2007年VOA标准英语-Sunni Arab Secular Bloc Returns to Iraqi Parlia

By Jim Randle
Irbil, Iraq
08 September 2007

The last political party boycotting¹ Iraq's legislature has returned to the parliament. The move could help ease the political paralysis² that has kept lawmakers from passing legislation crucial for national reconciliation³ in the troubled country. VOA's Jim Randle reports from northern Iraq.

Iraqi parliament (file photo)

A small Sunni Arab secular⁴ bloc⁵ returned to parliament, saying its political demands had been met. The 11 members of the National Dialogue Front also rejoined the 275-seat legislature so it can play a role in the debate over a key law regulating Iraq's oil industry.

The Front was the last of several boycotting groups to return to parliament, although the cabinet of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is still missing many of its members due to walkouts and resignations.

To advance national reconciliation, Washington has been pressuring legislators to pass major laws aimed at drawing minority Sunni Arabs more firmly into the political process.

Parliament reconvened last Tuesday and is set to consider two key laws. One eases restrictions⁶ that kept former members of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party out of public office. That affects mostly Sunnis, and might ease some tensions between them and Shi'ites and Kurds, who make up most of the rest of the population.

Another piece of legislation outlines how revenue from the oil industry will be shared.

Anthony Cordesman, of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, says the stalled debate in Parliament and the ethnic⁷ violence that has plagued the country reflect a power struggle between sectarian factions⁸. He says Iraq's much-criticized prime minister cannot move the process forward unless the warring factions want him to.

"The compromises have to be real. It isn't passing legislation, it isn't what Prime Minister Maliki can do as prime minister," said Cordesman. "He is a minority prime minister in a political structure with no power unless the factions actually agree the compromises are adequate and see them implemented⁹."

Cordesman says compromises will only emerge from negotiations¹⁰ that take place largely outside the formal political structure.

General David Petraeus, left with President Bush during surprise visit to Anbar province in Iraq, 03 Sep 2007

On Monday, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus and the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker are to testify before Congress on the security situation in Iraq and moves toward political reconciliation.

In the meantime, violence continued in several parts of Iraq, including a busy market in the holy Shi'ite town of Kufa, killing¹¹ several people and wounding more. Police say two of the dead are children.

The U.S. military reported that coalition¹² and Iraqi forces conducted ground and air attacks in Kirkuk province, in northern Iraq, to identify and root out Sunni extremists in the area. The U.S. military said at least 17 people were detained in sweeps of villages.

The military said five more suspected terrorists were seized in the cities of Kirkuk and Mosul during operations aimed at the al-Qaeda leadership and bombing networks in northern Iraq.

1 boycotting   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They're boycotting the shop because the people there are on strike. 他们抵制那家商店，因为那里的店员在罢工。
• The main opposition parties are boycotting the elections. 主要反对党都抵制此次选举。

2 paralysis   

n.麻痹(症)；瘫痪(症)

参考例句：

• The paralysis affects his right leg and he can only walk with difficulty.他右腿瘫痪步履维艰。
• The paralysis affects his right leg and he can only walk with difficulty.他右腿瘫痪步履维艰。

3 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

4 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

5 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

6 restrictions   

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

7 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

8 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

9 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

10 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。

11 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

12 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。