Sudan Government, Rebels to Sign Agreement Soon, says US Off

 

 

Cathy Majtenyi

 

A senior U.S. official says the Sudanese government and the country's main rebel group could sign a framework peace agreement by this weekend.

 

The US deputy assistant secretary of state for African affairs, Charles Snyder, told reporters in Nairobi Wednesday that Sudanese Vice¹ President Ali Osman Taha and rebel leader John Garang are tantalizingly² close to signing a framework peace agreement.

 

"The parties have assured me, both parties, both Vice President Taha and Dr. John Garang, they can complete this discussion with goodwill³ on both their parts by Saturday or Sunday," he said.

 

Mr. Snyder says when he arrived at the talks he was fully⁴ prepared to pull out the entire U.S. delegation⁵ because he was not satisfied at the talks' progress. But, he says, after meeting with officials from both sides, he is now hopeful a framework agreement can be reached within the next few days.

 

Mr. Snyder says the government and rebels are now agreeing on the percentage of members of the legislature that will come from the north and the south, and have almost decided⁶ when elections will be held.

 

He says they have also agreed on details of presidential and vice presidential structures, and are close to agreeing on who will administer the Southern Blue Nile region and the Nuba Mountains.

 

Mr. Snyder says 90 percent of the issues have been dealt with.

Still to be agreed upon, says Mr. Snyder, is whether Sudan's capital Khartoum should be ruled by Islamic law or should be secular⁷ to accommodate those from the south, who are largely Christian⁸ or animist.

 

Mr. Snyder had harsh words for the continuing violence in the western Sudan area of Darfur. In that area, government troops and an Arab militia⁹ many believe is being backed by the government are fighting with rebel groups that are not part of the peace talks.

 

Mr. Snyder called the fighting ethnic¹⁰ cleansing¹¹. The Darfur conflict has created what the United Nations and some international aid groups are calling the world's worst humanitarian¹² crisis.

 

"The lack of political will in the face of the tragedy that's unfolding in Darfur is simply not acceptable," he said.

 

Mr. Snyder says the continuing conflict in Darfur could threaten the progress and stability of the peace talks.

 

The talks have been going on for about a year and a half in the hope of ending 21 years of war between the Sudanese government and the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army. The war has killed more than one million people and has displaced many more.

 

The U.S. official would not be drawn¹³ into a discussion of sending U.S. troops to Sudan. Earlier, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said foreign intervention¹⁴  might be necessary in Darfur, but he did not say when or from which countries.

 

Sudanese [su:dE5ni:z] adj. 苏丹的

framework [5freimwE:k] n. 构架，框架，结构

tantalizingly  adv. 令人着急地

pull out  v. 离开，撤出

delegation [7deli5^eiFEn] n. 代表团

Blue Nile 青尼罗，苏丹的一个省

Khartoum 喀土穆，苏丹首都

secular [5sekjulE] adj. 长期的

accommodate [E5kCmEdeit] vt. 调节，和解， 调和

Christian [5kristjEn] n. 基督徒，信徒

animist  n. 万物有灵论者

harsh [hB:F] adj. 刺耳的

Darfur [dB:`fJE(r)] 达尔福尔（苏丹西部一地区）

militia [mi5liFE] n. 民兵

humanitarian [hju(:)7mAni5tZEriEn] n. 人道主义

unfolding [Qn5fEuldiN] vt. 开展

Sudan People's Liberation Army  苏丹人民解放军（SPLA）

displace [dis5pleis] v. 迫使某人离家或祖国

intervention [7intE(:)5venFEn] n. 干涉

1 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。

2 tantalizingly   

adv.…得令人着急，…到令人着急的程度

参考例句：

• A band of caribou passed by, twenty and odd animals, tantalizingly within rifle range. 一群驯鹿走了过去，大约有二十多头，都呆在可望而不可即的来福枪的射程以内。 来自英汉文学 - 热爱生命
• She smiled at him tantalizingly. 她引诱性地对他笑着。 来自互联网

3 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。

4 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

5 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

6 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。

7 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。

8 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

9 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。

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 cleansing   

n. 净化(垃圾) adj. 清洁用的 动词cleanse的现在分词

参考例句：

• medicated cleansing pads for sensitive skin 敏感皮肤药物清洗棉
• Soap is not the only cleansing agent. 肥皂并不是唯一的清洁剂。

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 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

14 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。