VOA标准英语2009-Iran Presidential Election Protests Reflect

The controversial outcome of Iran's presidential election has prompted a potentially explosive political crisis. Post-election fights have erupted in the streets and in the corridors of power in Tehran that are the continuation of a bitter political campaign.
　
Supporters of defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi confronted by Iranian riot-police in front of Tehran University, 14 Jun 2009

The government declared the incumbent¹, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the winner in a landslide² over his closest challenger, reformist Mir Hossein Mousavi. That sparked charges of a rigged election and violent street protests by angry Mousavi supporters.

But analysts⁴ say there is also a fight going on behind the scenes that reflects political splits that came out into the open during the election campaign.

During the campaign, the president accused Mousavi of accepting support from corrupt⁵ elements, and specifically named former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani as the prime backer. Mousavi accused the incumbent of bad judgment⁶ and bringing the country into disrepute internationally.
　
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, gestures, during a news conference, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, 14 June 2009

Reva Bhalla, an Iranian affairs analyst³ with the private intelligence firm Stratfor, says President Ahmadinejad may feel his re-election means it is payback time for the personal attacks.

"I think it definitely emboldens⁷ him," said Reva Bhalla. "And I think we've already seen that already come to light where we've seen mass arrests and basically this whole agenda to uproot⁸ his opponents. And that's exactly why very senior members of the regime like [former President Ali Akbar Hashemi] Rafsanjani and [Parliamentary Speaker Ali] Larijani are pretty concerned right now and are appealing to the Supreme⁹ Leader to make sure that that doesn't happen."
　
Hossein Mousavi shows ink on his finger as proof of casting his vote in the Iranian presidential election

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei gave tacit backing to the president during the campaign, and welcomed the election results, calling them a divine assessment¹⁰. But faced with street protests and objections from Mousavi and other political figures, he abruptly¹¹ ordered the powerful Guardian¹² Council - comprised of 12 Islamic clerics - to investigate voter fraud. It is an unprecedented¹³ move after an election campaign that was unprecedented in several ways.

Alex Vatanka, senior Middle East analyst of Jane's Information Group, says Ayatollah Khamenei's decision reflects the continuing struggle between the incumbent president and the still-powerful former President Rafsanjani that surfaced in the campaign.

"How can you go after pillars of the Islamic Republic like Rafsanjani, who still hold significant positions within the system, and expect that he's not going to bite back when you accuse him and his entire family? This is the misreading, this is the big gamble of Khamenei," said Alex Vatanka. "I wonder if his u-turn is actually a reflection of what he's actually gone and done - supporting Ahmadinejad the way he has done. It's a huge fight."

But are the vote fraud allegations true? There is no transparency in ballot¹⁴ counting and no exit polls. The only independent public opinion survey, taken three weeks before the election by the New America Foundation and Terror Free Tomorrow, shows that the president could have won by the margin¹⁶ claimed.

But Ken¹⁵ Ballen of Terror Free Tomorrow says there is no way to know for sure.

"We have the only independent poll out there," he said. "And it was early, it was three weeks before the election. There could have been a surge for Mousavi that is not reflected in our polling numbers. And I'm not saying that the election was free and fair. There are a lot of indications that it wasn't. But there is a difference between whether the election was free and fair, and whether the majority of the people support Ahmadinejad."

In fact the president has portrayed¹⁷ himself as a populist - as he did when he unexpectedly beat Rafsanjani in 2005 - and analysts say he maintains a strong base of support in rural areas and among the poor. In contrast, says Ballen, Mousavi's supporters come from the other end of Iran's economic spectrum¹⁸.

The only groups that we found in our poll three weeks before the election - again, I make that caveat¹⁹ - but the only groups that we found supporting Mousavi or where he was competitive with Ahmadinejad were university students, university graduates, and the highest income Iranians. So the protests are now occurring in Tehran. I don't know if they reflect the will of the whole country.

It is not clear whether the protests, which have been reported in other locales like Shiraz, will be sustained.

Analyst Alex Vatanka says these demonstrations²⁰ have organization and backing from disgruntled politicians in the ruling elite²¹, and will end only if they decide to concede to President Ahmadinejad.

"I think that there's such an anger right now that they are going to stay in the streets," said Vatanka. "The only thing that's going to make this thing go away quickly is if - and that's a big 'if,' and that's thanks to Ahmadinejad - if the top echelons²² of the Islamic Republic, people like Rafsanjani, Mousavi, [former President Mohammad] Khatami, decide that they're going to walk away from this fight."

But even if the protests end, analysts say, the rancor²³ and bitterness that came out during the campaign is likely to linger.

1 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

2 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

3 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

4 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

5 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

6 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

7 emboldens   

v.鼓励，使有胆量( embolden的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• This condition emboldens employers and brokers to exploit more the migrant workers. 这样的情形使得雇主及仲介业者得以大胆地剥削移民劳工。 来自互联网
• In turn, Kobe's growing confidence emboldens his teammates to play even better. 反过来，科比增加了对他们的信任也促使队友们打得更好。 来自互联网

8 uproot   

v.连根拔起，拔除；根除，灭绝；赶出家园，被迫移开

参考例句：

• The family decided to uproot themselves and emigrate to Australia.他们全家决定离开故土，移居澳大利亚。
• The trunk of an elephant is powerful enough to uproot trees.大象的长鼻强壮得足以将树木连根拔起。

9 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

10 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

11 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

12 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

13 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

14 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

15 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

16 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

17 portrayed   

v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• Throughout the trial, he portrayed himself as the victim. 在审讯过程中，他始终把自己说成是受害者。
• The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard. 作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

18 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

19 caveat   

n.警告； 防止误解的说明

参考例句：

• I would offer a caveat for those who want to join me in the dual calling.为防止发生误解，我想对那些想要步我后尘的人提出警告。
• As I have written before,that's quite a caveat.正如我以前所写，那确实是个警告。

20 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

21 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

22 echelons   

n.（机构中的）等级，阶层( echelon的名词复数 )；（军舰、士兵、飞机等的）梯形编队

参考例句：

• Officers were drawn largely from the top echelons of society. 这些官员大都来自社会上层。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Except in the higher echelons, extensive classification has no place in the classification of vegetation. 除高阶类级之外，外延分类在植物分类中还是没有地位的。 来自辞典例句

23 rancor   

n.深仇，积怨

参考例句：

• I have no rancor against him.我对他无怨无仇。
• Their rancor dated from a political dogfight between them.他们的积怨来自于他们之间在政治上的狗咬狗。