2006年VOA标准英语-More and More Mediators Getting Involved i

By Nico Colombant
Abidjan
02 February 2006

Mediators are coming from many different directions to help divided Ivory Coast, confusing many as to who is in charge and what exactly is being mediated².

The recent selection of a new African Union head, Republic of Congo President Denis Sassou-Nguesso, added a new face to mediation³ efforts in Ivory Coast.

 
Charles Konan Banny
  
He immediately held a meeting with Ivorian transitional Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny. Mr. Banny said he had been given assurances the Congolese president would take the lead in Ivorian mediation.

These efforts have recently been mired⁴ in confusion.

When he was still the head of the African Union, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo arrived in Abidjan last month to defuse tensions amid protests against the United Nations.

He said it was up to Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo and Mr. Banny to decide together whether parliament should be disbanded. It was a recommendation by an international working group that parliament be suspended which caused the fury on the streets.

Several days later, Mr. Gbagbo decided⁵, unilaterally, to extend the mandate⁶ for parliament - a body which has repeatedly blocked peace reforms.

Mr. Gbagbo's decision sparked condemnation⁷ from United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan. 

Charles Ble Goude speaks to the crowd in Ivory Coast's commercial capital Abidjan (File photo - Nov. 2, 2002)   
  
But the leader of the pro-Gbagbo Young Patriots⁸, who led the protests, Charles Ble Goude, accuses Mr. Annan of being manipulated by western powers.

He says he hopes the new AU head will avoid this.

"I don't know deeply Mr. Sassou-Nguesso who has been newly elected as African Union president, so I can't say anything about him, but what I can say about him is to be strong, to deal with African affairs in African manners - reconciliation⁹, bringing people together and not taking orders from outside," said Goude.

This week, a South African delegation¹⁰ has been in Ivory Coast for its own mediation effort. The head of the group, South Africa's defense¹¹ minister, says the parliament issue has been resolved, even though only the Ivorian presidential camp agrees.

South African President Thabo Mbeki has been a special mediator¹ for Ivory Coast since late 2004. He has angered the opposition¹² and rebels who accuse him of bias¹³ toward Mr. Gbagbo, making his current role vague.

An opposition youth leader, Ble Guirao, says he feels Mr. Mbeki only defends Mr. Gbagbo.

He says he hopes Mr. Sassou-Nguesso will not fall into the same trap and that he will try to understand why rebels hold the north and refuse to disarm¹⁴.

But those close to Mr. Gbagbo say the Congolese president is too close to the French. And, they say their struggle is for total independence from France.

Adding to the confusion over who is a mediator in this conflict are statements that Mr. Obasanjo will continue his peace efforts, as part of the role the West African body ECOWAS is trying to play.

 
Pierre Schori
(File photo - Feb. 2, 2002) 
  
The head of the U.N. mission in Ivory Coast, says it is understandable everyone is trying to help, including the African Union.

"The African Union being a newborn baby, almost, it is still trying to prevent conflict in a very forceful way. So, I understand it," he said. "The reason for it is that here in Cote d'Ivoire [it] is very much the economic engine and powerhouse where many foreigners from the region are working and studying. It's all interlinked. What is happening here is of great concern and has implications for the neighboring countries and therefore they are intertwining in different forms."

"First it was the regional organization ECOWAS, then the African Union who took over the issue of the Cote d'Ivoire crisis and then passed it on to the Security Council," continued Schori. "So, here you have regional organizations taking a primary role and then the U.N. comes in and kind of tries to wrap it up. But you need all of them."

Mr. Gbagbo and Mr. Banny, with the help of the mediators and the United Nations, are supposed to organize disarmament and elections before October. Supporters of Mr. Gbagbo now say this transition period should be extended at least one extra year. Mediators have yet to weigh in on that suggestion.

1 mediator   

n.调解人，中介人

参考例句：

• He always takes the role of a mediator in any dispute.他总是在争论中充当调停人的角色。
• He will appear in the role of mediator.他将出演调停者。

2 mediated   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的过去式和过去分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• He mediated in the quarrel between the two boys. 他调解两个孩子之间的争吵。
• The government mediated between the workers and the employers. 政府在工人与雇主间搞调和。

3 mediation   

n.调解

参考例句：

• The dispute was settled by mediation of the third country. 这场争端通过第三国的斡旋而得以解决。
• The dispute was settled by mediation. 经调解使争端得以解决。

4 mired   

abbr.microreciprocal degree 迈尔德（色温单位）v.深陷( mire的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The country was mired in recession. 这个国家陷入了经济衰退的困境。
• The most brilliant leadership can be mired in detail. 最有才干的领导也会陷于拘泥琐事的困境中。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 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。

6 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。

7 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

8 patriots   

爱国者，爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Abraham Lincoln was a fine type of the American patriots. 亚伯拉罕·林肯是美国爱国者的优秀典型。
• These patriots would fight to death before they surrendered. 这些爱国者宁愿战斗到死，也不愿投降。

9 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

10 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。

11 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。

12 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。

13 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

14 disarm   

v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和

参考例句：

• The world has waited 12 years for Iraq to disarm. 全世界等待伊拉克解除武装已有12年之久。
• He has rejected every peaceful opportunity offered to him to disarm.他已经拒绝了所有能和平缴械的机会。