2006年VOA标准英语-Ugandan Rebel Rejects Peace Talks

By Pearse Lynch
Nairobi
13 July 2006

The leader of the Ugandan rebel group the Lord's Resistance Army says he will not attend peace negotiations¹ with the Ugandan government to end nearly two decades of fighting. The next round of negotiations is due to begin Friday in the southern Sudanese town of Juba.

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Joseph Kony (file photo) 
  
The latest peace talks are to be mediated² by southern Sudan's Vice³ President Reik Machar. He traveled Wednesday to the Congolese border to urge Lord's Resistance Army leader Joseph Kony to join in the peace process.

An aide to Vice President Machar says Kony refused to meet with him and instead sent his second in command, Vincent Otti. He reportedly told Machar that the rebel group would not be sending any of their top five commanders to the talks because they fear they will be arrested.

A year ago, the International Criminal Court based in The Hague indicted⁴ the five men on charges of crimes against humanity. The rebel group has been accused of causing the deaths of tens of thousands of people, displacing more than one million others, and kidnapping as many as 30,000 children to fight as soldiers and serve as sex slaves.

The Ugandan government has already pledged to give the rebels full amnesty if they commit to the peace process.

Political editor Charles Mwanguhya of the Ugandan newspaper, the Daily Monitor, says that without the senior leadership of the Lord's Resistance Army at the talks, this latest attempt to establish peace in northern Uganda will likely fail.

"The ICC has provided a very good opportunity for Kony to stay away. It is an excuse for Kony and his people," said Mwanguhya. "We are seeing the talks becoming weaker and weaker and the outcome more uncertain. Uganda has sent very senior people to do the talks and if they cannot talk to people at the same level, we cannot expect any of the two parties will make headway with these talks."

Ugandan government spokesman for the talks, Robert Kabushenga, says that his government has no plans to downgrade its negotiating team to a more junior level. He says the government remains⁵ optimistic that there will be another opportunity to meet with Kony and his senior commanders in the near future.

"They are the decision makers⁶ of LRA. However, if Dr. Reich Machar says these people have been mandated⁷ to carry on with the talks, our people will turn up," noted⁸ Kabushenga. "The feeling here is that whatever happens, whatever the outcome, people here are more or less in the mood to go. So, they will turn up in at some point when they realize we are serious."

The government has imposed a September 12 deadline for the rebel group to negotiate a peace settlement. It is unclear what will happen if the rebels miss that deadline.

Meanwhile, the Ugandan army says Wednesday it captured the most senior rebel commander still operating in northern Uganda. A spokesman for army, Major Felix Kulayigye, says the capture of the rebel commander should not affect the peace process.

"Their decisions have nothing to do with what transpired⁹ yesterday. As I have said, there was no ceasefire," said Kulayigye.  "None of the sides declared cessation of hostilities¹⁰. Operations continue as normal."

Several peace deals between the Lord's Resistance Army and the Ugandan government have failed, with both sides accusing the other of violations¹¹.

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 mediated   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的过去式和过去分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• He mediated in the quarrel between the two boys. 他调解两个孩子之间的争吵。
• The government mediated between the workers and the employers. 政府在工人与雇主间搞调和。

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 indicted   

控告，起诉( indict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The senator was indicted for murder. 那位参议员被控犯谋杀罪。
• He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder. 他被大陪审团以两项谋杀罪名起诉。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 mandated   

adj. 委托统治的

参考例句：

• Mandated desegregation of public schools. 命令解除公立学校中的种族隔离
• Britain was mandated to govern the former colony of German East Africa. 英国受权代管德国在东非的前殖民地。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 transpired   

（事实，秘密等）被人知道( transpire的过去式和过去分词 )； 泄露； 显露； 发生

参考例句：

• It transpired that the gang had had a contact inside the bank. 据报这伙歹徒在银行里有内应。
• It later transpired that he hadn't been telling the truth. 他当时没说真话，这在后来显露出来了。

10 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。

11 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。