2006年VOA标准英语-Analysts: French Military Aid Key to Chad, CAR

By Jordan Davis
Dakar
29 November 2006
 

Dominique de Villepin gestures during his monthly press conference in Bobiny, 29 Nov 2006

French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin is set to visit Chad Thursday, where he is expected to reaffirm French political support for Chadian President Idriss Deby. The visit comes just days after a flare-up in rebel activity. Chad, and its neighbor Central African Republic, depend on French military help. Over the past week, French forces have played a key role in helping¹ both countries fight their respective rebel movements. From VOA's regional bureau in Dakar, Jordan Davis reports.

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In recent months, Chadian rebel groups have killed a top army commander and played cat and mouse games with national army troops in the east. Tuesday, rebels shot down a Chadian military plane.

For Rolake Akinola, an Africa analyst² with the London-based Control Risks, it is increasingly clear Chadian President Idriss Deby is in trouble.

"We know that even his loyal, close presidential circle is gradually disintegrating³. We know that the huge army defections that have occurred, the discontent among his own ethnic⁴ Zaghawa over the treatment of fellow ethnic Zaghawa in Darfur," said Akinola. "And we know all of this does not portend⁵ well for long-term stability in the country."

With rebel clashes increasing, France is adding 100 troops to back up a 1,000-strong French force there.

France provides intelligence and logistical support to Chad's armed forces, under one of many defense⁶ agreements it has with its former colonies.

Simon Massey of England's Coventry University says French assistance so far has kept rebels from taking the capital NDjamena. Stability in Chad, he says, is key to France keeping its influence in the entire region.

"They maintain a garrison⁷ of about a thousand [troops] in Chad. Plus three airstrips which they can use in any instances which require military operations in that part of Central Africa," noted⁸ Massey.

French forces dispatched from Chad were critical in helping the Central African Republic's forces retake the northern city of Birao earlier this week.

As in Chad, France says its role in CAR is largely logistical. But at the Birao airport French troops themselves became involved in a gunfight with rebels after they said they were fired upon.

The armed rebel movement in CAR opposes President Francois Bozize, an ally of Chadian president Idriss Deby.

Though Chad is rich in fossil fuels, Massey says, French oil companies have pulled out of the country's oil fields.

"France has diminishing economic interests in Chad," he added. "And I think a lot of it does fall back on to prestige and an unwillingness⁹ to quit a country which they have put a lot of effort into over the years."

In the early 1980s France announced it would no longer support dictatorial¹⁰ regimes.

But opponents of France's current Africa policy say military assistance continues to prop¹¹ up friendly leaders who are undemocratic.

France's role in an increasingly unsettled region has made local headlines seven months ahead of the country's presidential elections. Both front runners hoping to replace President Jacques Chirac have called for major changes to the country's Africa policy.

1 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

2 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。

3 disintegrating   

v.（使）破裂[分裂，粉碎]，（使）崩溃( disintegrate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• As a poetic version of a disintegrating world, this one pleased him. 作为世界崩溃论在文学上的表现，他非常喜欢这个学说。 来自辞典例句
• Soil animals increase the speed of litter breakdown by disintegrating tissue. 土壤动物通过分解组织，加速落叶层降解的速度。 来自辞典例句

4 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。

5 portend   

v.预兆，预示；给…以警告

参考例句：

• Black clouds portend a storm.乌云为暴风雨的前兆。
• What do these strange events portend?这些奇怪的事件预示着什么？

6 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

7 garrison   

n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防

参考例句：

• The troops came to the relief of the besieged garrison.军队来援救被围的守备军。
• The German was moving to stiffen up the garrison in Sicily.德军正在加强西西里守军之力量。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 unwillingness   

n. 不愿意，不情愿

参考例句：

• Her unwillingness to answer questions undermined the strength of her position. 她不愿回答问题，这不利于她所处的形势。
• His apparent unwillingness would disappear if we paid him enough. 如果我们付足了钱，他露出的那副不乐意的神情就会消失。

10 dictatorial   

adj. 独裁的，专断的

参考例句：

• Her father is very dictatorial.她父亲很专横。
• For years the nation had been under the heel of a dictatorial regime.多年来这个国家一直在独裁政权的铁蹄下。

11 prop   

vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山

参考例句：

• A worker put a prop against the wall of the tunnel to keep it from falling.一名工人用东西支撑住隧道壁好使它不会倒塌。
• The government does not intend to prop up declining industries.政府无意扶持不景气的企业。