VOA常速英语2007-Somali Prime Minister Conciliatory After Talks A

By Peter Heinlein
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
19 October 2007

Somalia's Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi has suggested he might be willing to step aside to avoid a divisive political struggle in parliament. His conciliatory comment came near the end of a three-day visit to the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, where he spoke¹ about his political future with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. VOA's Peter Heinlein in Addis Ababa has details.

 

Prime Minister Gedi's visit to the Ethiopian capital had fueled speculation² he might resign as Somalia's parliament debated a no-confidence move by President Abdullahi Yusuf.

In a brief meeting with reporters after two days of conversations with senior Ethiopian officials, Mr. Gedi indicated he would step down if he loses a vote of confidence in parliament that could come as early as next week.

"Let us reach that point. A vote of confidence in parliament is a legal matter," he said. "And we all abide³ by the law under the regulations, but we cannot project what is next before it takes place."

Mr. Gedi denied there is anything personal about his quarrel with President Yusuf, and said he is willing to submit to the rule of law.

"The destiny of the nation cannot be the will of the prime minister or the will of the president," he said. "There is a rule of law. There is a charter and a regulation governing the whole national system, so this difference in opinions and interpretations⁴ will be sorted out by the parliament."

Mr. Gedi was asked about the fate of the United Nations aid official seized this week in Mogadishu. He declined to say why the head of the World Food Program in the Somali capital, Idris Osman, is being held, but he said Osman is in the custody⁵ of government officials, and will be released if he is found not to have violated any law.

Prime Minister Gedi again acknowledged that his country remains⁶ in the throes of a vicious insurgency⁷, and appealed to feuding⁸ clans⁹ to settle their disputes peacefully. He accused neighboring Eritrea of fueling the conflict.

"External terrorists are engaged in Somalia," he said. "A very good example is government of Eritrea fully¹⁰ committed and engaged in the war in Somalia. And there are many other external stakeholders."

Ethiopia sent troops to Somalia late last year to drive out Islamist militants¹¹ who had taken power in Mogadishu and other parts of the country. But Ethiopian leaders are said to be increasingly concerned by the ongoing¹² insurgency and the mounting cost of its troop presence there, both in financial and human terms.

Military experts says Ethiopia has as many as 50,000 soldiers in Somalia.

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

3 abide   

vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受

参考例句：

• You must abide by the results of your mistakes.你必须承担你的错误所造成的后果。
• If you join the club,you have to abide by its rules.如果你参加俱乐部，你就得遵守它的规章。

4 interpretations   

n.解释( interpretation的名词复数 )；表演；演绎；理解

参考例句：

• This passage is open to a variety of interpretations. 这篇文章可以有各种不同的解释。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The involved and abstruse passage makes several interpretations possible. 这段艰涩的文字可以作出好几种解释。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

8 feuding   

vi.长期不和（feud的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Riccardo and Cafiero had been feuding so openly that the whole town knew about it. 里卡多和卡菲埃罗一直公开地闹别扭，全城的人都知道此事。 来自辞典例句
• The two families have been feuding with each other for many generations. 这两个家族有好多代的世仇了。 来自互联网

9 clans   

宗族( clan的名词复数 )； 氏族； 庞大的家族； 宗派

参考例句：

• There are many clans in European countries. 欧洲国家有很多党派。
• The women were the great power among the clans [gentes], as everywhere else. 妇女在克兰〈氏族〉里，乃至一般在任何地方，都有很大的势力。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源

10 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。

11 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

12 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。