VOA标准英语2009-Security Reforms Needed in Guinea Bissau

Regional diplomats¹ say reforming Guinea Bissau's security sector² is crucial to stabilizing³ the country as it heads toward elections to replace the country's president, who was assassinated⁴ two months ago.
　
A 2005 campaign poster lies amid trash at the home of assassinated Pres. Vieira in Bissau, 05 Mar⁵ 2009

More than a dozen candidates are expected to contest next month's elections to succeed long-time President Joao Bernardo Vieira. He was murdered in his home in March, hours after a bomb blast killed his main political rival, army chief of staff General Batista Tagme Na Waie.

In hopes of breaking a history of army mutinies and coups⁷, the International Contact Group on Guinea Bissau is calling for wide-spread reforms to the nation's defense⁸ and security sectors⁹.

Representatives from 28 nations met in Cape¹⁰ Verde to discuss those changes. The group includes the Economic Community of West African States, the United Nations, and the Community of Portuguese¹¹-Speaking Countries, along with members of the government in Bissau.

The Contact Group is calling for the establishment of military pension funds to encourage those who have reached retirement¹² age to leave the army.
　
A soldier stands outside a collapsed¹³ section of the military HQ in Bissau where a bomb killed the armed forces chief of staff, 03 Mar 2009

It wants the rehabilitation¹⁴ of military barracks and a census¹⁵ of security forces to better understand just how many people are under arms in Guinea Bissau. That will allow the new government to both demobilize current soldiers and recruit new cadets to better reflect the country's ethnic¹⁶ balance in an army long dominated by the majority Balanta.

Professor Fafali Kudawo says security sector reform is crucial in a country that he says is both overly dependent on the external community and careless about the welfare of its own people.

"This very weak state has to be reformed. To reform the state, you have to see the civil service, and then principally the defense and security sector. This is the key because the defense sector is seen as the main obstacle to stability in this country," he said.

Kudawo says that is because most of the armed forces fought against Portuguese colonialism.

"Every veteran of the liberation struggle considers himself as an owner of a part of this country. And the historical legitimacy¹⁷ drawn¹⁸ from that independence war is considered superior to a political legitimacy gained through a ballot," Kudawo said.

The Contact Group is calling for the creation of an academy to train civil security forces in the protection of democratic institutions and the people who run them. The threat of political violence and the proliferation of small arms in Guinea Bissau is of particular concern in the run-up to June's election.

"With what we are going to go through, especially the upcoming elections, it is certain that small-arms issue is going to resurface," said Takwa Zebulone Sulfon, program director for the West Africa Network for Peace Building and monitors the flow of small arms through Guinea Bissau.

"When people prepare to go for elections, and they fear that somebody can point a gun on their head if you do not do this or that, the process itself risks being undermined," said Zebulone.

Guinea Bissau has become a major transit¹⁹ point for South American drugs headed to Europe. To confront that threat, the Contact Group wants stronger internal controls to block military complicity in drug trafficking. It is calling for a broader regional approach to stopping illegal drugs and international support to ensure the prompt payment of security agents' salaries.

Sulfon says there is a strong correlation²⁰ between security sector reform, organized crime, and drug smugglers who traffic in small arms as part of the larger underground market.

"When a system is collapsing²¹ or when you are building out of years of war, there is a tendency for people to always have hidden agendas which you can not understand, and also the tendency for the drug barons²² who have been invading West Africa from Latin America to take advantage of the failing systems to reposition themselves," he said.

He says international and regional involvement in defense and security sector reforms in Guinea Bissau should not be about placing blame for past violence.

"How do we work together with Guinea Bissau in a more comprehensive manner to deal with the governance issues? The issues of sustainability of the population itself," he said. "It is from there that people will try to say, 'Look, I do not need an arm. I need more of an education. I need more of a sustainable job. I need more of how to work and transform my country. And arms will not solve anybody's problems.'"

The Contact Group is calling for reforms in Guinea Bissau's justice sector to support changes in defense and security. It is recommending a stronger attorney general, the rehabilitation of existing courts and tribunals, and the construction of new prisons.

Sulfon says past promises of funding to support such changes have not been met.

"These promises are not backed by concrete action on the ground. And we are very, very worried that if we are to work from a preventive prospective²³, we must do more in Guinea Bissau. And the time is now," said Sulfon.

Without security sector reform, Sulfon says instability in Guinea Bissau could spread to neighboring Guinea Conakry, where soldiers took power in a coup⁶ last December, and to neighboring Senegal, where there is a long-simmering insurgency²⁴ in the southern Casamance region.

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 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

3 stabilizing   

n.稳定化处理[退火]v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The disulfide bridges might then be viewed primarily as stabilizing components. 二硫桥可以被看作是初级的稳定因素。 来自辞典例句
• These stabilizing design changes are usually not desirable for steady-state operation. 这些增加稳定性的设计改变通常不太符合稳态工作的要求。 来自辞典例句

4 assassinated   

v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
• Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后，肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句

5 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

6 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

7 coups   

n.意外而成功的行动( coup的名词复数 )；政变；努力办到难办的事

参考例句：

• China has seen many political coups within the ruling class. 中国统治阶级内部发生过很多政变。 来自互联网
• Thailand has had eighteen coups or coup attendance since nineteen thirty-two. 泰国1932年以来有18次政变或参加政变。 来自互联网

8 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

9 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

11 Portuguese   

n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语

参考例句：

• They styled their house in the Portuguese manner.他们仿照葡萄牙的风格设计自己的房子。
• Her family is Portuguese in origin.她的家族是葡萄牙血统。

12 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

13 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

14 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。

15 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

16 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。

17 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

18 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

19 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

20 correlation   

n.相互关系，相关，关连

参考例句：

• The second group of measurements had a high correlation with the first.第二组测量数据与第一组高度相关。
• A high correlation exists in America between education and economic position.教育和经济地位在美国有极密切的关系。

21 collapsing   

压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。

22 barons   

男爵( baron的名词复数 )； 巨头； 大王； 大亨

参考例句：

• The barons of Normandy had refused to countenance the enterprise officially. 诺曼底的贵族们拒绝正式赞助这桩买卖。
• The barons took the oath which Stephen Langton prescribed. 男爵们照斯蒂芬？兰顿的指导宣了誓。

23 prospective   

adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的

参考例句：

• The story should act as a warning to other prospective buyers.这篇报道应该对其他潜在的购买者起到警示作用。
• They have all these great activities for prospective freshmen.这会举办各种各样的活动来招待未来的新人。

24 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网