VOA常速英语2007年-Ugandan President Questions Rebel's Peace Commi

By Derek Kilner
Nairobi
21 December 2007

Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni has said the leader of the rebel Lords Resistance Army is "not ready" for a peace agreement. As Derek Kilner reports for VOA's East Africa bureau in Nairobi, Museveni has threatened military action if the rebels do not agree to a peace deal by the end of January.

In a statement released by his office, President Museveni accused Josephy Kony, the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), of killing¹ his deputy, Vincent Otti.

Speculation² about Otti's death has been circulating since October, though LRA officials have denied it. Otti is seen by many as having been the leading force within the LRA pushing for cooperation in the peace process.

President Museveni has also threatened to launch a new military operation against the rebels if a peace deal is not reached by January 31. Uganda has been discussing plans for a military attack with defense³ officials from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Kony is currently based in eastern Congo.

In addition to raising doubts about Kony's commitment to the peace effort, the disarray⁴ within the LRA, including Kony's alleged⁵ death and a string of defections by rebels, may have made a military solution look more appealing to the President.

Manasseh Wepundi, senior analyst⁶ with the Africa Policy Institute, also tells VOA that recent discussions with neighboring countries in Ethiopia on a coordinated⁷ response to armed groups operating in the Great Lakes region may have impacted Museveni's thinking.

"With the meeting that was held in Addis Ababa involving the leaders of the Great Lakes including Museveni, and Rwanda, and DRC, the Great Lakes States have developed more consensus⁸ on the need to address joint⁹ security concerns," he noted¹⁰.  "The regional environment is changing very drastically in favor of President Museveni. That is a boost to his confidence about a military solution to the entire conflict."

An LRA delegation¹¹ that was touring Uganda in an attempt to promote reconciliation¹² recently left for Southern Sudan, where the peace talks have been located.

Wepundi says that the mission was an important symbolic¹³ move, but was overshadowed by persistent¹⁴ questions about Otti's fate.

"While the delegation was moving around northern Uganda talking about reconciliation talking about forgiveness, on the other hand people were worried about whether the talks were collapsing¹⁵ with the alleged death of Vincent Otti," he added.  "So I would say it would have been much more successful had there been no doubts about the LRA unity¹⁶ and commitment to the peace process."

Peace talks are scheduled to resume in Juba in the second week of January.

The 20-year conflict in Northern Uganda has killed tens of thousands and displaced close to two million people.

The International Criminal Court is pressing for the arrest of Kony and his top deputies on charges of war crimes, including the widespread recruitment of child soldiers. The LRA has called for the charges to be dropped before any peace deal is signed.

1 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

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 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

4 disarray   

n.混乱，紊乱，凌乱

参考例句：

• His personal life fell into disarray when his wife left him.妻子离去后，他的个人生活一片混乱。
• Our plans were thrown into disarray by the rail strike.铁路罢工打乱了我们的计划。

5 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

6 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。

7 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

8 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

9 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

11 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

12 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

13 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

14 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

15 collapsing   

压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。

16 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。