Leader of Belarus Seeks to Prolong Rule

 

By Bill Gasperini

The authoritarian¹ leader of the former Soviet² republic of Belarus is seeking to extend his rule in a controversial referendum that would amend³ the country's constitution, and allow him to run for a third term.

Brushing aside criticism from the United States and the European Union, Alexander Lukashenko is all but certain to win a vote that critics say is likely to be rigged.

A former collective farm boss, Mr. Lukashenko held a similar referendum in 1996 that was marred⁴ by irregularities, but allowed him to serve two terms in office, set to end in 2006.

Sunday's vote would allow him to stay in power at least until 2010.

Victory for Mr. Lukashenko is all but assured in a country that has routinely been criticized for widespread human rights abuses and lack of democratic reforms.

Most opposition⁵ figures are either in jail, in exile, or have disappeared.

Those disappearances⁶ led the United States and European Union recently to impose a travel ban on top officials in the Belorussian government.

Many critics call Mr. Lukashenko Europe's last dictator, whose tight rule has led to economic chaos⁷ in the tiny state that sits on Russia's western frontier.

Yaroslav Romanchuk is a commentator⁸ with the Strategy Analytical⁹ Center in the Belorussian capital, Minsk. He says Western criticism of Mr. Lukashenko has fallen on deaf ears.

"He doesn't want to be part of Europe, because he doesn't belong there, if we talk about values, about the fundamental principles of statehood," said Yaroslav Romanchuk. "His ultimate goal is to rebuild the Soviet Union in as vast a territory of the ex-Soviet Union as possible."

Mr. Romanchuk is referring to a long discussed plan to unite Russia and Belarus in a kind of "union."

The idea of a union was first proposed with former Russian President Boris Yeltsin a decade ago. But it has foundered¹⁰ since Vladimir Putin came to power in Moscow five years ago, when relations with the Belorussian leader took a turn for the worse.

Meetings between the two men have been testy¹¹, as Mr. Putin has made clear that Russia has little interest in effectively bailing¹² out Belarus' state-run economy.

But the Kremlin has been silent on Sunday's referendum.

Analysts¹³ say this may be because many powerful Russian businessmen have interests in Belarus and have no interest in seeing someone new take over there.

Despite state control over the media and political process, Belorussian activists¹⁴ have carried out an underground campaign by spray painting anti-Lukashenko graffiti around the country.

Legislative¹⁵ elections will also be held on Sunday, with Mr. Lukashenko predicting his supporters would make a clear sweep of all 110 seats in a parliament where the opposition currently has just four seats.

Bill Gasperini, VOA news, Moscow.
注释：
authoritarian 独裁的
Belarus 白俄罗斯
referendum 公民投票
brush aside 扫除
mar 破坏
routinely 例行公事地
exile 流放
dictator 独裁者
chaos 混乱
frontier 边境
ultimate 最终的
take a turn 转弯
graffiti 在墙壁上的涂写（单数为graffito）

1 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

2 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。

3 amend   

vt.修改，修订，改进；n.[pl.]赔罪，赔偿

参考例句：

• The teacher advised him to amend his way of living.老师劝他改变生活方式。
• You must amend your pronunciation.你必须改正你的发音。

4 marred   

adj. 被损毁, 污损的

参考例句：

• The game was marred by the behaviour of drunken fans. 喝醉了的球迷行为不轨，把比赛给搅了。
• Bad diction marred the effectiveness of his speech. 措词不当影响了他演说的效果。

5 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。

6 disappearances   

n.消失( disappearance的名词复数 )；丢失；失踪；失踪案

参考例句：

• Most disappearances are the result of the terrorist activity. 大多数的失踪案都是恐怖分子造成的。 来自辞典例句
• The espionage, the betrayals, the arrests, the tortures, the executions, the disappearances will never cease. 间谍活动、叛党卖国、逮捕拷打、处决灭迹，这种事情永远不会完。 来自英汉文学

7 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

8 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。

9 analytical   

adj.分析的；用分析法的

参考例句：

• I have an analytical approach to every survey.对每项调查我都采用分析方法。
• As a result,analytical data obtained by analysts were often in disagreement.结果各个分析家所得的分析数据常常不一致。

10 foundered   

v.创始人( founder的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Three ships foundered in heavy seas. 三艘船在波涛汹涌的海面上沉没了。 来自辞典例句
• The project foundered as a result of lack of finance. 该项目因缺乏资金而告吹。 来自辞典例句

11 testy   

adj.易怒的；暴躁的

参考例句：

• Ben's getting a little testy in his old age.上了年纪后本变得有点性急了。
• A doctor was called in to see a rather testy aristocrat.一个性格相当暴躁的贵族召来了一位医生为他检查。

12 bailing   

（凿井时用吊桶）排水

参考例句：

• Both fountains were going furiously and both pumps bailing with might and main. 两个人的口水只管喷泉似地朝外涌，两个抽水机全力以赴往外抽水。
• The mechanical sand-bailing technology makes sand-washing operation more efficient. 介绍了机械捞砂的结构装置及工作原理，提出了现场操作注意事项。

13 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

14 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。