VOA慢速英语2012 IN THE NEWS - Burma’s Elections a Test for Reforms

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This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

这里是美国之音慢速英语新闻报道。

Burma is holding elections on Sunday. Voters will fill forty-five seats in elections for the national legislature or parliament.

缅甸将于周日举行选举。选民在选举中将选出该国议会的四十五个席位。

This will be the first vote in the country since the end of almost fifty years of military rule. Yet the armed forces still have strong influence over the government. One-fourth of the seats are for military appointees.

这将是缅甸结束近五十年军事统治以来进行的第一次投票。然而，军队在政府中仍然极具影响力，1/4的席位将由军队任命。

Burma’s legislature has four hundred forty seats in the lower house and a two hundred twenty-four seat Senate.

缅甸议会下议院有440个席位，上议院有224个席位。

Two years ago, the Union Solidarity¹ and Development Party won seventy-six percent of the vote in the most recent elections. Since then, the government has eased restrictions² on the media and freed hundreds of political prisoners.

两年前，联邦巩固与发展党（简称“巩发党”）在最近的一次选举中赢得了76%的选票。从那时起，政府开始放宽媒体限制，并释放数百名政治犯。

It also released the country’s most famous opposition³ leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, from house arrest. These developments have led to positive reactions from western countries, including the United States. Late last year, Hillary Clinton became the first American Secretary of State to visit Burma in fifty years.

它还释放了该国最著名的反对派领导人，遭到软禁的昂山素季(Aung San Suu Kyi)。这些事态发展赢得了包括美国在内的西方国家的积极反应。去年年底，希拉里·克林顿(Hillary Clinton)成为50年来第一位访问缅甸的美国国务卿。

Aung Zaw is with the online newspaper, “The Irrawaddy.” He recently visited Burma after living in exile for twenty years. He says many Burmese are guarded about the reforms.

昂梭（Aung Zaw）就职于于网上报纸《伊洛瓦底》。在经历了20多年的流亡生活后，他最近访问了缅甸。他说，许多缅甸人对改革都保持谨慎。

AUNG ZAW: “I find and discover a lot of very skeptical⁴ voices. And people remain very, very, very, very, very skeptical about this reform process in our country. A lot of people inside the country who speak Burmese, who read Burmese, who can communicate in our own language, don’t wear their rose-colored glasses.”

昂梭：“我发现了很多怀疑的声音。人们仍然对国家改革进程持怀疑态度。国内很多说缅甸语的人并没有戴玫瑰色眼镜（即并不乐观）。”

Burmese exiles have long been critical of Burma’s government.

缅甸流亡者长期以来一直批评缅甸政府。

The opposition National League for Democracy did not take part in elections two years ago. The party won parliamentary elections in nineteen ninety, but Burma’s rulers never recognized the results.

反对派全国民主联盟并没有参加两年前的选举。该党在1996年赢得了议会选举，但缅甸统治者不承认这一结果。

This year, party leader Aung San Suu Kyi is a candidate, and is expected to win a seat in the legislature. On Friday, the Nobel Peace Prize winner met with reporters and diplomats⁵ at her home in Rangoon. She said her party’s candidates faced threats and violence in the election campaign. And, she said the vote on Sunday cannot be called free and fair.

今年，该党领导人昂山素季是候选人之一，并有望在议会赢得一个席位。她说，该党候选人在竞选中面临了威胁和暴力。她还表示，周日的选举不能被称为是自由公正的。

AUNG SAN SUU KYI: “I don’t think we can consider it a genuinely free and fair election if we take into consideration what has been going on for the last couple of months. But still, as we wish to work towards national reconciliation⁶, we will try to tolerate what has happened. And we hope that the courage and resolution of the people will overcome the intimidations and other irregularities that have been taking place.”

昂山素季：“如果我们考虑过去几个月发生的事情，我不认为我们可以把它当作是一次真正自由和公证的选举。但是，由于我们要努力实现国家和解，我们将宽容已经发生的。我们希望人们的勇气和决心会克服这些已经发生的恐吓和其他违规行为。”

Some observers say the recent changes in Burma will have a big effect. Reporter Thiha Saw says the vote will be an important test for the country.

一些观察家表示，缅甸最近发生的变化将会发挥很大效应。记者Thiha Saw表示，这次选举将成为该国的一次重大考验。

THIHA SAW: “I watch it very closely because this will be something like a marker or a test about the sincerity⁷ of the regime. Are they going to make it really free and fair? If it is going to be free and fair, the people in the western communities will start lifting the sanctions. So this is important for Burma as well as for the international community, too.”

THIHA SAW：“我严密关注这次选举，因为这将成为政府诚意的一个标记或测试。他们是否会给予这次选举真正的自由和公正？如果它是自由公正的，西方国家将开始解除制裁。所以这对缅度来说非常重要，对国际社会来说也是如此。”

Other observers are less hopeful for a fair vote, but say it will still be important. Burma’s government has invited observers from Asia, Australia, Canada, the European Union and the United States to witness the voting. Reporters from around the world are in Burma to report on the elections.

其他观察员对公正选举所抱希望不大，但表示它仍会是非常重要的。缅甸政府已经邀请来自亚洲、澳大利亚、加拿大、欧盟和美国的观察员见证投票。来自世界各地的记者齐聚缅甸对选举进行报道。

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember.

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