VOA标准英语2010年-Analysts: Kurds Could Determine Result

This Sunday, Turkish voters will go the polls to decide on a package of constitutional reforms. The prime minister says the vote is an opportunity to democratize the country. But the country's main opposition¹ says the reforms are a government power grab of the judiciary. Public opinion surveys show that Turkey is split on the proposed changes and that the country's large Kurdish population might determine the outcome.

Last Friday, as many as 20,000 cheering Kurds greeted Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the heart of Diyarbakir, Turkey's largest city in its predominantly Kurdish southeast.  Analysts² say Mr. Erdogan's visit was crucial in his bid to win this Sunday's referendum on reforming the country's constitution.  The government's lead has steadily³ eroded⁴ in recent weeks.  And the latest public opinion polls say the vote is too close to call.

Addressing the crowd, Mr. Erdogan reminded them that the present constitution was written by the generals of the 1980 coup⁵. "The September 12th coup was a big blow to democracy," the prime minister said.  "People were killed in the street," he added, "People simply disappeared.  If only the walls of the Diyarbakir prison could talk."

Mr. Erdogan used his Diyarbakir speech to announce the city's prison will be closed.  The facility is associated with some of the worst excesses of Turkey's military rule.

The proposed constitutional reforms include lifting the legal immunity⁶ of those who carried out the 1980 coup.  Political scientist Cengiz Aktar of Istanbul's Bahcesehir University says Kurds have more reasons than most to vote for the reforms.

"I mean I don't think any Kurd would vote 'no' because they agree with the content with the amendment⁷ package.  They agree with the fact the putschists will be prosecuted⁸, at least their immunity will be lifted.  So I think it's extremely important as Kurds suffered probably the most out of this coup d'etat of 12th of September 1980," Aktar said.

But critics of Mr. Erdogan's campaign say he is ignoring Kurdish demands. The main Kurdish political party, the Peace and Democracy Party, or BDP, is calling for the Kurdish language be used in schools and for greater local autonomy. The BDP also is calling for Kurds to be recognized in the constitution. Until these demands are met, the party is calling for a boycott⁹ of Sunday's vote.

The BDP is campaigning for a boycott of the referendum across southeastern Turkey.  Addressing supporters, Gulten Kisanak, joint¹⁰ leader of BDP, says the vote has nothing to do with Kurds.

"Where are the Kurdish people," he asks.  "Why in your constitution package there is not even a single sentence about us?  We ignore those who ignore us!."

The BDP mayor of Diyarbakir, Osman Baydemir, who was re-elected this year, has threatened to resign if more than half of city votes in the referendum.  Mr. Erdogan has condemned¹¹ the boycott as undemocratic.

The boycott is the latest clash between the BDP and the ruling Justice and Development Party, which are the main political rivals in the region.

"The government is constantly identifying them as marginal, and [and that they] only have limited power in the region and they are using force and violence to achieve this power.  Otherwise, people in the region are ready to support the government.  And now, the BDP needs to show the opposite picture by showing their strength in the region in this referendum to attract the attention of all parties in Turkey and international attention; they are the speakers of people in the region," said Political columnist¹², Nuray Mert.

For 25 years, southeastern Turkey has been the center of conflict between rebels of the Kurdistan Workers Party, the PKK, and the Turkish state.  The PKK is fighting for greater Kurdish rights.  Mr. Erdogan refused to include the BDP in his initiative last year to end the conflict, accusing the party of being part of the problem, not the solution.

Public opinion polls indicate that Sunday's vote is too close to call.  Analysts say the number of Kurds who vote in Sunday's referendum will be a key test of strength for the government in the region.  And Kurdish turnout, they say, could determine the outcome of the referendum.
 

1 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。

2 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。

3 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

4 eroded   

adj. 被侵蚀的，有蚀痕的 动词erode的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The cliff face has been steadily eroded by the sea. 峭壁表面逐渐被海水侵蚀。
• The stream eroded a channel in the solid rock. 小溪在硬石中侵蚀成一条水道。

5 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。

6 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。

7 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

8 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》。

9 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

10 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。

11 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。

12 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。