VOA标准英语2009年-Exile Government, Rights Group Cautiously

By Daniel Schearf
Bangkok
24 September 2009

Burma's government in exile has welcomed Washington's plans to engage with the country's military rulers. But exiles and activists¹ say dialogue will only be effective if Washington stays firm on demands for democratic change.

Burma's government in exile, the National Coalition² Government of the Union of Burma, says it welcomes the United States' plans to talk directly with Burma's government.

Zin Linn, a spokesman for the group, said Thursday it has always encouraged dialogue with Burma's military rulers. But he says whether it is Washington, the European Union or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, others must also engage with Burma's opposition³ parties.

"We are welcome anyone from the international community -the U.N., the EU, the U.S., and even the ASEAN - we are welcome to act as a facilitator between the opposition and the military junta," he said. "It may, we think, it may make more result."

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday at the United Nations that Washington would end its policy of limited engagement with Burma.

Clinton said U.S. officials will begin meeting directly with Burma's military leaders to push for democracy because sanctions alone had not worked.

Debbie Stothard is with the rights group Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma in Thailand. She says U.S. engagement with Burma's military government, known as the State Peace and Development Council, could be positive, but only if Washington remains⁴ firm in pushing for change.

"We hope that the U.S. does not go down the same path as ASEAN did, which was to go down the path of unconditional⁵ engagement, which in the end dragged down ASEAN's credibility and actually led to a worsening of the situation in Burma," she said. "There has to be a very clear and consistent and regular reinforcement of the message that this type of engagement does not mean a tacit endorsement⁶ of the SPDC's crimes against humanity or its ongoing⁷ violations⁸ of human rights."

Burma's military has ruled the country since the 1960s and has little tolerance⁹ for dissent¹⁰.

It allowed elections in 1990 but, when the National League for Democracy came out the winner, the military ignored the results. It has kept the NLD leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, locked up for most of the time since.

The U.S. and EU have economic sanctions against Burma for suppressing democracy and locking up Aung San Suu Kyi along with more than 2,000 other political prisoners.

Clinton said while the U.S. would talk with Burma's military rulers, sanctions would remain in place until Burma shows concrete progress towards reform.

1 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 unconditional   

adj.无条件的，无限制的，绝对的

参考例句：

• The victorious army demanded unconditional surrender.胜方要求敌人无条件投降。
• My love for all my children is unconditional.我对自己所有孩子的爱都是无条件的。

6 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

7 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。

8 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

9 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

10 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。