2007年VOA标准英语-Uganda's Ruling Party Approves Peacekeepers for

By Cathy Majtenyi
Nairobi
19 January 2007

An official with Uganda's ruling party Friday said the party has approved a plan to send a contingent¹ of Uganda peacekeeping troops into Somalia, saying that he is confident Ugandan parliament will approve the plan. The African Union is also meeting to discuss the issue of the Somali peacekeeping force. Cathy Majtenyi reports for VOA from Nairobi.

 
Somali police officers patrol a deserted² street in the capital Mogadishu, 15 Jan 2007
The director of information for the National Resistance Movement (NRM), Ofwono Opondo tells VOA President Yoweri Museveni's proposal to send 1,500 Ugandan soldiers into Somalia on a peacekeeping mission has been given the thumbs-up by his party.

Opondo says it is a sure bet that Uganda's parliament will also give its approval, expected by the end of the month.

"I think they will pass it because the NRM caucus³ is more than two-thirds of the members of parliament, and the resolution for parliamentary approval is simply a simple majority," he said.  "So I can say, the approval for deployment⁴ is as good as done."

Opondo says the 237-member NRM caucus Thursday listened to presentations by Uganda's defense⁵ and security ministers on the need to get involved in stabilizing⁶ the volatile⁷ Horn of Africa country. The lawmakers then passed a resolution allowing the defense minister to present the matter to parliament by the end of the month.

Yet to be decided⁸, he says, are how long the Ugandan soldiers will stay in Somalia, under whose mandate⁹ and direction they will fall, and who will pay for the mission.

The party spokesman explains why the members of parliament are in favor of such a peacekeeping force.

"We have been directly affected¹⁰ by the collapse¹¹ of the state in Somalia, in southern Sudan, and Congo. People [are] using those stateless areas to gather arms and to train and infiltrate¹² back into Uganda and terrorize Uganda generally," said Opondo.  "So we think our involvement is contributing to our own security directly."

The National Resistance's decision comes as the African Union's Peace and Security Council was set to meet Friday to discuss the proposed 8,000 strong African peacekeeping force for Somalia.

The capital, Mogadishu, is particularly volatile following the recent ouster of the Islamic Courts Union. The transitional government is now attempting to disarm¹³ various warlords and militia¹⁴.

 
Somali boy walks past two Ethiopian tanks in Mogadishu, 15 Jan. 2007
Ethiopian troops stationed in Mogadishu and other areas have been backing the transitional government.

But those troops are supposed to be leaving soon. U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger this week expressed concern that, without a stabilization¹⁵ force, there may be a security vacuum in the Horn of Africa nation.

A number of African countries have been approached, including Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Angola, and South Africa, but only Uganda has so far offered to contribute to the force.

Since civil war broke out in 1991, militias¹⁶ loyal to clan¹⁷ and sub-clan-based factions¹⁸ have controlled different parts of the country, with no central authority to provide law and order and even basic services to the population.

A transitional Somali parliament was formed in Kenya more than two years ago following a peace process.

1 contingent   

adj.视条件而定的；n.一组，代表团，分遣队

参考例句：

• The contingent marched in the direction of the Western Hills.队伍朝西山的方向前进。
• Whether or not we arrive on time is contingent on the weather.我们是否按时到达要视天气情况而定。

2 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

3 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

4 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。

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

6 stabilizing   

n.稳定化处理[退火]v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The disulfide bridges might then be viewed primarily as stabilizing components. 二硫桥可以被看作是初级的稳定因素。 来自辞典例句
• These stabilizing design changes are usually not desirable for steady-state operation. 这些增加稳定性的设计改变通常不太符合稳态工作的要求。 来自辞典例句

7 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 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。

10 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

11 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

12 infiltrate   

vt./vi.渗入，透过；浸润

参考例句：

• The teacher tried to infiltrate her ideas into the children's minds.老师设法把她的思想渗透到孩子们的心中。
• It can infiltrate as much as 100 kilometers into enemy territory at night.可以在夜间深入敌领土100千米。

13 disarm   

v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和

参考例句：

• The world has waited 12 years for Iraq to disarm. 全世界等待伊拉克解除武装已有12年之久。
• He has rejected every peaceful opportunity offered to him to disarm.他已经拒绝了所有能和平缴械的机会。

14 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

15 Stabilization   

稳定化

参考例句：

• The position of barycentre on plane directly impacts the stabilization and manipulation of plane. 飞机重心位置直接影响飞机的稳定和操纵特性。
• With the higher olefins, stabilization of the energetic intermediates occurs more easily. 在较高的烯烃情况下，高能的中间物稳定作用更易出现。

16 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

17 clan   

n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派

参考例句：

• She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。
• The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以，中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。

18 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别