2006年VOA标准英语-Muslim Countries Meet to Stem Violence in Leban

By Heda Bayron
Hong Kong
02 August 2006

The Malaysian foreign ministry¹ says officials from predominantly Islamic countries will urge the United Nations to demand an unconditional² cease-fire in Lebanon and deployment³ of a U.N. peacekeeping force that must include Muslim troops. 

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The call is supposed to come Thursday in Putrajaya, Malaysia, at an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Conference - or OIC - the world's largest grouping of predominately Muslim countries.

The meeting comes as the U.N. Security Council is to consider whether to send a U.N. peacekeeping force into southern Lebanon.
 

Syed Hamid Albar (file photo)   
  
Chair of the meeting, Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar, says there must be greater Muslim involvement in resolving the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah Islamic militants⁴ in Lebanon.

"I think it would be a mistake when you want to settle the Middle East issue … you invite only Middle East countries. I think the OIC should be engaged. I think some members of the OIC should be engaged in the talks," he said.

Efforts to end three weeks of fighting have largely involved the United States, Britain, the European Union, the United Nations, Israel and Lebanon.

The OIC counts Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh in Asia, Senegal and Egypt in Africa, and Turkey, among its 56-members. Iran and Syria - Hezbollah's major backers - will also attend Thursday's meeting.

On Wednesday, influential⁵ former Malaysian prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, blamed the United States and some European governments for the Mideast violence due to their staunch support for Israel.

He called for a boycott⁶ on using the U.S. dollar and British pound - even if it would result in global economic chaos⁷ - to end what he says is "collusion" between the U.S., Europe and Israel.

Mr. Mahathir has been a strong supporter of the Palestinian cause and often criticizes Israel and the West.

Ehud Olmert   
  
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says she thinks a cease-fire could be reached within days. But in Israel Wednesday, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said his country would not stop its offensive in Lebanon, until an international peacekeeping force is in place and has a mandate⁸ to enforce U.N. resolutions backing Hezbollah's disarmament. 

1 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

2 unconditional   

adj.无条件的，无限制的，绝对的

参考例句：

• The victorious army demanded unconditional surrender.胜方要求敌人无条件投降。
• My love for all my children is unconditional.我对自己所有孩子的爱都是无条件的。

3 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

4 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

5 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

6 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

7 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

8 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。