VOA标准英语2009年-US Conservatives Support Ouster of Hondura

The Organization of American States and most governments in the world have condemned¹ the ouster of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya by the military last Sunday as a coup² d'etat. But the people who currently hold power in Honduras say they followed legal procedures outlined in their nation's constitution and their position is backed by many conservatives in the United States.
　
Ousted³ Honduran president Manuel Zelaya speaks during a news conference after a meeting of the OAS in Washington, 01 Jul 2009

The crisis in Honduras has become a hot topic for conservative pundits⁴ in the past several days. President Obama, along with other world leaders, the Organization of American States and some human rights groups, have condemned the military's removal of President Zelaya in Honduras last Sunday.

But many conservatives say the officials who carried out the ouster of the president did the right thing. They argue that Zelaya violated the Honduran constitution by planning to hold an illegal referendum that was aimed at continuing his time in office indefinitely. Commentators⁵ like the Wall Street Journal's Mary Anastasia O'Grady say Hondurans were defending their democracy by throwing out a president who was aligned⁶ with Cuba's communist regime and Venezuela's leftist leader Hugo Chavez.

Even critics of President Zelaya, however, say legal means should have been used against him rather than a nighttime raid on his home by heavily armed soldiers. But Hans Bader, a legal expert with the conservative Competitive Enterprise Institute, says the Honduran Supreme⁷ Court and Congress believed Zelaya had put their country in immediate⁸ peril⁹.

"I don't think they needed to wait until he actually made himself into a dictator," he said. "I think they were entitled to take action against a budding dictator. But even if they weren't, it seems to me that it is not so clear that he is in the right that the United States should be meddling¹⁰ in Honduras' affairs."

That view is challenged by Georgia State University professor Jennifer McCoy, who also serves as director of the Americas Program at the Carter Center in Atlanta. She says Honduran concerns about possible illegal actions by their president may be valid¹¹, but they do not justify¹² the way Zelaya's removal was carried out.

"Even if the military was acting¹³ to carry out a police action, I think the questions coming from the international community are why would the military act instead of the police? And why would they take him out of the country instead of following a procedure inside the country?," she said.

McCoy says she believes it may be possible to broker¹⁴ a solution to what she regards as a constitutional crisis in Honduras, but she says both pro- and anti-Zelaya factions¹⁵ will need to recognize what brought it about.

"That is the conflict between the powers in Honduras and the defiance¹⁶ of the president of rulings by the Supreme Court and rulings by the Congress and those do need to be dealt with," said McCoy. "But, the point of the international community is that those are not to be dealt with at the end of the barrel of a gun, but, instead, through legal proceedings¹⁷."

Hans Bader and other conservative commentators accuse President Obama of siding with the anti-democratic forces in the region against people in Honduras who were trying to protect their republic and its constitution. He is concerned that President Obama might join the European Union and many Latin American nations in suspending aid and trade with Honduras.

"It is a very poor country," said Bader. "If we were to essentially¹⁸ close our markets to their products we could cause a great deal of hardship in the country and cause thousands of Hondurans to lose their jobs. That would only compound the suffering of the Honduran people."

But the Obama administration has not taken any action so far against Honduras other than suspending some joint¹⁹ military programs. Many other nations have pulled their ambassadors from Tegucigalpa, but the U.S. ambassador remains²⁰ in place.

Trade between the United States and Honduras amounts to over $7 billion a year. In addition, Hondurans living in the United States send home around $2.5 billion in remittances²¹, which represent around one fifth of the Central American nation's total Gross National Product. Most observers think it is unlikely that the United States will impose harsh penalties on Honduras, but much will depend on what happens in the days ahead.

Even some conservatives are concerned about what the people currently in power in Honduras are doing in the face of protests by Zelaya supporters. The CATO Institute's Juan Carlos Hidalgo, who supported the removal of Zelaya, has called on authorities in Tegucigalpa to respect human rights and avoid repression²² of legitimate²³, peaceful dissent²⁴.

1 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。

2 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。

3 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

4 pundits   

n.某一学科的权威，专家( pundit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The pundits disagree on the best way of dealing with the problem. 如何妥善处理这一问题，专家众说纷纭。 来自辞典例句
• That did not stop Chinese pundits from making a fuss over it. 这并没有阻止中国的博学之士对此大惊小怪。 来自互联网

5 commentators   

n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 )；时事评论员；注释者；实况广播员

参考例句：

• Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语，真叫人腻烦。
• Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话，令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 aligned   

adj.对齐的，均衡的

参考例句：

• Make sure the shelf is aligned with the top of the cupboard.务必使搁架与橱柜顶端对齐。

7 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。

8 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

9 peril   

n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物

参考例句：

• The refugees were in peril of death from hunger.难民有饿死的危险。
• The embankment is in great peril.河堤岌岌可危。

10 meddling   

v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He denounced all "meddling" attempts to promote a negotiation. 他斥责了一切“干预”促成谈判的企图。 来自辞典例句
• They liked this field because it was never visited by meddling strangers. 她们喜欢这块田野，因为好事的陌生人从来不到那里去。 来自辞典例句

11 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

12 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

13 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

14 broker   

n.中间人，经纪人；v.作为中间人来安排

参考例句：

• He baited the broker by promises of higher commissions.他答应给更高的佣金来引诱那位经纪人。
• I'm a real estate broker.我是不动产经纪人。

15 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

16 defiance   

n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗

参考例句：

• He climbed the ladder in defiance of the warning.他无视警告爬上了那架梯子。
• He slammed the door in a spirit of defiance.他以挑衅性的态度把门砰地一下关上。

17 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

18 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

19 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。

20 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

21 remittances   

n.汇寄( remittance的名词复数 )；汇款，汇款额

参考例句：

• He sends regular remittances to his parents. 他定期汇款给他父母。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Remittances sometimes account for as much as 20% of GDP. 在这些国家中，此类汇款有时会占到GDP的20%之多。 来自互联网

22 repression   

n.镇压，抑制，抑压

参考例句：

• The repression of your true feelings is harmful to your health.压抑你的真实感情有害健康。
• This touched off a new storm against violent repression.这引起了反对暴力镇压的新风暴。

23 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。

24 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。