2006年VOA标准英语-UN Plan for Kosovo May Be Put to Test in Northe

By Barry Wood
Mitrovica, Kosovo
22 September 2006

The city of Mitrovica in northern Kosovo has long been a flash point of ethnic¹ tension between the Albanian south side of the Ibar River and the mostly Serbian north.  VOA's Barry Wood reports from Mitrovica on efforts to build a structure that could bridge the ethnic divide.

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		ethnically2 divided town of Mitrovica" src="/upimg/allimg/070428/1037350.jpg" width="210" border="0" /> Kosovo Police patrol on the main bridge of the ethnically divided town of Mitrovica

Ethnic hostility³ is so deep in Mitrovica that the city's main bridge between the north and the south is open only to police and military vehicles.  Blue-hatted U.N. police man barricades⁴, while French paratroopers stand guard behind coiled barbed wire.

Dr. Bajram Rexhepi, former Mitrovica mayor and former Kosovo prime minister, is promoting a self-government plan that would address the security concerns of Mitrovica's Serbs.

"They [the Serbs] think that if there could be one kind of municipality with a Serb majority, they would feel more safety," he said.  "So I proposed this simple plan for one city with two municipalities for an interim⁵ period of three years."

But Dr. Rexhepi's plan is unpopular with both Serbs and Albanians. 

The Serbs want more than just an interim period of self-government and do not want to be linked to the more populous⁶ Albanian area in the south of Mitrovica.  Albanians want a unified⁷ city and oppose a Serbian entity⁸, believing it could be a first step towards the secession of the mostly Serbian north of Kosovo.

Former U.S. diplomat⁹ Gerard Gallucci, the U.N. administrator¹⁰ of Mitrovica, quotes the words of the American poet Robert Frost, who said that good fences make good neighbors.  Gallucci advocates self-government for north Mitrovica.

"I think what we are going to have is a Kosovo made up of municipalities with, in some areas, strong local autonomy," he noted¹¹.  "In areas that also happen to be Serb majority, they will probably have a bit more interest in using that autonomy.  And, I gather, there will also be ways to have transparent¹² open links to Belgrade.

Gallucci dismisses the worry that enhanced self-rule for north Mitrovica is a first step towards partition.

"There will be no partition," he added.  "The Contact Group [six major powers guiding the Kosovo negotiations¹³] has said it.  Kosovo will be one place, whatever the status."

The six-nation Contact Group guiding the U.N. negotiations on Kosovo's status this week ordered the top U.N. negotiator to develop his own plan for the territory's future.  That blueprint¹⁴ is likely to be unveiled by late October.  It is expected to specify¹⁵ self-government arrangements for Mitrovica.

In Zvecan, a Serb municipality near north Mitrovica, retired¹⁶ school teacher Anitsa Foranic is fearful that Kosovo will be set on a path to independence, a remedy opposed by most Kosovo Serbs.

She says Albanians and Serbs should be friends as they were before 1999.  Serbs, she says, can never agree to independence.

Doctor Rexhepi concedes that it will take a long time to develop trust between Serbs and Albanians in Mitrovica.  He knows that some Serbs favor secession.  But even if that were possible, he says it would not provide a viable¹⁷ solution for Kosovo's Serbs.

"One third of the Serbs who live in Kosovo are in the northern part," he noted.  "But two thirds of them are in other parts of Kosovo. And in this case, if we accept partition, what to do with the other Serbs?"

It is likely that before the end of this year Kosovo will be put on a path to independence.  U.N. negotiator Martti Ahtisaari has said that whatever determination he makes, there must be security guarantees for the 100,000 Serbs, Kosovo's biggest minority in a territory of 2 million that is 90 percent ethnic Albanian.

1 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。

2 ethnically   

adv.人种上，民族上

参考例句：

• Ethnically, the Yuan Empire comprised most of modern China's ethnic groups. 元朝的民族成分包括现今中国绝大多数民族。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• Russia is ethnically relatively homogeneous. 俄罗斯是个民族成分相对单一的国家。 来自辞典例句

3 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

4 barricades   

路障，障碍物( barricade的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The police stormed the barricades the demonstrators had put up. 警察冲破了示威者筑起的街垒。
• Others died young, in prison or on the barricades. 另一些人年轻时就死在监牢里或街垒旁。

5 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

6 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。

7 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

8 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。

9 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

10 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

11 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。

12 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

13 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。

14 blueprint   

n.蓝图，设计图，计划；vt.制成蓝图，计划

参考例句：

• All the machine parts on a blueprint must answer each other.设计图上所有的机器部件都应互相配合。
• The documents contain a blueprint for a nuclear device.文件内附有一张核装置的设计蓝图。

15 specify   

vt.指定，详细说明

参考例句：

• We should specify a time and a place for the meeting.我们应指定会议的时间和地点。
• Please specify what you will do.请你详述一下你将做什么。

16 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

17 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。