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VOA慢速英语--突尼斯总统解除总理职务并暂停议会活动

时间:2021-07-31 23:40:26

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Troops surrounded Tunisia's parliament building Monday, blocking its speaker from entering.

The move came after the president suspended the legislature and dismissed the prime minister following nationwide protests. Protesters were angry over the country's economic troubles and the government's handling of the coronavirus crisis.

Protesters celebrated1 President Kais Saied's decision on Sunday. They shouted with happiness and waved Tunisian flags. But the president's critics accused him of seizing too much power.

The North African country's allies expressed concern that its young democracy might fail. In a move sure to increase those worries, police took over the offices of broadcaster Al Jazeera and ordered it to shut down.

In 2011, Tunisia began the so-called Arab Spring when protests led to the overthrow2 of several, longtime Middle Eastern leaders. The country is often considered the only success story of those uprisings.

But democracy did not bring economic growth. Tunisia's unemployment rate was 18 percent before the pandemic hit. Young people protested, demanding jobs and an end to police violence earlier this year.

The government recently announced cuts to food and fuel subsidies3. This caused more anger in areas of the country with many poor people. The government is seeking its fourth loan from the International Monetary4 Fund in the last ten years.

The pandemic has only worsened the economic problems. The government recently announced new stay-at-home orders and other virus restrictions5. But thousands of protesters ignored virus restrictions in the capital, Tunis, and other cities Sunday. They demanded the suspension of parliament. Mostly young people, the protesters shouted "Get out!" and fought with police.

The president said he had to fire the prime minister and suspend parliament because of concerns over public violence. He said he acted within the law. Parliament speaker Rached Ghannouchi, however, said the president did not discuss the situation with him or the prime minister as required. Ghannouchi heads the Islamic party that controlled the legislature. The three men have been in conflict.

"We have taken these decisions...until social peace returns to Tunisia and until we save the state," Saied said on television. He said there would be severe reactions to anyone who threatened public peace.

On Monday, police tried to prevent fighting outside the parliament building between lawmakers from the Ennahdha Party and protesters supporting the president.

Ghannouchi, the speaker, tried to enter parliament overnight, but police and military forces guarding the building stopped him. On Monday morning, he was in a car in front of the building. His next steps are unclear.

He called the president's move "a coup6 against the constitution and the (Arab Spring) revolution," and said parliament would continue to work.

Problems between the prime minister and president have been blamed for poor management of the virus, including a vaccination7 drive so badly executed that the health minister was removed from his job.

To date, only seven percent of the population has been fully8 vaccinated9. More than 90 percent of the country's emergency-care hospital beds are being used, health ministry10 information says. There are videos on social media showing dead bodies left in hospital beds. And morgues are struggling to deal with the number of deaths.

The Ennahdha Party has been a target of protesters, who accuse it of caring more about politics than dealing11 with the virus.

On Monday, security forces took over the Tunis offices of Al Jazeera, the network wrote on its Facebook page. The reason for the move was not clear.

Al-Jazeera journalists said 10 "heavily armed police officers" entered their office without a warrant and asked everyone to leave. "The reporters' phones and other equipment were confiscated13, and they were not allowed back into the building," the organization said.

The president's move has gotten him support in some areas, but also caused concern.

A German Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the government is "very worried" by the events in Tunisia and is in discussion with Tunisian officials.

Turkey's government said it was "deeply concerned" by the suspension of parliament and called for a return to democracy.

Words in This Story

subsidy14 – n. money paid by the government to keep the price of a product or service low or to help a business or organization continue

coup (d'état) – n. a sudden attempt by a small group of people to take over the government usually through violence

morgue – n. a place where the bodies of the dead are kept before burial or cremation15

confiscate12 – v. to take something away from people especially as punishment or to enforce laws or rules

allow –v. to permit; to let happen


分享到:


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 celebrated iwLzpz     
adj.有名的,声誉卓著的
参考例句:
  • He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
  • The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。
2 overthrow PKDxo     
v.推翻,打倒,颠覆;n.推翻,瓦解,颠覆
参考例句:
  • After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后,这个国家处于混乱中。
  • The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。
3 subsidies 84c7dc8329c19e43d3437248757e572c     
n.补贴,津贴,补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
  • Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 monetary pEkxb     
adj.货币的,钱的;通货的;金融的;财政的
参考例句:
  • The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
  • Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。
5 restrictions 81e12dac658cfd4c590486dd6f7523cf     
约束( restriction的名词复数 ); 管制; 制约因素; 带限制性的条件(或规则)
参考例句:
  • I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
  • a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制
6 coup co5z4     
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。
7 vaccination bKGzM     
n.接种疫苗,种痘
参考例句:
  • Vaccination is a preventive against smallpox.种痘是预防天花的方法。
  • Doctors suggest getting a tetanus vaccination every ten years.医生建议每十年注射一次破伤风疫苗。
8 fully Gfuzd     
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地
参考例句:
  • The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气,然后全部呼出。
  • They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
9 vaccinated 8f16717462e6e6db3389d0f736409983     
[医]已接种的,种痘的,接种过疫菌的
参考例句:
  • I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
  • Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗?
10 ministry kD5x2     
n.(政府的)部;牧师
参考例句:
  • They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
  • We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。
11 dealing NvjzWP     
n.经商方法,待人态度
参考例句:
  • This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
  • His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。
12 confiscate 8pizd     
v.没收(私人财产),把…充公
参考例句:
  • The police have the right to confiscate any forbidden objects they find.如发现违禁货物,警方有权查扣。
  • Did the teacher confiscate your toy?老师没收你的玩具了吗?
13 confiscated b8af45cb6ba964fa52504a6126c35855     
没收,充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Their land was confiscated after the war. 他们的土地在战后被没收。
  • The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。
14 subsidy 2U5zo     
n.补助金,津贴
参考例句:
  • The university will receive a subsidy for research in artificial intelligence.那个大学将得到一笔人工智能研究的补助费。
  • The living subsidy for senior expert's family is included in the remuneration.报酬已包含高级专家家人的生活补贴。
15 cremation 4f4ab38aa2f2418460d3e3f6fb425ab6     
n.火葬,火化
参考例句:
  • Cremation is more common than burial in some countries. 在一些国家,火葬比土葬普遍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Garbage cremation can greatly reduce the occupancy of land. 垃圾焚烧可以大大减少占用土地。 来自互联网

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