VOA常速英语2007-Martial Law to Continue in Parts of Thailand

By Chad Bouchard
Bangkok
08 October 2007

Thailand's military leadership says some provinces in the country will remain under martial¹ law, in spite of opposition² parties' demand for restrictions³ to be lifted. As Chad Bouchard reports from Bangkok, the move is seen as a way to limit campaigning as elections draw closer.

The military council that overthrew⁴ Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra last year said Monday that martial law would be extended indefinitely in some areas.

In January the government lifted martial law in 41 of the country's 76 provinces.

Thitinan Pongsudhirak, director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University, says opposition parties and pro-democracy groups are calling for restrictions to be lifted before elections in December.

"The campaigning season needs to begin. In order to have a free and fair election as Prime Minister Surayud has promised, they have to think about lifting martial law," he said. "Half of the country's provinces have still been under martial law. Not to lift the martial law means we will not have a fair election."

The military ousted⁵ Mr. Thaksin a year ago, after months of public protests over alleged⁶ corruption⁷ and abuses by his government. Surayud Chulanont was installed as prime minister, and the government drafted a new constitution that makes it harder for any political party to dominate the parliament.

The military said martial law would be maintained in areas bordering Burma because of security concerns. There are fears that Burma's crackdown on recent protests could create a refugee flow into Thailand.

But Thitinan says the military government appeared to be extending restrictions in the northern provinces, which have strong ties to ousted Prime Minister Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai Party.

"The Burmese crisis has not exacerbated⁸ the refugee problem that much, so I think that the border concerns are secondary," he said. "Primarily they want to ensure that the Thai Rak Thai Party is not resurrected in a strong fashion in parliament."

National elections are scheduled for December 23.

1 martial   

adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的

参考例句：

• The sound of martial music is always inspiring.军乐声总是鼓舞人心的。
• The officer was convicted of desertion at a court martial.这名军官在军事法庭上被判犯了擅离职守罪。

2 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。

3 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

4 overthrew   

overthrow的过去式

参考例句：

• The people finally rose up and overthrew the reactionary regime. 人们终于起来把反动的政权推翻了。
• They overthrew their King. 他们推翻了国王。

5 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

6 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

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 exacerbated   

v.使恶化，使加重( exacerbate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The symptoms may be exacerbated by certain drugs. 这些症状可能会因为某些药物而加重。
• The drugs they gave her only exacerbated the pain. 他们给她吃的药只是加重了她的痛楚。 来自《简明英汉词典》