2006年VOA标准英语-Bakassi Region Residents Protest Handover of Re

By Gilbert da Costa
Abuja
07 August 2006

Hundreds of residents of Nigeria's disputed Bakassi peninsula have held an "independence" ceremony to highlight opposition¹ to the government's plan to hand over the oil-rich region to Cameroon.

--------

A group of Bakassi residents, mostly youths, declared the independent "Democratic Republic of Bakassi" Sunday. The ceremony was designed as a signal to the government of growing opposition to the transfer plan, and what residents say are inadequate² proposals for those who wish to remain Nigerian citizens.

Nigerian troops are to begin pulling out of the area this month, paving the way for a full transfer within two years.

Under an agreement reached by the leaders of Cameroon and Nigeria last June, those living in the area can choose to leave the territory, or stay and become Cameroonian citizens, or Nigerians residing in Cameroonian territory.

Most of the area's 300,000 residents have rejected these options, and would prefer the status quo to remain. The Bakassi Self Determination Movement, which convened³ the so-called independence ceremony on Sunday, said it had no choice but to take the destiny of the embattled people in hand.

Femi Falana, a Lagos-based lawyer, who has filed a legal challenge to the proposed handover on behalf of the Bakassi people, says a declaration of independence is justified⁴ because, he says, the handover deal is illegal.

"A treaty cannot have the force of law in Nigeria, unless it has been enacted⁵ into law by the National Assembly," he said. "Secondly⁶, Bakassi local government remains⁷ part of Nigeria under the constitution. Furthermore, these people are saying, there has been no alternative arrangement s for them, in terms of accommodation and schools for their children and the rest of them. And, so, I think, to that extent, I think, they have the right to declare where they want to belong to."

An Abuja court will this week begin hearing the legal challenge filed last month by Falana. Bakassi residents are asking the court to declare the handover a violation⁸ of the Nigerian constitution.

In 2002, the International Court of Justice ruled that the oil-rich peninsula belonged to Cameroon. The Nigerian government, which accepted the verdict, has come under profound criticism especially from the Nigerians residing on the peninsula.

1 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。

2 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

3 convened   

召开( convene的过去式 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合

参考例句：

• The chairman convened the committee to put the issue to a vote. 主席召集委员们开会对这个问题进行表决。
• The governor convened his troops to put down the revolt. 总督召集他的部队去镇压叛乱。

4 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

5 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

6 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

7 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。

8 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。