VOA标准英语2012--Greek Far Right Makes Gains, Demands Landmines on Borders

Greek Far Right Makes Gains, Demands Landmines¹ on Borders 

Supporters chant 'Greece belongs to Greeks,' as Golden Dawn leader Nikolaos Michaloliakos marches triumphantly² through the streets of Athens.

A reporter following the crowd asks what policy the party would implement³ first.

"All the illegal immigration out. Out of my country, out of my home," said Michaloliakos.

Golden Dawn won seven percent of the vote and 21 parliamentary seats in Sunday's election.

But Thanasis Kourkoulas of the campaign group 'Expel Racism⁴' is calling for the party to be banned. "It is the first time that a neo-Nazi group enters [the] Greek parliament since 1974 when the [military] junta⁵ finished here," he stated. 

Along with its economic meltdown, Greece is facing what the United Nations calls a humanitarian⁶ refugee crisis. Many right-wing supporters link the two.

Backlog⁷ in processing, descrimination

Every Saturday, from dawn, crowds of asylum-seekers gather at the migrant processing center in Athens. The backlog in applications numbers in the tens of thousands. 

Last year, VOA met Afghan asylum-seeker Hafeez, who like many immigrants, had been targeted by a right-wing mob in Athens.

He says they did not say anything; they just started to beat him all over his body.

Planting landmines to control border

The Golden Dawn party is calling for landmines to be planted along the Turkish border, where most migrants enter Greece. In Athens, its campaign posters spoke⁸ of "cleaning up the city" and "removing the dirt."

For the city's Jewish community, the party's language and Nazi-like uniforms mark a dangerous development. Benjamin Albalas is a Jewish community leader. "We are also really very concerned that the neo-Nazi far-right party was, will be, a member of the Greek parliament in Athens, where democracy was born," he said.

Greek analyst⁹ Michael Arghyrou of Cardiff University says Golden Dawn's success may have its roots in the economic policies of the previous government. "People mainly from the right wing of the mainstream¹⁰ conservative party wanted to register a protest vote, so it is a protest vote, but it is also true that the immigration question in Greece has taken explosive proportions," Arghyrou stated.

Golden Dawn denies it is a neo-Nazi party and accuses Greek and foreign media of distorting its nationalist agenda.

1 landmines   

潜在的冲突； 地雷，投伞水雷( landmine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The treaty bans the use production and trade of landmines. 该条约规定，禁止使用地雷相关产品及贸易。
• One of the weapon's of special concern was landmines. 在引起人们特别关注的武器中就有地雷。

2 triumphantly   

ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地

参考例句：

• The lion was roaring triumphantly. 狮子正在发出胜利的吼叫。
• Robert was looking at me triumphantly. 罗伯特正得意扬扬地看着我。

3 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

4 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

5 junta   

n.团体；政务审议会

参考例句：

• The junta reacted violently to the perceived threat to its authority.军政府感到自身权力受威胁而进行了激烈反击。
• A military junta took control of the country.一个军政权控制了国家。

6 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

7 backlog   

n.积压未办之事

参考例句：

• It will take a month to clear the backlog of work.要花一个月的时间才能清理完积压的工作。
• Investment is needed to reduce the backlog of repairs.需要投资来減轻积压的维修工作。

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

10 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。