2006年VOA标准英语-Burundi Government, Rebels Sign Ceasefire

By Cathy Majtenyi
Nairobi
07 September 2006

The government of Burundi and the country's last remaining rebel group Thursday met in Tanzania and finalized¹ a ceasefire that seeks to end more than a dozen years of civil war.

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Salaam2 Sunday, June 18, 2006 " src="/upimg/allimg/070418/1117470.jpg" width="210" border="0" /> South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki, left, shakes hands with Tanzania's President Jakaya Kikwete at a summit in Dar Es Salaam Sunday, June 18, 2006

South African President Thabo Mbeki, Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, were among the officials who helped negotiate the agreement.

They, along with other officials, sat down with Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza and leaders of the National Liberation Forces, known by its French acronym³ FNL,  and finalized a ceasefire initially⁴ signed in June.

Burundian journalist Eric Manirakiza tells VOA during the negotiations⁵ the rebel group expressed its anger over the resignation of Vice⁶ President Alice Nzomukunda, who the rebels say had the interests of the country at heart. Nzomukunda quit earlier this week, citing government corruption⁷ and human rights abuses.

According to the French news agency, AFP, the rebels also called for the military to be overhauled⁸ to better reflect Burundi's ethnic⁹ composition of majority Hutus and minority Tutsis.

Journalist Manirakiza says even with the ceasefire, there needs to be a mechanism¹⁰ put into place to ensure that the ceasefire holds.

"There is a problem of security, problem of human rights," he said. "So even if FNL signs any peace ceasefire, there has [to be a] movement which imposes a neutral force in order to keep or to accompany the agreement until its implementation¹¹, because now there is violation¹² of human rights"

Burundi's civil war broke out in 1993 after the Tutsi-dominated army assassinated¹³ the country's first democratically elected president, who was a Hutu.

Tutsis make up about 15 percent of Burundi's population, yet until recently they dominated the army and political sphere, a factor that sparked the war that killed some 300,000 people.

A peace process beginning in 2000 culminated¹⁴ in democratically held elections last year. The peace process called for the various rebel groups fighting in the war to be integrated into the army and government.  The FNL has yet to do so. 

1 finalized   

vt.完成（finalize的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The draft of this article has been finalized [done]. 这篇文章已经定稿。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The draft was revised several times before it was finalized. 稿子几经删改才定下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 salaam   

n.额手之礼，问安，敬礼；v.行额手礼

参考例句：

• And the people were so very friendly:full of huge beaming smiles,calling out "hello" and "salaam".这里的人民都很友好，灿然微笑着和我打招呼，说“哈罗”和“萨拉姆”。
• Salaam is a Muslim form of salutation.额手礼是穆斯林的问候方式。

3 acronym   

n.首字母简略词，简称

参考例句：

• That's a mouthful of an acronym for a very simple technology.对于一项非常简单的技术来说，这是一个很绕口的缩写词。
• TSDF is an acronym for Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities.TSDF是处理，储存和处置设施的一个缩写。

4 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

5 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。

6 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。

7 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

8 overhauled   

v.彻底检查( overhaul的过去式和过去分词 )；大修；赶上；超越

参考例句：

• Within a year the party had drastically overhauled its structure. 一年内这个政党已大刀阔斧地整顿了结构。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A mechanic overhauled the car's motor with some new parts. 一个修理工对那辆汽车的发动机进行了彻底的检修，换了一些新部件。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

10 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

11 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

12 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。

13 assassinated   

v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
• Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后，肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句

14 culminated   

v.达到极点( culminate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• a gun battle which culminated in the death of two police officers 一场造成两名警察死亡的枪战
• The gala culminated in a firework display. 晚会以大放烟火告终。 来自《简明英汉词典》