2006年VOA标准英语-UN Says More Required to Safeguard Minorit

By Barry Wood
Pristina
03 March 2006

As Kosovo enters status negotiations¹ that could lead to independence from Serbia, the United Nations administrator² in the territory, Soren Jessen-Petersen, says an exodus³ of the Serb minority from Kosovo would be a huge setback⁴ for the region.

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In an interview with VOA, Jessen-Petersen called on ethnic⁵ Albanian politicians to reach out to the Serb minority. The Danish diplomat⁶ recalled his time in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina 10 years ago when shortly after the Dayton peace agreement, thousands of Serbs left Sarajevo. A similar exodus, he remembered, occurred in Pristina in June 1999 shortly after NATO forces drove Serbian troops out of Kosovo. "We have seen it now twice after so-called peace agreements. They have been followed by exodus and displacement⁷. It must not happen again," he said.

Jessen-Petersen said an exodus is fully⁸ avoidable but that strong Albanian efforts are needed to show ethnic minorities that they are welcome and have a secure future in Kosovo. "It (an exodus) must be avoided. It would be a humanitarian⁹ tragedy. It would be an international failure. And I think politically it would be a major setback for Serbia, for Kosovo and for the region," he said.

Less than 10 percent of Kosovo's population is non-Albanian. Minorities live in enclaves protected by international peacekeepers. No more than a handful of Serbs live in Pristina, the provincial¹⁰ capital.

The U.N. administrator faulted ethnic Albanian politicians for not doing enough to reassure¹¹ the Serb minority. He said that as western embassies have signaled that a likely outcome of the status negotiations will be Kosovo independence, Serb anxieties have risen. "That (the signals) obviously promotes a lot of fear, anxiety and uncertainty¹². And many of them (Serbs) are not so sure that at the end of the day they can count on Belgrade (to safeguard their future). And they're very worried right now," he said.

After nearly seven years of U.N. administration, Kosovo's status negotiations began last month. Jessen-Petersen said a key issue being discussed is decentralization, self government for villages and towns, measures intended to address the concerns of non-Albanians.

1 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

2 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

3 exodus   

v.大批离去，成群外出

参考例句：

• The medical system is facing collapse because of an exodus of doctors.由于医生大批离去，医疗系统面临崩溃。
• Man's great challenge at this moment is to prevent his exodus from this planet.人在当前所遇到的最大挑战，就是要防止人从这个星球上消失。

4 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

5 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。

6 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

7 displacement   

n.移置，取代，位移，排水量

参考例句：

• They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。
• The displacement of all my energy into caring for the baby.我所有精力都放在了照顾宝宝上。

8 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。

9 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。

10 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

11 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

12 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。