VOA常速英语2007-Sudan Peace Accord at Risk as SPLM Pulls Out of

By Alisha Ryu
Nairobi
12 October 2007

A Kenyan diplomat¹, who helped negotiate the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the Sudanese government and southern rebels two years ago, is urging Khartoum to quickly implement² key elements of the agreement to avert³ another crisis in the troubled country.   As VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu reports from our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi, the fragile peace accord that ended Africa's longest-running civil war is under threat, after southern rebels suspended their participation⁴ in government on Tuesday.

The rebel group that signed the peace deal, Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), says it was forced to suspend their two-year-long participation in Sudan's national unity⁵ government, because of what they describe as Khartoum's failure to fully⁶ implement key elements of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed in January, 2005.

On Friday, an SPLM member of the national unity government, William Ajal Deng, tried to allay⁷ growing fears that the North-South partnership⁸ is on the verge⁹ of collapse¹⁰.

"No, things are not falling apart at all," he said.  "We want things to be settled now.  There is no going back to war."

The CPA, which ended Sudan's 21-year-long civil war between the North and South, outlined protocols¹¹ for a number of issues, including power-sharing, wealth-sharing, and resolution of conflicts.   But the agreement was considered fragile, largely because it was an agreement between only two parties - the Sudan People's Liberation Movement and the ruling party in Khartoum - and lacked broader support throughout the country, especially in the North. 

Kenyan army Lieutenant¹² General Lazarus Sumbeiywo spent nearly three years as special envoy¹³ and chief negotiator in the Sudan peace process.   Sumbeiywo recently visited southern Sudan with former Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi and says both men noticed that the slow implementation¹⁴ of the CPA had created high levels of tension and anger in the South.

"We smelled that something was not right, that things were not being done," he said.

Sumbeiywo says he believes the Sudanese government, led by President Omar al-Bashir, must move faster to fulfill¹⁵ the promises it made in the peace accord and in the meantime, he says both sides must remain calm.

"Talk, talk, talk and talk some more," he added.  "Unless someone quickly takes responsibility to bring everyone on-board again.  I believe we could be sitting on a time bomb."

John Gachie, a political analyst¹⁶ and magazine editor in Juba, tells VOA that non-implementation of the CPA is also threatening international efforts end the four-year war between Khartoum and rebels in the western Darfur region of Sudan. 

Like the rebels in the south, Darfur rebels took up arms against the government to protest decades of economic neglect and political marginalization by Khartoum.

"The CPA was a very detailed¹⁷ way to disengage and resolve outstanding issues," he said.  "So, for the Darfur crisis, the fulfillment of the CPA would have provided a very good template.   Now, the government in Sudan has repeatedly signed various accords, peace agreements with all sorts of people from Darfur to eastern Sudan.  And the key elements of those peace agreements have never been honored."

In an interview with the Sudan Tribune newspaper Thursday, the leader of Darfur's rebel Sudan Liberation Movement, Abdelwahid al-Nur, said that the SPLM's decision to pull out of the national unity government showed that the ruling party in Khartoum cannot be trusted. 

1 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。

2 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

3 avert   

v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等)

参考例句：

• He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。
• I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。

4 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

5 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

6 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

7 allay   

v.消除，减轻(恐惧、怀疑等)

参考例句：

• The police tried to allay her fears but failed.警察力图减轻她的恐惧，但是没有收到什么效果。
• They are trying to allay public fears about the spread of the disease.他们正竭力减轻公众对这种疾病传播的恐惧。

8 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

9 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

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。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

10 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。

11 protocols   

n.礼仪( protocol的名词复数 )；（外交条约的）草案；（数据传递的）协议；科学实验报告（或计划）

参考例句：

• There are also protocols on the testing of nuclear weapons. 也有关于核武器试验的协议。 来自辞典例句
• Hardware components and software design of network transport protocols are separately introduced. 介绍系统硬件组成及网络传输协议的软件设计。 来自互联网

12 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

13 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

14 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。

15 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。

16 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

17 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。