VOA常速英语2007年-Military Buildup Heightens Ethiopia-Eritrea Bor

By Peter Heinlein
Addis Ababa
17 December 2007

Tensions rose along the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea during the year in advance of a November 30 settlement deadline set by an international boundary commission. At year's end, the Horn of Africa rivals had a combined total of nearly a quarter of a million troops facing each other across the disputed frontier. VOA's Peter Heinlein in Addis Ababa reports the boundary commission deadline passed without incident, but the danger of war remains¹ high.

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has repeatedly said his country would not be drawn² into a war with arch-rival Eritrea. But speaking to reporters recently, he made one notable exception.

"We will never, ever go to war with Eritrea unless there is a full-scale invasion," said Meles Zenawi. "Not any old provocation³. Full-scale invasion. That is the only condition that would force us to fight Eritrea. I don't expect the Eritrean side to carry out full-scale invasion because I think they know it is going to be suicide."

Mr. Meles and Eritrea's President-for-life Isaias Afewerki were once comrades-in-arms. They fought together in a 20-year guerrilla war that eventually overthrew⁴ Ethiopia's Marxist dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam in 1991.

But relations between the two former friends deteriorated⁵ rapidly after Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993. Within five years, their countries were embroiled⁶ in a border war, with each side claiming the strategically insignificant⁷ little town of Badme.

That two-year war claimed 70,000 lives. It ended in December, 2000, with the two sides agreeing to allow an international boundary commission to settle their dispute.

But when the commission two years later handed down its decision, awarding Badme to Eritrea, Ethiopia refused to accept it. After five more years of trying to find a mutually-acceptable settlement, the boundary commission gave up and closed its doors at the end of November, declaring that its 2002 decision was final.

Both Eritrea and Ethiopia had earlier raised objections to the commission's so-called 'virtual demarcation' of the border, based on old maps and satellite data. But when the deadline passed, Eritrea claimed victory, demanding the international community recognize the demarcation as binding⁹. Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles, however, rejected the ruling, arguing that the boundary must be demarcated on the ground.

"As far as the virtual demarcation of the boundary is concerned, I have heard well-respected diplomats¹⁰ and lawyers describe it as 'legal nonsense'," he said. "Our lawyers agree with such characterization. Until the boundary is demarcated on the ground, it is not demarcated."

The Ethiopian leader predicted the December deadline would pass quietly, and it did, amid a flurry of preventive diplomacy¹¹ aimed at cooling tempers on both sides. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice paid a high-profile visit to Addis Ababa for talks with Mr. Meles.

This diplomatic pressure, however, has not completely eased fears that war could break out along the highly-militarized 900-kilometer border. Political observers say given the personal animosity between the two leaders, and the propaganda war that has polarized public opinion on both sides, bilateral¹² dialogue at this stage seems impossible.

Gebru Asrat fought alongside both Meles and Afwerki in the guerrilla war that toppled the Mengistu regime and led to Eritrea's independence. He later served as governor of the Ethiopian region that borders Eritrea. He worries that some accident, or a mistake in judgment¹³, could plunge¹⁴ the region into another protracted¹⁵ conflict.

"It's a precarious¹⁶ situation," said Gebru Asrat. "They have all mobilized their armies to the borders. Both have huge armies, and maybe if they go crazy, if they are illogical, they might start war, a war that has no objective."

Many western diplomats and observers share Gebru's concern, and fear a war, even an unintended one, could break out in the coming days. They say an Ethiopia emboldened¹⁷ by its close relationship with the United States on fighting terrorism in the Horn of Africa might be tempted¹⁸ to try to crush its much smaller neighbor, which the United States sees as a regional troublemaker¹⁹.

But a former U.S. ambassador to Ethiopia, David Shinn, rejects that argument. He says the wrath²⁰ of the entire international community would come down on whichever side starts a war.

"It's going to be known almost immediately who initiated²¹ the attack," said David Shinn. "You simply cannot disguise that, it's not going to happen. If they do that, both sides are going to be crucified by the international community. And in my view even the United States, I don't think even the US could sit by and condone²² an Ethiopian initiated attack on Eritrea, despite the terrible relations between Eritrea and the United States."

Shinn says international condemnation²³ might not be as effective against Eritrea, which has regularly ignored world opinion. But he says Eritrea's leaders are well aware of Ethiopia's military superiority.

"The fact is they have a very strong and a very powerful and so far disciplined national army that made pretty short work of the Eritreans in 2000 and the Eritreans have not forgotten that," he said.

Even if Ethiopia is comparatively stronger, military analysts²⁵ say both sides are significantly weaker than they were during the last war. They are already engaged in a proxy²⁶ war in neighboring Somalia, where thousands of Ethiopian soldiers are tied down supporting Somalia's transitional government against Islamic extremists fighting an Iraq-style insurgency²⁷. Ethiopia is also battling an insurrection in the restive²⁸ Ogaden region.

