Georgia Politics

Cynthia Kirk

Broadcast: November 29, 2003

This is Steve Ember with IN THE NEWS from VOA Special English.
Mikhail Saakashvili has announced plans to be a candidate for President in Georgia. Mister Saakashvili helped organize street protests that led  President Eduard Shevardnadze to resign from office last Sunday.
Mister Saakashvili is an American-trained lawyer. He served two years as Georgia's Justice Minister. Last year, he cut his ties with Mister Shevardnadze over the issue of dishonesty by Georgian officials. Mister Saakashvili formed an 1)opposition¹ party, the National Movement. He also was elected to a top local government job in the capital, Tbilisi. On Wednesday, the National Movement and its allies named him as their only candidate in a special 2)presidential election to be held in January.
Mister Shevardnadze left office after three weeks of demonstrations² against 3)parliamentary elections held earlier this month. Opposition leaders said the elections were unfairly designed to keep pro-government parties in power.
Last Saturday, thousands of protesters forced their way into Georgia's parliament building. They forced Mister Shevardnadze and newly-appointed lawmakers to flee. The next day, the President resigned, ending his eleven-years in office.
Mister Shaakashvili had help from two other opponents of Mister Shevardnadze. The speaker of parliament, Nino Burdzhanadze, is now Georgia's acting³ president. The other leader, Zurab Zhvania, has been named state minister, the second highest position in the government.
Georgian lawmakers have yet to agree on a date for new parliamentary elections. On Tuesday, the nation's Supreme⁴ Court canceled the results of the parliamentary elections this month.
Mizz Burdzhanadze has said one of her main goals will be to keep peace in Georgia. She says another goal will be to strengthen the economy and prepare for new elections. However, she warned that the country is close to economic failure. She said she would appeal for 4)financial aid.
Georgia is one of the poorest of any of the fifteen former republics of the Soviet⁵ Union. The country is home to about five-million people. Some reports estimate that about half of its population is unemployed⁶.
Many blame President Shevardnadze for leading the country into financial ruin. Georgia has a foreign debt of almost two-thousand-million dollars, most of it owed to Turkey and Russia. It also receives financial assistance from the United States.
But opposition leaders say Mister Shevardnadze failed to use much of that money the right way. The International Monetary⁷ Fund refused to give loans to Georgia during Mister Shevardnadze's rule. It notes dishonesty by public officials and the country's failure to collect taxes. The 5)temporary government cannot pay wages or retirement⁸ benefits until after the presidential election next year.
Delegations⁹ from the I-M-F, the World Bank and the United States are expected to visit Tbilisi next week to discuss the country's appeal for financial aid.
IN THE NEWS, from VOA Special English, was written by Cynthia Kirk. This is Steve Ember.

注释：
1) opposition [CpE5ziFEn] n.反对, 敌对, 相反
2) presidential [7prezi5denFEl] adj.总统的
3) parliamentary [7pB:lE5mentEri] adj.议会的
4) financial aid  财政援助
5) temporary [5tempErEri] adj.暂时的, 临时的, 临时性

1 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

2 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

3 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。

4 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

5 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

6 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

7 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

8 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

9 delegations   

n.代表团( delegation的名词复数 )；委托，委派

参考例句：

• In the past 15 years, China has sent 280 women delegations abroad. 十五年来，中国共派280批妇女代表团出访。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• The Sun Ray decision follows the federal pattern of tolerating broad delegations but insisting on safeguards. “阳光”案的判决仿效联邦容许广泛授权的做法，但又坚持保护措施。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法