VOA标准英语2013--In Eastern Congo, M23 Rebels Battle for Hearts, Minds

 

In Eastern Congo, M23 Rebels Battle for Hearts, Minds

At a church in eastern Congo, the faithful pack the pews in what looks like a regular prayer service. But this is not about religion. It’s a lesson in rebellion taught at the M23 rebel group's military academy.

The people here, gathered from nearby towns, are being taught the ideology¹ of this group of disaffected² soldiers that has controlled territory in eastern Congo since breaking away from the army last year.

M23 rebels are trying to cement control over this area, which they say has been neglected for too long by the government in Kinshasa.

War's strife³

Outside the academy walls, though, the rebels have been losing ground to the Congolese army in a week of fighting a few kilometers from the economic hub of Goma, which was held by the rebels for 10 days last year.

Meantime, continuing peace talks in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, have shown little progress.

M23 spokesman Vianney Kazarama said that with weapons they took from their raid on Goma, his group has no problem continuing the military campaign, but they would rather see a political solution.

“We don’t have the intention to continue the war. There is no benefit to war, for solving the problems of the Democratic Republic of Congo,” said Kazarama.

In the M23 stronghold of Rutshuru, residents have long paid the cost of conflict since the rebellions of the 1990s.

Civilians⁴ pay the price

People here want nothing to do with war and politics.

That includes Valerie Baoukahe, who heads an association for victims of sexual violence. “We want to get peace. Whoever wins can win, whoever loses can lose. For us, all we want is peace,” she said.

Other residents complain of looting, abductions and murders being committed in the area, with no one ever brought to justice.

Ntamu Gashamba, a history professor at Rutshuru Institute, said businesses also have been hurt by the insecurity brought by the M23 rebels.

“If the army could return it would be better, because the sellers would be able to sell their merchandise without any problems, it would be a good situation,” said Gashamba.

Back at the church, M23 still hopes to win the hearts and minds of the population.

With pressure on the battlefield, and growing discontent in towns, though, the future of the rebels is far from certain. 

1 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

2 disaffected   

adj.（政治上）不满的，叛离的

参考例句：

• He attracts disaffected voters.他吸引了心怀不满的选民们。
• Environmental issues provided a rallying point for people disaffected with the government.环境问题把对政府不满的人们凝聚了起来。

3 strife   

n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争

参考例句：

• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
• Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。

4 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。