba to agree to a unifying¹⁰ set of principles.  Reports indicate the parties are considering uniting under a single candidate to oppose President Bashir in the polls.

The alliance is protesting the continued delays in the process of reforming national security laws, which it says gives undue¹¹ powers to the state's security teams.  They are threatening to boycott¹² the upcoming elections, which they say can not be free and fair unless the laws are amended¹³.

SPLM is also protesting the stalled negotiations¹⁴ over a referendum law that codifies¹⁵ a Southern independence vote now scheduled for January 2011.

The upcoming national elections were agreed to as a provision in the historic 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended the decades-long civil war between the North and South.  An estimated 1.9 million people were killed during the conflict, most of them Southerners. 

 

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

3 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

4 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。

5 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。

6 alleviate   

v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等)

参考例句：

• The doctor gave her an injection to alleviate the pain.医生给她注射以减轻疼痛。
• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。

7 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

8 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。

9 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

10 unifying   

使联合( unify的现在分词 )； 使相同； 使一致； 统一

参考例句：

• In addition, there were certain religious bonds of a unifying kind. 此外，他们还有某种具有一种统一性质的宗教上的结合。
• There is a unifying theme, and that is the theme of information flow within biological systems. 我们可以用一个总的命题，把生物学系统内的信息流来作为这一研究主题。

11 undue   

adj.过分的；不适当的；未到期的

参考例句：

• Don't treat the matter with undue haste.不要过急地处理此事。
• It would be wise not to give undue importance to his criticisms.最好不要过分看重他的批评。

12 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

13 Amended   

adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He asked to see the amended version. 他要求看修订本。
• He amended his speech by making some additions and deletions. 他对讲稿作了些增删修改。

14 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

15 codifies   

n.把（法律）编成法典( codify的名词复数 )v.把（法律）编成法典( codify的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The latest draft of the agreement codifies the panel's decision. 最新的协议草案把专家小组的决定加以整理，形成了条文。 来自辞典例句
• The law that codifies evil is the essence of lawlessness. 肯定坏事的法律实质上等于无法。 来自互联网