2006年VOA标准英语-Nepal's Government Debates Cutting King's

By Anjana Pasricha
New Delhi
15 May 2006

The Nepalese government is finalizing¹ proposals that could drastically clip the king's powers and privileges. The government has also begun a crackdown against officials in the former royalist administration.

 

 
Speaker of Nepalese Parliament Subash Nemwang, chairs a session of parliament in Katmandu, May 13, 2006
  
The Nepalese Cabinet Monday discussed proposals to take away the king's control over the army, and scrap² any political role for him.

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Under Nepal's current constitution, most powers lie with parliament, but the king is the head of the military.

King Gyanendra ousted³ the government last year, and took control of the country, bringing him into direct conflict with political parties. But massive pro-democracy protests forced him to reinstate parliament, and hand over power to a multi-party government last month.

Cutting the king's powers is now a key demand across the country, from pro-democracy protesters and Maoist rebels, who began fighting for a republic a decade ago.

Officials say parliament will debate a proclamation to curtail⁴ the monarch's powers later in the week.

The landmark⁵ resolution was expected to be presented Monday, but was put off until the Cabinet is expanded.

Arjuna Narasingha, a senior member of the seven-party alliance that led the fight against the king, says it is necessary to bring the army under civilian⁶ control.

"The strength of the king to dismantle⁷ democratic process and democratic institutions is the army. So, we want [to] democratize the army, and keep it under people's representative institution, that is [the] Cabinet, which is responsible to parliament," he said.

There also are plans to tax the king's income and property, and allow his actions to be challenged in court.

The Nepalese government has begun cracking down on powerful officials in the king's ousted administration. Last week, it arrested five ministers, and suspended several top security officials on the recommendation of a commission probing human rights abuses during the pro-democracy demonstrations⁸.

The government's plans to hold peace talks with the Maoist rebels received a boost after their leader, Prachanda, said he will personally represent the guerrillas at the negotiations⁹.

No date has been set for the talks, but both sides have declared a truce¹⁰. The government has removed the terrorist label from the guerrillas, and has begun releasing jailed Maoists.

The talks are expected to focus on the formation of an assembly to rewrite the country's constitution.

The government says it wants to draw the rebels into the political mainstream¹¹ and return peace to the country.

1 finalizing   

vt.完成（finalize的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• You may edit registered information any time during the finalizing period. 您可以在规定期限内随时编辑修改注册资料。 来自互联网
• Natsun Trimming & Ironing, Finalizing the Perfection. 40南山整烫，完美在此定格。 来自互联网

2 scrap   

n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废

参考例句：

• A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
• Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

3 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

4 curtail   

vt.截短，缩短；削减

参考例句：

• The government hopes to curtail public spending.政府希望缩减公共事业开支。
• The minister had to curtail his visit.部长不得不缩短访问日期。

5 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

6 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

7 dismantle   

vt.拆开，拆卸；废除，取消

参考例句：

• He asked for immediate help from the United States to dismantle the warheads.他请求美国立即提供援助，拆除这批弹头。
• The mower firmly refused to mow,so I decided to dismantle it.修完后割草机还是纹丝不动，于是，我决定把它拆开。

8 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。

9 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。

10 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。

11 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。