VOA标准英语2009年-Battle Between Pro-Secular and Islamic Gov

In Turkey the deep divisions between supporters of the secular¹ state and the Islamic-rooted government have reopened again following the death of a well-known secular campaigner. The Tuesday funeral of Turkan Saylan, the founder² of a pro-secular association committed to sending girls to school, turned into a rally against the government and in support of the secular state. Turkan Saylan, shortly before her death, became the target of an ongoing³ probe into an alleged⁴ conspiracy⁵ to overthrow⁶ the government.

Saylan personified Turkish secular state
　
Thousands of people hold a national flag as they follow the flag-covered coffin⁷ of Turkan Saylan,as it arrives at Tesvikiye Mosque⁸ for a funeral service in Istanbul, Turkey, 19 May 2009

"Turkey will always be secular," tens of thousands of people chanted as they followed the coffin of professor Turkan Saylan who died of breast cancer on Monday. The 74-year-old human rights activist⁹ in many ways personified the Turkish secular state.

Born in Istanbul, in the early years of the Turkish republic, she rose to become a world authority in leprosy and was in the forefront of eradicating¹⁰ the disease in Turkey. But it was her non-stop campaigning for the education of girls, many of them from very poor families, through her Contemporary Life Association, which secured her place in the hearts of thousands of people in Turkey.

"She touched some people lives, she made it so much more beautiful, she gave some many opportunities to children, to students with economic difficulties. She gave them a chance to choose," said a woman. "This is why I am here, this why so many tens of thousands of people are here, because we want to show Saylan we appreciated her, we love her and despite all the work she has done she was treated as a guilty person by the state, and we do not approve of that."

Police searched Saylan's home, association offices
　
In this April 13, 2009 file photo, Turkan Saylan, gestures to friends from the window of her house in Istanbul, Turkey

Only weeks before her death, Saylan's home and offices of her association across the country were searched by police. Several leading members of the society were detained. Police also seized computers and records of her group.

Saylan's associates said the seizures¹¹ and arrests paralyzed their work in providing financial support to 70,000 girls attending school.

The police raids were part of an ongoing investigation¹² of an alleged conspiracy movement against the Islamic-rooted government. But with many of the 200 people detained being critics of the government including journalists and academics, public criticism of the authorities has been growing.

The pro-secular campaigners charged that the probe is an attempt by the government to silence the opposition¹³ force.

During Saylan funeral Tuesday, thousands chanted "we will not be silenced." Many of the country's most well know public figures attended the funeral. Writer Pinar Kur was one of them.

"She has nothing to do with the military coup¹⁴ that was supposed to be being prepared. She is very anti-militarist person," said Kur. "The house was searched, the whole organization was searched because what they do most: they send girls to school. And the religious persuasion¹⁵ of the government would rather keep women at home."

Government denies accusations¹⁶ of religious motives¹⁷

Such accusations are strongly denied by the government. But newspaper columnist¹⁸ and political scientist Nuray Mert says the search of Saylan's home has caused great unease among many secular people in the country.

"More and more [of] these people, they feel as a member of a minority in Turkey. And anything can happen, this is the feeling of minorities," she said. "You know any thing may happen anytime to them. Now secular people have started to think and perceive like this, that anything may happen to them that they may even end up in a jail one day. This is perception, whether it is true or not."

Even within the government, concerns were raised by some ministers about the targeting of Saylan, especially during the final days of her life. But Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan continues to defend the action, pointing to the recent discovery of arms caches claimed to be part of the conspiracy.

As the investigation of Saylan's organization continues, the ongoing struggle between those wanting a secular government and the islamic government, took another turn.

Abdullah Gul could faces prosecution¹⁹ for embezzling²⁰ state funds

An Ankara court on Monday ruled that the Turkish president Abdullah Gul should face prosecution for embezzling millions of dollars in state funds. The case dates back to the 1990s when Mr. Gul was a senior member of the Islamist Welfare party which was closed by the constitutional court.

Mr. Gul condemned²¹ the ruling, saying a president can only be prosecuted²² for treason. That stance was supported by Koksal Toptan, speaker of the parliament.

He said in his opinion, the president has the same immunity²³ as the members of parliament, so it is not possible for President Gul to be tried as long as he is president. But, he said, the court has made a decision and the legal process can continue so it can go up the Court Appeals.

Legal experts remain divided over the issue. However many political observers in Turkey say it is unlikely the president will end up in court.

1 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。

2 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

3 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

4 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

5 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

6 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

7 coffin   

n.棺材，灵柩

参考例句：

• When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
• The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。

8 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

9 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

10 eradicating   

摧毁，完全根除( eradicate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Objective: To study the acute and chronic toxicity of Ten-flavor-acne eradicating-capsule. 目的：探讨复方中药合剂十味平痤胶囊的急性及慢性毒性。
• We are on the verge of eradicating polio in the world. 我们已在世界消除小儿？痹症的边缘了。

11 seizures   

n.起获( seizure的名词复数 )；没收；充公；起获的赃物

参考例句：

• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year. 今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Other causes of unconsciousness predisposing to aspiration lung abscess are convulsive seizures. 造成吸入性肺脓肿昏迷的其他原因，有惊厥发作。 来自辞典例句

12 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

13 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。

14 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。

15 persuasion   

n.劝说；说服；持有某种信仰的宗派

参考例句：

• He decided to leave only after much persuasion.经过多方劝说，他才决定离开。
• After a lot of persuasion,she agreed to go.经过多次劝说后，她同意去了。

16 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

17 motives   

n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机
• His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。

18 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。

19 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

20 embezzling   

v.贪污，盗用（公款）( embezzle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Accordingly, object embezzling waste to be carried temporarily the schedule of administration. 因此，反对贪污浪费就提上了临时中央政府的议事日程。 来自互联网
• Some were sentenced for taking bribes, others executed for embezzling funds. 有的因受贿而被判刑，有的因侵吞公款而被判处死刑。 来自互联网

21 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。

22 prosecuted   

a.被起诉的

参考例句：

• The editors are being prosecuted for obscenity. 编辑因刊载污秽文字而被起诉。
• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。

23 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。