VOA标准英语2009年-Thousands of Supporters of Former Thai PM

By Ron Corben
Bangkok
19 September 2009

 
Supporters of ousted¹ Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra gather in rain at Royal Plaza² in Bangkok, 19 Sep 2009
Several thousand supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra staged rallies to mark the third anniversary of a military coup³ that toppled him from power in 2006. The government has set in place tight security in a bid to avoid a repeat of violence in April when the Thai army was called to disperse⁴ rioters on the streets of Bangkok.

Heavy monsoonal⁵ rain showers greeted thousands of so-called "red shirt" supporters of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as they gathered to listen to anti-government and pro-Thaksin speeches Saturday, with many calling for fresh general elections. 

Pro-Thaksin supporters at the rally accused key advisers⁶ of the Thai King of being behind the coup that brought an end to five years of Thaksin's rule. The Thai leader was accused of corruption⁷ and abuse of power while in office. He denies the charges and calls them politically motivated. 

 
Thaksin Shinawatra 
Mr. Thaksin was in the United States attending the United Nations General Assembly when tanks and soldiers occupied key buildings in Bangkok. The military appointed an interim⁸ prime minister along with a national assembly. Fresh elections were held in December 2007.

Mr. Thaksin returned to Thailand early last year but faced with a corruption case he fled the country in August 2008. He remains⁹ in exile. Mr. Thaksin was subsequently convicted in absentia and sentenced to two years in prison. Other corruption case verdicts are pending¹⁰.

From exile Mr. Thaksin has maintained contact with supporters by giving speeches via video conference phone links.

Mr. Thaksin enjoys the support of many rural and low-income citizens who have rallied for him since his removal. His so-called Red Shirt protesters forced the cancellation¹¹ of a major regional (ASEAN) summit at a Thai resort in April. Protests for and against Mr. Thaksin and his allies have led to multiple changes in leadership in the past three years.

 
Mrs Korawee
Mrs. Korawee, a registered nurse, attending the rally, remains a fervent¹² supporter of Mr. Thaksin.

"I love Thaksin," she said. "Thaksin very good. Thaksin superman. He helps the people, he help the people, he help the people."  

Mrs. Korawee said many she knows are now suffering from a lack of jobs and money. She says life is more difficult than when Mr. Thaksin was prime minister.

Thailand is currently gripped by a deep recession triggered by the global downturn. The government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva says economic stimulus¹³ packages should have a positive impact on the economy in the later this year.

The Thai government said it had feared violence erupting at the rally and enacted¹⁴ emergency laws to deal with unrest.

Panitan Wattanayagorn, a government spokesman, said while authorities had  reports of potential trouble they expected the rally to go off largely peacefully.

"So we expect that normal demonstration¹⁵ will go accordingly but for those who want to push the demonstration, to become violent they will be contained, they will be arrested, and they will be stabilized," he said.

Thailand continues to face deep political divisions with few signs of reconciliation¹⁶ between competing groups for power.

In recent weeks divisions have also emerged within the coalition¹⁷ government adding to a climate of political instability and placing pressure on Prime Minister Abhisit to call new elections.

Analysts¹⁸ say the government may go to the polls in early 2010.

1 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。

2 plaza   

n.广场，市场

参考例句：

• They designated the new shopping centre York Plaza.他们给这个新购物中心定名为约克购物中心。
• The plaza is teeming with undercover policemen.这个广场上布满了便衣警察。

3 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。

4 disperse   

vi.使分散；使消失；vt.分散；驱散

参考例句：

• The cattle were swinging their tails to disperse the flies.那些牛甩动着尾巴驱赶苍蝇。
• The children disperse for the holidays.孩子们放假了。

5 monsoonal   

季风的

参考例句：

• In the east, the water is mainly oceanic with relatively minor dilution from direct monsoonal rainfall and runoff from small streams. 东部水域主要为海水，而直接的季候雨及小溪溢流，把海水稍为冲淡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• China has a marked continental monsoonal climate characterized by great variety. 中国有明显的大陆性季风气候的特点是种类繁多。 来自互联网

6 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

7 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

8 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

9 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。

10 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

11 cancellation   

n.删除，取消

参考例句：

• Heavy seas can cause cancellation of ferry services.海上风浪太大，可能须要取消渡轮服务。
• Her cancellation of her trip to Paris upset our plan.她取消了巴黎之行打乱了我们的计划。

12 fervent   

adj.热的，热烈的，热情的

参考例句：

• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。
• Austria was among the most fervent supporters of adolf hitler.奥地利是阿道夫希特勒最狂热的支持者之一。

13 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

14 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

15 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。

16 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

17 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

18 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。