2006年VOA标准英语-Ivory Coast Rebels Have Double Life in Bur

By Nico Colombant and Zoumana Wonogo
Abidjan and Ouagadougou
28 February 2006 

Burkina Faso map  
  
While the Ivory Coast peace process stutters along, many northern rebel leaders have established a double life in neighboring Burkina Faso.

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A song pays homage¹ to one of the Ivorian rebel commanders, known as "Commandant Wattao."

He used to play it in his bar, before it was shut down amid reports of drug, girl and arms trafficking.

Rebel-occupied northern Ivory Coast borders Burkina Faso and many Ivorian rebel leaders have spent time there since the start of their insurgency² in late 2002.

An Ouagadougou resident says many Burkinabes would have liked their Ivorian guests to be more discreet³.

He says Ivorians are known as big party people and that they tried to export their lifestyle into Burkina Faso, including bringing their own DJs. Sometimes, he says, they went too far.

They even started setting up roadblocks to racket drivers inside Burkina Faso, prompting local authorities to crack down on their illegal activities.

One of the rebels who owns a house in Burkina Faso's capital is Fofie Kouakou, the commander of the northern Ivory Coast Korhogo zone. He is now under a U.N. travel ban for alleged⁴ war atrocities⁵.

But a man who lives across from him says he is a very nice neighbor.

"No problem. Our relation is very good. He's quite sympathetic," he says. "He helps everybody here in Burkina Faso, if you want something, like money. He has no problem with Burkina people. With the Ivorian military rebels, there are no problems."

This man says many Burkinabes are against rebellions, in general, but that they agree with this one.

He says fighting for more northerners to be recognized as full citizens is a good thing. He says many Burkinabes in Ivory Coast are among those who feel excluded.

One woman, who runs a bar, says despite the recent crackdown, some of the rebels are still wild, driving around in big cars with tinted⁶ windows and women inside. She says she has no choice but to accept them. She says they are still human beings like everyone else.

But when rebel leader Guillaume Soro visits, residents say he gets a reception like a head of state. His wife, who is Burkinabe, and child live here.

Burkinabe officials have denied accusations⁷ by Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo that they back the rebels, but they refuse to say anything about the rebels' obvious presence in their country.

Under French colonial rule, the two countries were united. Following independence, many Burkinabes went to work in Ivory Coast cocoa fields. They used to have the right to vote in Ivorian elections, but since the early 1990's, those rights have disappeared and discrimination against them has increased.

Southern authorities usually treat northerners, who say they are Ivorian, with even harsher discrimination than they do those who say they are citizens of Burkina Faso and other countries. Some Ivorian northerners sometimes just say they are Burkinabe, adding to the confusion between the two countries.

1 homage   

n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬

参考例句：

• We pay homage to the genius of Shakespeare.我们对莎士比亚的天才表示敬仰。
• The soldiers swore to pay their homage to the Queen.士兵们宣誓效忠于女王陛下。

2 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

3 discreet   

adj.(言行)谨慎的；慎重的；有判断力的

参考例句：

• He is very discreet in giving his opinions.发表意见他十分慎重。
• It wasn't discreet of you to ring me up at the office.你打电话到我办公室真是太鲁莽了。

4 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

5 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 tinted   

adj. 带色彩的 动词tint的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• a pair of glasses with tinted lenses 一副有色镜片眼镜
• a rose-tinted vision of the world 对世界的理想化看法

7 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。