2006年VOA标准英语-Violence Intensifies in Turkey's Kurdish R

By Amberin Zaman
Diyarbakir, Turkey
13 April 2006

Violence has been steadily¹ rising in Turkey's predominantly Kurdish southeast region ever since rebels of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, ended a five-year truce² in June 2004. Two weeks of violent protests left at least 10 Kurdish demonstrators dead in the provinces of Diyarbakir and Batman. At least two Turkish soldiers and 12 rebels were killed in fighting Tuesday in Sirnak Province.

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In a dark cramped³ apartment in Diyarbakir's Baglar district, Mahmut Duran can barely hold back his tears as he greets a steady stream of visitors . They are bringing condolences for the death of his nine-year-old son Abdullah. Duran says his son was shot and killed by Turkish security forces during last month's demonstrations⁴.

Duran says he will not rest until justice is served.

Abdullah is one of four children killed in the worst bout⁵ of violence in Turkey's Kurdish region in recent years. The trouble started on March 28 during the burial ceremony of four rebels belonging to the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party known as PKK.

The funeral degenerated⁶ into a rampage, as enraged⁷ Kurdish youths firebombed banks, stoned police stations and shattered hundreds of shop windows. Two Kurds died in ensuing clashes with police.

Their funerals sparked a new round of protests that engulfed⁸ the neighboring provinces of Batman, Mardin and Hakkari further east. Retaliatory⁹ attacks by the PKK that claimed the lives of two

Turkish women in Istanbul have stoked nationalist anger across Turkey.
 

Turkish Kurdish woman walks past street vendors¹⁰ in front of ancient city walls in Diyarbakir, April 6, 2006   
  
There is mounting pressure on Turkey's prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to take tougher action against the rebels. But analysts¹¹ warn that addressing the Kurdish problem through military measures alone may jeopardize¹² Turkey's hopes of joining the European Union. Human rights activists¹³ in Diyarbakir say that arbitrary arrests and torture of detainees has sharply increased in recent weeks.

Since coming to power three years ago Mr. Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party pushed through reforms that persuaded the 25-member European alliance to open membership talks with Turkey last October. They include laws that allow the country's estimated 14 million Kurds to teach their long banned language in private schools.

Last month private television stations were granted official permission to broadcast in Kurdish.

Ahmet Turk is the co-chairman of Turkey's largest pro-Kurdish party, the Democratic Society Party, or DTP. He says the reforms are a step in the right direction but they fall short of addressing the Kurds' demands for lasting¹⁴ peace in the region.

Turk says that one of the foremost conditions for securing peace in the region would be for the government to declare an amnesty for some 5,000 PKK rebels, whose leaders are based in Kurdish controlled northern Iraq.

He says the government's refusal to grant amnesty to PKK members was one of the main reasons why the rebels abandoned their unilateral cease-fire last June and resumed their violent campaign.

Abdurrahman Kurt is the provincial¹⁵ chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party in Diyarbakir. He says government reforms and rising economic prosperity have combined to erode¹⁶ public support for the PKK. He says the recent violence is a clear sign of PKK's waning¹⁷ influence.

Kurt says the government now provides free health care for poor families and around $20 in educational support for each of their children every month. He admits more needs to be done to win the hearts and minds of Turkey's restive¹⁸ Kurds and that military action against the rebels needs to be tempered with further democratic reforms.

Kurdish politician Ahmet Turk agrees that the PKK's decision to resume its armed campaign is unpopular with many Kurds. He says Kurdish issues should be addressed in peaceful negotiations¹⁹.

1 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

2 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

3 cramped   

a.狭窄的

参考例句：

• The house was terribly small and cramped, but the agent described it as a bijou residence. 房子十分狭小拥挤，但经纪人却把它说成是小巧别致的住宅。
• working in cramped conditions 在拥挤的环境里工作

4 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

5 bout   

n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛

参考例句：

• I was suffering with a bout of nerves.我感到一阵紧张。
• That bout of pneumonia enfeebled her.那次肺炎的发作使她虚弱了。

6 degenerated   

衰退，堕落，退化( degenerate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The march degenerated into a riot. 示威游行变成了暴动。
• The wide paved road degenerated into a narrow bumpy track. 铺好的宽阔道路渐渐变窄，成了一条崎岖不平的小径。

7 enraged   

使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 )； 歜； 激愤

参考例句：

• I was enraged to find they had disobeyed my orders. 发现他们违抗了我的命令，我极为恼火。
• The judge was enraged and stroke the table for several times. 大法官被气得连连拍案。

8 engulfed   

v.吞没，包住( engulf的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was engulfed by a crowd of reporters. 他被一群记者团团围住。
• The little boat was engulfed by the waves. 小船被波浪吞没了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 retaliatory   

adj.报复的

参考例句：

• The process can take years before the WTO approves retaliatory action. 在WTO通过此行动之前，这个程序恐怕要等上一阵子了。 来自互联网
• Retaliatory tariffs on China are tantamount to taxing ourselves as a punishment. 将惩罚性关税强加于中国相当于对我们自己实施课税惩罚。 来自互联网

10 vendors   

n.摊贩( vendor的名词复数 )；小贩；（房屋等的）卖主；卖方

参考例句：

• The vendors were gazundered at the last minute. 卖主在最后一刻被要求降低房价。
• At the same time, interface standards also benefIt'software vendors. 同时，界面标准也有利于软件开发商。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

11 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

12 jeopardize   

vt.危及，损害

参考例句：

• Overworking can jeopardize your health.工作过量可能会危及你的健康。
• If you are rude to the boss it may jeopardize your chances of success.如果你对上司无礼，那就可能断送你成功的机会。

13 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

15 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。

16 erode   

v.侵蚀，腐蚀，使...减少、减弱或消失

参考例句：

• Once exposed,soil is quickly eroded by wind and rain.一旦暴露在外，土壤很快就会被风雨侵蚀。
• Competition in the financial marketplace has eroded profits.金融市场的竞争降低了利润。

17 waning   

adj.（月亮）渐亏的，逐渐减弱或变小的n.月亏v.衰落( wane的现在分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡

参考例句：

• Her enthusiasm for the whole idea was waning rapidly. 她对整个想法的热情迅速冷淡了下来。
• The day is waning and the road is ending. 日暮途穷。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

18 restive   

adj.不安宁的，不安静的

参考例句：

• The government has done nothing to ease restrictions and manufacturers are growing restive.政府未采取任何措施放松出口限制,因此国内制造商变得焦虑不安。
• The audience grew restive.观众变得不耐烦了。

19 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。