2006年VOA标准英语-Ethiopia-Eritrea Tensions Could Lead to Wider W

By Catherine Maddux
Washington
19 December 2006

A recent report issued by the Council on Foreign Relations says unresolved tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea could inflame¹ an already dangerous situation in neighboring Somalia. VOA's Catherine Maddux explains.

 
Ethiopia and Eritrea
Professor Terrence Lyons of George Mason University in the U.S. state of Virginia, is the author of the report, called "Avoiding Conflict in the Horn of Africa: U.S. Policy Towards Ethiopia and Eritrea."

"So while today the most urgent question in the Horn of Africa is the rapidly and dangerously escalating² conflict between the Islamic courts and the Transitional Federal Government within Somalia, my argument is that the breakdown³ of the Ethiopia and Eritrea peace implementation⁴ process contributes to what makes the Somalia crisis particularly dangerous," he said.

Lyons says the peace process that ended a two-year war in 2000 between the two Horn countries has, during the past year, gone dangerously off track.

In short, the ruling of an independent boundary commission to demarcate a new border has not been implemented⁵ due to objections by Ethiopia. Eritrea has expressed its frustration⁶ by refusing to negotiate and restricting the U.N. monitors in the region.

Lyons says the international community has not focused its attention on the ongoing⁷ tensions. He adds that neither Ethiopia nor Eritrea are motivated to do any real peace building on their own.

Furthermore, Lyons says Somalia has become a kind of proxy⁸ war for Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Ethiopia has deployed⁹ troops, in what it says is an advisory¹⁰ capacity, to support Somalia's weak transitional government. Eritrea, appears to be following the tradition of supporting the enemy of one's enemy, by backing the Islamic Courts movement.

According to Lyons these factors could cause the eruption¹¹ of a wider war in the region.

He said, "The real explosive potential of conflict in Somalia, in my mind, is less because of a fight of the TFG [Transitional Federal Government] and the Union of Islamic Courts."

"But rather a region-wide war that brings in Ethiopia on one side, Eritrea on the other and has the potential to spread across borders into Kenya and Djibouti and really creating a region-wide conflict and humanitarian¹² emergency," he added.

Earlier this month, the United Nations authorized¹³ a peacekeeping force to protect the interim¹⁴ government. The force excludes using troops from Ethiopia.

 
Islamist militia¹⁵ guards a rally in Buur Hakaba, Nov. 10, 2006 , as residents demonstrated in support of the recently formed Islamic court
But Somalia's Islamists say the move could start a regional war and are demanding Ethiopia withdraw from the country.

The United States is among the country's taking a hardline against the Islamists in Somalia, calling them terrorists.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Jendayi Frazer, said, "The Council of Islamic Courts is now controlled by East Africa / al Qaida cell individuals. The top layer of the courts are extremists to the core. And they are in control and that is a problem."

But Matt Bryden of the non-profit advocacy organization, the International Crisis Group, says calling the Islamists in Somalia terrorists is just too simplistic.

"The linkages¹⁶ between militants¹⁷ and the Islamic Courts and some of the members of East Africa's al Qaida, these are fairly well established," he said. "I do not think there is any doubt. But to suggest that al Qaida has now taken control of the courts, which is a very broad movement whose leadership are fairly public, I think this is an exaggeration."

Lyons of George Mason University agrees that the Somali Islamic movement is a very diverse organization with many elements, some of them more hardline than others.

Lyons says the international community and the United States need to push for diplomatic solutions that address the concerns of all the parties, instead of focusing exclusively on counter-terrorism.

He said, "U.S. foreign policy towards the Horn of Africa has been episodic, has been not focused on questions like Ethiopia and Eritrea but, rather Darfur [Sudan] and counter-terrorism issues and that what is needed is a comprehensive policy that recognizes the regional linkages and looks for opportunities in one part of this conflict system that will have positive impacts on other parts of the conflict system."

Terrence Lyons also argues the United States could help quell¹⁸ the situation by reaching out to Somalia's Islamists to find where they stand on governance issues and power-sharing.

1 inflame   

v.使燃烧；使极度激动；使发炎

参考例句：

• Our lack of response seemed to inflame the colonel.由于我们没有反应,好象惹恼了那个上校。
• Chemical agents manufactured by our immune system inflame our cells and tissues,causing our nose to run and our throat to swell.我们的免疫系统产生的化学物质导致我们的细胞和组织发炎，导致我们流鼻水和我们的喉咙膨胀。

2 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

3 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。

4 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

5 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

6 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

7 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

8 proxy   

n.代理权，代表权；（对代理人的）委托书；代理人

参考例句：

• You may appoint a proxy to vote for you.你可以委托他人代你投票。
• We enclose a form of proxy for use at the Annual General Meeting.我们附上委任年度大会代表的表格。

9 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

10 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

11 eruption   

n.火山爆发；（战争等）爆发；（疾病等）发作

参考例句：

• The temple was destroyed in the violent eruption of 1470 BC.庙宇在公元前1470年猛烈的火山爆发中摧毁了。
• The eruption of a volcano is spontaneous.火山的爆发是自发的。

12 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。

13 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

14 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

15 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

16 linkages   

n.连接( linkage的名词复数 )；结合；联系；联动装置

参考例句：

• Only the thermosetting resins provide a strong cohesive forces; this is due to molecular cross linkages. 只有热固性树脂具有巨大的凝聚力，这是由于分子交错链所造成的。 来自辞典例句
• The linkages between the stable units must be as near as possible of equal stability. 稳定链节之间的键必须有尽可能接近的稳定性。 来自辞典例句

17 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

18 quell   

v.压制，平息，减轻

参考例句：

• Soldiers were sent in to quell the riots.士兵们被派去平息骚乱。
• The armed force had to be called out to quell violence.不得不出动军队来镇压暴力行动。