2006年VOA标准英语-Former Ugandan Mediator Optimistic about Agreem

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
15 December 2006

A former Ugandan minister who has mediated¹ peace efforts between the government and the rebel Lord's Resistance Army says she is optimistic that a peace deal can be reached. Lisa Schlein in Geneva interviewed her and has the report for VOA.

Betty Bigombe facilitated peace talks between the Ugandan government and the Lord's Resistance Army, or LRA between 1992 and 1994. She mediated a second round of negotiations² between 2004 and 2006.

Bigombe says she is optimistic that the latest round of peace negotiations will eventually end in agreement.

Both the rebels and the government have said they are committed to the peace talks in southern Sudan. However, alleged³ violations⁴ of an August truce⁵ have slowed progress toward a peace deal.

The rebels also want the International Criminal Court to drop arrest warrants for five top rebel leaders accused of war crimes.

delegation6 near Sudanese border, 31 Jul 31 2006 " hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070512/1044380.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

Joseph Kony, LRA leader (right), with an Ugandan delegation near the Sudanese border, 31 Jul. 2006

Bigombe says the LRA leader, Joseph Kony, knows that no country will offer his group protection, so a deal is of interest to him. She says ending this war is also of regional interest, because of the threat that continued instability in Uganda could spill across borders.

She said, "The regional dimension, definitely has attracted the international community. And, they feel that a lot has been invested in peace in Sudan, Southern Sudan in particular."

"A lot has been invested in peace in the DRC [Democratic Republic of Congo]. And they would not want anything that would come back and unravel⁷ what has been invested," she added.

Nearly two million people have been displaced during the rebels' 20-year insurgency⁸ in northern Uganda. The war has killed tens of thousands of people, and rebels are accused of committing war crimes, including the kidnapping of an estimated 20,000 children for use as fighters and sex slaves.

 

Bigombe says the number of children being abducted⁹ by the LRA began going down at the end of 2004. And, for the last nine months, she says no children have been taken.

"And even the commuter¹⁰ children, who have been running away from home to go and stay in the cities for their own protection, the numbers have dropped significantly," she said.

Bigombe says life has improved since negotiations began. About 300,000 have returned to their homes, and the U.N. says hundreds of thousands more are preparing to return.

Bigombe says many people still live in the camps, but that is because they have no homes to go to.

"But, the fact that they can now leave their camps, go to the field and be able to cultivate, to be able to produce their own food, that is something that we have not seen in a long, long time," she said. "The curfew that used to be around the camps is no longer there, so people can move back and forth¹¹."

Bigombe says the negotiations are moving in the right direction, but they are still very fragile. She says the international community must continue to apply pressure on the parties to talk in good faith. Without that, she warns, the whole peace process could unwind.

1 mediated   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的过去式和过去分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• He mediated in the quarrel between the two boys. 他调解两个孩子之间的争吵。
• The government mediated between the workers and the employers. 政府在工人与雇主间搞调和。

2 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。

3 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

4 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

5 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

6 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

7 unravel   

v.弄清楚（秘密）；拆开，解开，松开

参考例句：

• He was good with his hands and could unravel a knot or untangle yarn that others wouldn't even attempt.他的手很灵巧，其他人甚至都不敢尝试的一些难解的绳结或缠在一起的纱线，他都能解开。
• This is the attitude that led him to unravel a mystery that long puzzled Chinese historians.正是这种态度使他解决了长期以来使中国历史学家们大惑不解的谜。

8 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

9 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

10 commuter   

n.(尤指市郊之间)乘公交车辆上下班者

参考例句：

• Police cordoned off the road and diverted commuter traffic. 警察封锁了道路并分流交通。
• She accidentally stepped on his foot on a crowded commuter train. 她在拥挤的通勤列车上不小心踩到了他的脚。

11 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。