美国国家公共电台 NPR Nearing 93, Robert Mugabe Shows No Sign Of Stepping Down

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe turns 93 tomorrow. He's the world's oldest leader. Exactly two years and two months older than runner up Queen Elizabeth. Mugabe has led Zimbabwe since independence from Britain 37 years ago, and he's criticized for making a once prosperous African nation poor. All the same, he will again be his party's presidential candidate in elections due next year. But that has not stopped would-be successors jostling for power position and authority as NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton reports.

OFEIBEA QUIST-ARCTON, BYLINE¹: A political tussle² ballooned on social media in Zimbabwe recently. While President Robert Mugabe was on his annual extended holiday, photographs were circulating showing Vice³ President Emmerson Mnangagwa, acting⁴ president during Mugabe's absence, posing with a huge mug saying, I'm the boss. It caused a stir and a war of words. Another minister, Jonathan Moyo, retorted with a tweet decrying⁵ what he called a power grab narrative⁶, adding, one boss at a time, please. Political commentator⁷ Pedzisai Ruhanya of the Zimbabwe Democracy Institute says it's a sign of things to come.

PEDZISAI RUHANYA: People are talking about the succession politics because any reasonable person would see that it's 92 turning 93. The future of the president is in the cemetery⁸. So it is that age, not by anyone's willing, but by the will of God, a time when they fizzle out, when they naturally can leave this world.

QUIST-ARCTON: Mugabe has been his country's only leader since independence in 1980. In December, he criticized fellow governing Zanu-PF party members for plotting to oust⁹ him and told them to rein¹⁰ in what he called unbridled ambition. Mugabe warned against infighting and ordered his subordinates to stop using Twitter and Facebook to air their rivalries¹¹. Zanu party central committee member minister and Mugabe supporter Supa Mandiwanzira says the president is their leader, and that's that.

SUPA MANDIWANZIRA: We have no problem with him. President Mugabe says, I'm still here, so my position is not up for grabs. I've a mandate¹². Allow me to serve my term, if you are also interested. Number two - don't jostle for power. We have more important things to do. And the important things we want to do to address the concerns of the people, to deliver on the expectations of our voters. And those are things we should focus on - addressing our economic challenges.

QUIST-ARCTON: Anti-Mugabe demonstrators criticized the lamentable¹³ state of Zimbabwe's economy in widespread street protests last year. Among their complaints - the shortage of cash and the estimated $800,000 reportedly spent on the president's lavish¹⁴ official 92nd birthday celebration in 2016.

UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Singing) Happy birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you.

QUIST-ARCTON: Giant cakes were served in a drought-stricken area suffering food shortages. But political analyst¹⁵ Pedzisai Ruhanya says forget about birthday parties and focus on the...

RUHANYA: The military factor.

QUIST-ARCTON: Ruhanya says he believes Zimbabwe's military, which has its own wing of the party, will designate Mugabe's successor when the time comes.

RUHANYA: President will not be removed from power by anybody. I think the president will die in office. And when the president dies in office, they faction¹⁶ in Zanu, that is, the control of the military will took over the affairs of the state.

QUIST-ARCTON: But last Friday, Mugabe's wife, who's said to be positioning herself as a possible successor, accused some governing party officials of plotting to seize power. Fifty-one-year-old First Lady Grace Mugabe says even if her husband dies in office before Zimbabwe's vote next year, he's so popular and so well-loved, he should run as a corpse¹⁷. Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, NPR News, Johannesburg.

(SOUNDBITE OF THE BUDOS BAND SONG, "T.I.B.W.F.")

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 tussle   

n.&v.扭打，搏斗，争辩

参考例句：

• They began to tussle with each other for the handgun.他们互相扭打起来，抢夺那支手枪。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

5 decrying   

v.公开反对，谴责( decry的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Soon Chinese Internet users, including government agencies, were decrying the' poisonous panda. 不久，中国网民以及政府机构纷纷谴责“影响极坏的熊猫烧香”。 来自互联网
• Democratic leaders are decrying President Bush's plan to indefinitely halt troop withdrawals from Iraq after July. 民主党领导公开谴责布什总统七月后无限停止从伊拉克撤兵的举动。 来自互联网

6 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

7 commentator   

n.注释者，解说者；实况广播评论员

参考例句：

• He is a good commentator because he can get across the game.他能简单地解说这场比赛，是个好的解说者。
• The commentator made a big mistake during the live broadcast.在直播节目中评论员犯了个大错误。

8 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

9 oust   

vt.剥夺，取代，驱逐

参考例句：

• The committee wanted to oust him from the union.委员会想把他从工会中驱逐出去。
• The leaders have been ousted from power by nationalists.这些领导人被民族主义者赶下了台。

10 rein   

n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治

参考例句：

• The horse answered to the slightest pull on the rein.只要缰绳轻轻一拉,马就作出反应。
• He never drew rein for a moment till he reached the river.他一刻不停地一直跑到河边。

11 rivalries   

n.敌对，竞争，对抗( rivalry的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The new government was torn by rivalries. 新政府由于各派对立而四分五裂。 来自辞典例句
• Rivalries could bring about pain and hatred or give rise to fighting. 竞争会带来痛苦、仇恨，或者引起争斗。 来自互联网

12 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

13 lamentable   

adj.令人惋惜的，悔恨的

参考例句：

• This lamentable state of affairs lasted until 1947.这一令人遗憾的事态一直持续至1947年。
• His practice of inebriation was lamentable.他的酗酒常闹得别人束手无策。

14 lavish   

adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍

参考例句：

• He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。
• The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。

15 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

16 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

17 corpse   

n.尸体，死尸

参考例句：

• What she saw was just an unfeeling corpse.她见到的只是一具全无感觉的尸体。
• The corpse was preserved from decay by embalming.尸体用香料涂抹以防腐烂。