VOA常速英语2007年-Archbishop in Britain Cuts Up Collar in Protest

By Tendai Maphosa
London
10 December 2007

The Anglican Archbishop of York took a dramatic step to protest human rights abuses in Zimbabwe, removing his bishop's collar and cutting it to pieces on a live television broadcast Sunday. Archbishop John Sentamu said he wanted to send a strong message to protest the presence of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe at the just concluded Europe-Africa summit in Lisbon. Tendai Maphosa reports for VOA from London.

In an interview on British television, Archbishop John Sentamu said there is nothing to be gained from sitting down to talk with the current Zimbabwean leadership - describing such efforts as a "dialogue with the deaf."

He voiced strong support for the British prime minister's boycott¹ of the Lisbon summit because of the presence of Mr. Mugabe and the archbishop said it is time for African leaders to stand up to the Zimbabwean president.

Archbishop Sentamu then took the dramatic step of taking off his bishop's collar and cutting it into pieces.

"This is what I wear to identify myself that I am a clergyman," he said. "Do you know what Mugabe has done? He has taken people's identity and literally², if you do not mind, cut it to pieces. This is what he has actually done, to a lot of - and in the end there is nothing. So as far as I am concerned from now on I am not going to wear a dog collar until Mugabe is gone."

Archbishop Sentamu called on the world to unite against Mr. Mugabe and his regime in the way it did against the late Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith and apartheid South Africa. He called for African leaders, especially the South African leadership, to put pressure on Mr. Mugabe.

The European Union was reluctant to invite Mr. Mugabe to the Lisbon summit, but did so under pressure from African countries who threatened to boycott the meeting if Zimbabwe was not included. Some EU leaders said they hoped Mr. Mugabe would not show up, but insisted a dialogue with Africa must not be hijacked³ by Zimbabwe.

Archbishop Sentamu also criticized the European Union for inviting⁴ Sudanese President Omar al Bashir to the summit, noting that he too has blood on his hands over the human rights crisis in Darfur.

Africa analyst⁵, Tom Cargill of the London-based Chatham House research group says Mr. Mugabe managed to score some points by being at the summit, but he notes the Zimbabwean leader was much more low-key than he usually is at such public events. Cargill believes this may have been in response to pressure from other African leaders to tone down his rhetoric⁶.

But, Cargill says open criticism of Mr. Mugabe by other African leaders is highly unlikely.

"You will you very, very rarely hear one African leader coming out in and openly attack another because there is a strong sense of solidarity⁷ between them but in the comments they make about each other you often have to read between the lines," said Cargill. "In the case of Zimbabwe I think there has been some criticism, but leaders have to be careful because there is a strong degree of support for Mugabe's perceived stance against the U.K."

Cargill says that within Africa, Mr. Mugabe has managed to portray⁸ Britain's criticism of Zimbabwe's human rights record and lack of democracy as the rumblings of a former colonial occupier. Unfortunately says Cargill, while the public bickering⁹ goes on, the situation inside Zimbabwe continues to get worse.

1 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

2 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

3 hijacked   

劫持( hijack的过去式和过去分词 )； 绑架； 拦路抢劫； 操纵（会议等，以推销自己的意图）

参考例句：

• The plane was hijacked by two armed men on a flight from London to Rome. 飞机在从伦敦飞往罗马途中遭到两名持械男子劫持。
• The plane was hijacked soon after it took off. 那架飞机起飞后不久被劫持了。

4 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

5 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。

6 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

7 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

8 portray   

v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等)

参考例句：

• It is difficult to portray feelings in words.感情很难用言语来描写。
• Can you portray the best and worst aspects of this job?您能描述一下这份工作最好与最坏的方面吗？

9 bickering   

v.争吵( bicker的现在分词 )；口角；（水等）作潺潺声；闪烁

参考例句：

• The children are always bickering about something or other. 孩子们有事没事总是在争吵。
• The two children were always bickering with each other over small matters. 这两个孩子总是为些小事斗嘴。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》