VOA标准英语2009年-Western Sahara Activist Returns Home A

A leading campaigner for independence for Western Sahara has returned home after being expelled for refusing to declare Moroccan citizenship¹. The move ends what supporters say was a 32-day hunger strike.

Scott Stearns | Dakar 18 December 2009

 
Photo: AP
Aminatou Haidar holds up a pamphlet during a makeshift press conference at the airport near Arrecife on the Canary island of Lanzarote, Spain, 17 Nov 2009

 
Aminatou Haidar returned home to Western Sahara early Friday more than a month after her expulsion created a diplomatic stand-off between Morocco and Spain.

Moroccan authorities seized her passport November 16  when she refused to declare Moroccan citizenship after returning from New York where she won the 2009 Civil Courage Prize.

Though she was traveling on a Moroccan passport, Haidar said declaring Moroccan citizenship would recognize what she considers Morocco's occupation of Western Sahara.

Expelled to the Spanish-ruled Canary Islands, Haidar was denied entry because she did not have a passport and lived at the airport where supporters say she drank only sugared water on a hunger strike that lasted 32 days.

Jim Loughran heads communications for the Front Line group which campaigns to protect human rights defenders².

"Aminatou Haidar has been deliberately³ targeted because of her peaceful human rights work and because she was becoming increasingly well-known at the international level. And for that reason, the Moroccans decided⁴ to take a particularly hard line. So it looks as though  common sense and goodwill⁵ have prevailed and the influence of Spain and the United States has produced a positive outcome," said Loughran.

The details of the deal allowing her return are not immediately clear but do not appear to include her declaring Moroccan citizenship.

Morocco's Foreign Ministry⁶ says Haidar completing the usual customs and police formalities in the city of Laayoune. The ministry says her return followed repeated calls made by friendly countries to find a humanitarian⁷ solution to the situation she voluntarily put herself in.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says she was pleased to hear of Morocco's decision to re-admit Haidar on humanitarian grounds. In a written statement, Clinton said the gesture "is reflective of the true spirit and generosity⁸ of the Moroccan government and people, and underscores the urgency of finding a permanent solution to the Western Sahara conflict."

Morocco claimed the coastal⁹ strip shortly after Spanish colonialists withdrew in 1975. But ethnic¹⁰ Saharawi in the Algerian-backed Polisario movement fought against Moroccan control. And while a 1991 cease-fire ended the war, it has not resolved Western Sahara's status.

Haidar has been a leading campaigner for independence as head of the Collective of Saharawi Human Rights Defenders. Loughran says her standing¹¹ as the 2008 recipient¹² of the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award brought more attention to the issue.

"That gives her a profile that can help to protect her. But there are many other people who are in much more vulnerable positions. The legal system in Western Sahara continues to target anyone who speaks out either on the right to autonomy or the right to independence. People are hauled up on charges of insulting the state, undermining the authority of the state. That's the day-to-day reality for the Saharawi people in Western Sahara," he said.

During her hunger strike, Morocco's government denounced Haidar as an agent of Algeria. In its statement on her return, the Foreign Ministry said Morocco remains¹³ committed to respecting human rights but reaffirms that it will not tolerate any violation¹⁴ of the law "especially when perpetrators conspire¹⁵ with the enemies of the Kingdom against the national interests."

Secretary of State Clinton joined UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in calling for continued UN mediation¹⁶ on Western Sahara. Those talks have made little headway, with Morocco offering limited self rule and Polisario holding out for a referendum that includes the option of complete independence.
 

1 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

2 defenders   

n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者

参考例句：

• The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众，只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。

6 ministry   

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。

7 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。

8 generosity   

n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为

参考例句：

• We should match their generosity with our own.我们应该像他们一样慷慨大方。
• We adore them for their generosity.我们钦佩他们的慷慨。

9 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

10 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。

11 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

12 recipient   

a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器

参考例句：

• Please check that you have a valid email certificate for each recipient. 请检查是否对每个接收者都有有效的电子邮件证书。
• Colombia is the biggest U . S aid recipient in Latin America. 哥伦比亚是美国在拉丁美洲最大的援助对象。

13 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

14 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

15 conspire   

v.密谋，（事件等）巧合，共同导致

参考例句：

• They'd conspired to overthrow the government.他们曾经密谋推翻政府。
• History and geography have conspired to bring Greece to a moment of decision.历史和地理因素共同将希腊推至作出抉择的紧要关头。

16 mediation   

n.调解

参考例句：

• The dispute was settled by mediation of the third country. 这场争端通过第三国的斡旋而得以解决。
• The dispute was settled by mediation. 经调解使争端得以解决。