2006年VOA标准英语-Congolese President Opens New Phase in Ivo

By Joe Bavier
Abidjan
08 April 2006

The new acting¹ president of the African Union has met with the leaders of Ivory Coast's warring factions², hoping to finally implement³ a three-year-old peace process. However, there is much to do, if October elections are to be held on schedule.

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Congolese President Denis Sassou N'guesso finished up two days of talks with the leading figures in Ivory Coast's more than three-year-old civil war, saying he was optimistic for the future.

Speaking to journalists at the end of his visit in the commercial capital, Abidjan, he said it is true there are problems that need to be worked out. But, he said, he would leave Ivory Coast with the feeling that things are moving in the right direction.

Mr. Sassou N'guesso met Saturday with the four main figures in the conflict, President Laurent Gbagbo, former President Henri Konan Bedie, popular northern opposition⁴ leader Alassane Ouattara, and New Forces rebel leader Guillaume Soro.

The meeting was only the second such encounter to take place on Ivorian soil since the beginning of the war, and also included transitional government Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny.

The Congolese president took over the rotating presidency⁵ of the African Union in January, when the body decided⁶ to pass over Sudan, whose turn it had been to hold the post.

Ivory Coast has already several outside mediators, since rebels seized the northern half of the country in late 2002. And, though all sides in the conflict have signed a succession of peace agreements, none has ever been fully⁷ implemented⁸.

Efforts by South African President Thabo Mbeki to pave the way for presidential elections last year failed. And Ivorian President Gbagbo was granted a 12-month extension to his mandate⁹ by the United Nations.

Mr. Sassou N'guesso now has until the end of October to help prepare new elections. However, two main obstacles that have plagued previous mediation¹⁰ efforts remain - disarmament of northern rebels and southern militias¹¹, and the identification of Ivorian citizens.

On these two points, Mr. Sassou N'guesso said, he sees progress. "All parties have expressed a willingness to start right away with the disarmament and identification processes," he said. The two are intimately linked. This, he said, "should progressively bring us to the reunification of the country."

Around 10,000 U.N. peacekeepers and U.N.-mandated French soldiers are in Ivory Coast. Most patrol a buffer¹² zone separating government forces in the south from northern rebels.

1 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

2 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

3 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

4 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。

5 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

6 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。

7 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。

8 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

9 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。

10 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。

11 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

12 buffer   

n.起缓冲作用的人(或物)，缓冲器；vt.缓冲

参考例句：

• A little money can be a useful buffer in time of need.在急需时，很少一点钱就能解燃眉之急。
• Romantic love will buffer you against life's hardships.浪漫的爱会减轻生活的艰辛。