Ethiopian analyst²⁴ Medhane Tadesse sees this mutual⁸ weakness as an opportunity. While a dialogue among leaderships may impossible, Medhane advocates building what he calls a 'constituency for peace' among intellectuals and influential²⁹ elements within the Eritrean and Ethiopian diaspora, who are already engaged in a heated debate on the internet.

"I don't want to be pessimistic," said Medhane Tadesse. "What I'm trying to say is it's possible to create a constituency while you manage the conflict. There is no way the two countries can go to war. There is a balance of power between Ethiopia and Eritrea, strangely, based on weakness. So let's use that. At least open other tracks for negotiation³⁰."

There are other hopeful avenues. A United Nations official says the world body is actively³¹ looking at ways to ease tensions. A small U.N. peacekeeping force remains on the border, at least until its mandate³² expires at the end of January, and a senior U.N. official is said to be planning a visit to the region soon for consultations³³. But as 2007 passes to 2008, the rivalry³⁴ between two old comrades, and the contest for control of a strategically meaningless, but emotionally potent³⁵ piece of land, remains a dangerous flashpoint.

1 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。

2 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

3 provocation   

n.激怒，刺激，挑拨，挑衅的事物，激怒的原因

参考例句：

• He's got a fiery temper and flares up at the slightest provocation.他是火爆性子，一点就着。
• They did not react to this provocation.他们对这一挑衅未作反应。

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 deteriorated   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her health deteriorated rapidly, and she died shortly afterwards. 她的健康状况急剧恶化，不久便去世了。
• His condition steadily deteriorated. 他的病情恶化，日甚一日。

6 embroiled   

adj.卷入的；纠缠不清的

参考例句：

• He became embroiled in a dispute with his neighbours. 他与邻居们发生了争执。
• John and Peter were quarrelling, but Mary refused to get embroiled. 约翰和彼得在争吵，但玛丽不愿卷入。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 insignificant   

adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的

参考例句：

• In winter the effect was found to be insignificant.在冬季，这种作用是不明显的。
• This problem was insignificant compared to others she faced.这一问题与她面临的其他问题比较起来算不得什么。

8 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

9 binding   

有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的

参考例句：

• The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

10 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

12 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

13 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

14 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

15 protracted   

adj.拖延的；延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The war was protracted for four years. 战争拖延了四年。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We won victory through protracted struggle. 经过长期的斗争，我们取得了胜利。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 precarious   

adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的

参考例句：

• Our financial situation had become precarious.我们的财务状况已变得不稳定了。
• He earned a precarious living as an artist.作为一个艺术家，他过得是朝不保夕的生活。

17 emboldened   

v.鼓励，使有胆量( embolden的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Emboldened by the wine, he went over to introduce himself to her. 他借酒壮胆，走上前去向她作自我介绍。
• His success emboldened him to expand his business. 他有了成就因而激发他进一步扩展业务。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 tempted   

v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词）

参考例句：

• I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚，但还是没开口。
• I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。

19 troublemaker   

n.惹是生非者，闹事者，捣乱者

参考例句：

• I would hate you to think me a troublemaker.我不愿你认为我是个搬弄是非的人。
• Li Yang has always been a troublemaker.李阳总是制造麻烦。

20 wrath   

n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒

参考例句：

• His silence marked his wrath. 他的沉默表明了他的愤怒。
• The wrath of the people is now aroused. 人们被激怒了。

21 initiated   

n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入

参考例句：

• He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。
• The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。

22 condone   

v.宽恕；原谅

参考例句：

• I cannot condone the use of violence.我不能宽恕使用暴力的行为。
• I will not condone a course of action that will lead us to war.我绝不允许任何导致战争的行为。

23 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

24 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。

25 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

26 proxy   

n.代理权，代表权；（对代理人的）委托书；代理人

参考例句：

• You may appoint a proxy to vote for you.你可以委托他人代你投票。
• We enclose a form of proxy for use at the Annual General Meeting.我们附上委任年度大会代表的表格。

27 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

28 restive   

adj.不安宁的，不安静的

参考例句：

• The government has done nothing to ease restrictions and manufacturers are growing restive.政府未采取任何措施放松出口限制,因此国内制造商变得焦虑不安。
• The audience grew restive.观众变得不耐烦了。

29 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

30 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

31 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

32 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。

33 consultations   

n.磋商（会议）( consultation的名词复数 )；商讨会；协商会；查找

参考例句：

• Consultations can be arranged at other times by appointment. 磋商可以通过预约安排在其他时间。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Consultations are under way. 正在进行磋商。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

34 rivalry   

n.竞争，竞赛，对抗

参考例句：

• The quarrel originated in rivalry between the two families.这次争吵是两家不和引起的。
• He had a lot of rivalry with his brothers and sisters.他和兄弟姐妹间经常较劲。

35 potent   

adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的

参考例句：

• The medicine had a potent effect on your disease.这药物对你的病疗效很大。
• We must account of his potent influence.我们必须考虑他的强有力的影响。