2007年VOA标准英语-Ivory Coast President, Rebel Leader Sign New De

By Nico Colombant
Dakar
04 March 2007

The president of Ivory Coast and the northern-based rebel leader have signed a new deal to end a five-year division of the country. It includes provisions for a new government, reintegrating rebels into the army and lifting a buffer¹ zone between the government-run south and rebel-held north, within 10 months. VOA's Nico Colombant reports from our regional bureau in Dakar the agreement signed in Burkina Faso follows many other failed meditation² attempts.

 
Laurent Gbagbo (file photo)
The signing of the deal between Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo and rebel leader Guillaume Soro took place in Ouagadougou, before mediator³ and current head of the West African group, ECOWAS, Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore.

Mr. Compaore congratulated the two sides for burying the hatchet⁴ of war.

He said there should be no winner or losers, but partners walking together toward peace.

Mr. Gbagbo thanked him and the people of Burkina Faso for their hard work.

He said the new deal was sewing loose strings⁵ back into a disjointed peace process.

 
Guillaume Soro (file photo)
Rebel leader Soro said he was overjoyed and could barely speak.

He said the timing⁶ was right for the new deal, as Mr. Compaore is head of ECOWAS, while another neighboring president, John Kufuor of Ghana, is head of the African Union.

Mr. Gbagbo and Soro are due to meet Mr. Kufuor this week in Ghana on the sidelines of that country's 50th year anniversary festivities.

Mr. Gbagbo had called for the talks that led to this new deal, saying previous mediation⁷ efforts, including by the former colonial power France and the United Nations had failed.

Burkina Faso Foreign Minister Youssouf Ouedraogo said these are the first talks to really focus on the protagonists⁸ of the Ivorian conflict.

"In this agreement, we have considered that parties who have an army, these are the parties who are the most important, because they can use the weapons, they can use their army to fight, the others have no army," said Youssouf Ouedraogo. "Those who have armies have to accept to be together and to accept peace."

He said the priority would be to have free and fair elections in Ivory Coast, but did not mention a date. The previous U.N deal, which was not being implemented⁹, had called for a vote by October.

One of the first signposts of the new deal is to form a new government within five weeks, to be chosen directly by the signatories of the deal, rather than by international mediators, as was the case previously¹⁰. It also calls for a new command structure of the Ivorian army to include rebel leaders, and the disarmament of southern militias¹¹.

Ivorian journalists said the main sticking point in previous deals - identification of who is Ivorian - is not well explained, while enforcement of the deal is also vague, even as it calls for the gradual retreat of French and U.N. peacekeepers.

Main opposition¹² leaders were given a role as over-seers of the peace process.

Voting cards are to be distributed before the next election to undocumented Ivorians, but without a wholesale¹³ identification process, as previously requested by rebels.

They took up arms in late 2002, saying they were fighting for equal rights for millions of northerners, often treated as second class citizens or foreigners.

1 buffer   

n.起缓冲作用的人(或物)，缓冲器；vt.缓冲

参考例句：

• A little money can be a useful buffer in time of need.在急需时，很少一点钱就能解燃眉之急。
• Romantic love will buffer you against life's hardships.浪漫的爱会减轻生活的艰辛。

2 meditation   

n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录

参考例句：

• This peaceful garden lends itself to meditation.这个恬静的花园适于冥想。
• I'm sorry to interrupt your meditation.很抱歉，我打断了你的沉思。

3 mediator   

n.调解人，中介人

参考例句：

• He always takes the role of a mediator in any dispute.他总是在争论中充当调停人的角色。
• He will appear in the role of mediator.他将出演调停者。

4 hatchet   

n.短柄小斧；v.扼杀

参考例句：

• I shall have to take a hatchet to that stump.我得用一把短柄斧来劈这树桩。
• Do not remove a fly from your friend's forehead with a hatchet.别用斧头拍打朋友额头上的苍蝇。

5 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

6 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

7 mediation   

n.调解

参考例句：

• The dispute was settled by mediation of the third country. 这场争端通过第三国的斡旋而得以解决。
• The dispute was settled by mediation. 经调解使争端得以解决。

8 protagonists   

n.（戏剧的）主角( protagonist的名词复数 )；（故事的）主人公；现实事件（尤指冲突和争端的）主要参与者；领导者

参考例句：

• Mrs Pankhurst was one of the chief protagonists of women's rights. 潘克赫斯特太太是女权的主要倡导者之一。 来自辞典例句
• This reflects that Feng Menglong heartily sympathized with these protagonists. 这反映出冯梦龙由衷地同情书中的这些主要人物。 来自互联网

9 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

10 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

11 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

12 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

13 wholesale   

n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售

参考例句：

• The retail dealer buys at wholesale and sells at retail.零售商批发购进货物，以零售价卖出。
• Such shoes usually wholesale for much less.这种鞋批发出售通常要便宜得多。