VOA标准英语2011-Peacekeeping Officials: ECOWAS Invasion o

Officials at former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan's Peacekeeping Training Center say the threat of a West-Africa-led invasion of Ivory Coast is unlikely to materialize and would mostly aggravate¹ the power crisis that has seized the country since the November 28 elections.

"The use of legitimate² force," to quote the agreement signed by 15 West African leaders, was supposed to be the last resort the West African bloc³ would turn to if Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo did not concede the elections that the African Union says he lost.

But 10 days shy of two months of failed negotiations⁴ to pry⁵ Gabgbo from power, the threat of a West African invasion of its second-largest economy appears unlikely or, at best, a controversial prospect⁶ between the leaders who agreed to it.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan chairs the Economic Community of West African States and has led the bloc's efforts to oust⁷ President Gbagbo from power.

If mediation⁸ doesn't work, the bloc says it has 6,500 troops on standby, ready to invade and capture Gbagbo. On January 7, though, Ghanaian President John Atta Mills said Ghana would not participate in such an effort.

Ghana has 500 peacekeepers in Ivory Coast. Mills told reporters that sending in a military force would not bring peace to Ivory Coast, and Research Head Kweis Anning at the Kofi Annan Peacekeeping Training Center agrees.

"I think that possibility is fairly weak," said Anning. "If ECOWAS does not use a strike action to extract Gbagbo alone and his henchmen, which even then has very dangerous repercussions⁹ later from his supporters, a full-blown intervention¹⁰ force, as we saw in Liberia and Sierra Leone, is at best very far fetched."

Ghana's opposition¹¹, regional leaders, and supporters of Ivory Coast's internationally recognized president, Alassane Outtara, have criticized Mills for the decision.

A Burkinabé paper alleged¹² that Mills received campaign contributions from Gbagbo during his own run for office, while an Ivorian newspaper claimed Ghana's main airport is allowing Ivory Coast to park military jets on its tarmac.

A spokesman for Mills' party denied both charges, and Anning said the Ghana president's refusal to participate is consistent with the country's long-standing foreign policy.

"The military intervention option, for me, it is supposed to be used as a stick, to elicit¹³ compliance¹⁴ from the Gbagbo camp that, 'Look, if you do not go by the rules and regulations to which you are a signatory to, this option is available,'" said Anning.

If the threat of military intervention is a stick, however, then Senegal's president said the economic community ought to be willing to use it.

In an interview with Bloomberg News last week, President Abdoulaye Wade's spokesman, Pape Dieng, said he is pushing leaders to remove Gbagbo "by any means necessary, even military means." If he does not leave, Dieng said African leaders will think there is never any need to concede an election

1 aggravate   

vt.加重(剧)，使恶化；激怒，使恼火

参考例句：

• Threats will only aggravate her.恐吓只能激怒她。
• He would only aggravate the injury by rubbing it.他揉擦伤口只会使伤势加重。

2 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。

3 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

4 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

5 pry   

vi.窥(刺)探，打听；vt.撬动(开，起)

参考例句：

• He's always ready to pry into other people's business.他总爱探听别人的事。
• We use an iron bar to pry open the box.我们用铁棍撬开箱子。

6 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

7 oust   

vt.剥夺，取代，驱逐

参考例句：

• The committee wanted to oust him from the union.委员会想把他从工会中驱逐出去。
• The leaders have been ousted from power by nationalists.这些领导人被民族主义者赶下了台。

8 mediation   

n.调解

参考例句：

• The dispute was settled by mediation of the third country. 这场争端通过第三国的斡旋而得以解决。
• The dispute was settled by mediation. 经调解使争端得以解决。

9 repercussions   

n.后果，反响( repercussion的名词复数 )；余波

参考例句：

• The collapse of the company will have repercussions for the whole industry. 这家公司的垮台将会给整个行业造成间接的负面影响。
• Human acts have repercussions far beyond the frontiers of the human world. 人类行为所产生的影响远远超出人类世界的范围。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

11 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。

12 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

13 elicit   

v.引出,抽出,引起

参考例句：

• It was designed to elicit the best thinking within the government. 机构的设置是为了在政府内部集思广益。
• Don't try to elicit business secrets from me. I won't tell you anything. 你休想从我这里套问出我们的商业机密, 我什么都不会告诉你的。

14 compliance   

n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从

参考例句：

• I was surprised by his compliance with these terms.我对他竟然依从了这些条件而感到吃惊。
• She gave up the idea in compliance with his desire.她顺从他的愿望而放弃自己的主意。