2007年VOA标准英语-Pakistan's Leader Faces Political Crisis Over J

By Gary Thomas
Washington
20 March 2007

The abrupt² removal of Pakistan's chief justice has sparked a political firestorm around President Pervez Musharraf. Critics charge the president's decision to remove the judge was politically motivated. As VOA Correspondent Gary Thomas reports, the opposition³, which has been sidelined during General Musharraf's rule, sees some political opportunity in the crisis during an election year.

 
Pervez Musharraf 
Analysts⁴ say President Musharraf's suspension of Supreme⁵ Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry has presented the Pakistani leader with his biggest political challenge since he took power in a military coup⁶ in 1999.

Husain Haqqani, who has been an advisor⁷ to two former Pakistani prime ministers, says the president's recent actions have reawakened a sleepy political opposition that had largely been sidelined during President Musharraf's rule - and done so in an election year.

"What he did not realize was that, after seven years in power, the honeymoon⁸ is over," said Husain Haqqani. "There are many, many, many causes of resentment⁹, and this has become the lightening rod for those many causes of resentment."

 
Pakistani lawyers and supporters surround the sacked Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry (2nd R) upon his arrival for a hearing at the Supreme Court in Islamabad, 16 Mar¹ 2007

Chief Justice Chaudhry was suspended from office March 9 for alleged¹⁰ abuse of authority.

Critics claim the suspension was because he questioned the reach of the government's authority, especially with regard to arbitrary detention¹¹ by the intelligence service.

The government denies any political motivation, but has not made public the charges against Justice Chaudhry.

The removal sparked demonstrations¹², and police detained hundreds of protesting lawyers and opposition activists¹³.

 
Employees of Geo TV sits beside the window damaged by riot police in Islamabad, 16 Mar 2007
Seven judges and a deputy attorney general have resigned in protest. A police raid on GEO-TV, an independent television station, sparked further outrage¹⁴ in the streets.

In a lengthy¹⁵ interview with GEO-TV late Monday, President Musharraf said the situation may have been mishandled, but he defended Chief Justice Chaudhry's suspension. He pledged to hold what he called fair and transparent¹⁶ parliamentary elections later this year as scheduled, and denied that he would use the army to impose a state of emergency.

"Elections will be held on time. This is my assurance to the nation. [State of] emergency: the army will never be used. This is not their job," said President Musharraf.

"We need to protect ourselves from any negative fallout. Inshallah [as God wills], we will protect ourselves, we will go forward on the course, which is elections this year, when the five-year tenure¹⁷ of the assemblies is completed. I am firmly resolved to do that, and I will do it," he continued.

President Musharraf's term is also up, and he is expected to seek another term from the outgoing parliament and provincial¹⁸ assemblies, which together form an electoral college to choose the president.

Director James Dobbins, of the International Security and Defense¹⁹ Policy Center at the RAND Corporation, believes the president can ride out the current storm, but adds the clamor for a return to civilian²⁰ rule will not go away.

"I think, at this stage, one would say it is likely that he will be able to weather it," he said. "The question is whether he draws the right conclusions and begins to move back to the resumption of civilian rule and the strengthening of the rule of law in his country."

Waiting in the wings to see how the crisis develops in this election year are two former prime ministers, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif. Both live in exile, and face arrest on corruption²¹ charges if they return to Pakistan.

The Supreme Judicial²² Council was to hear Justice Chaudhry's case Tuesday, but the hearing has been moved to early next month. The Council, which hears complaints of misconduct by high-ranking judges, could confirm his removal or throw out the charges and reinstate him.

Analysts say Justice Chaudhry's reinstatement would politically weaken President Musharraf, embolden²³ the opposition and strengthen the independence of the judiciary.

1 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

2 abrupt   

adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的

参考例句：

• The river takes an abrupt bend to the west.这河突然向西转弯。
• His abrupt reply hurt our feelings.他粗鲁的回答伤了我们的感情。

3 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。

4 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。

5 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

6 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

7 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

8 honeymoon   

n.蜜月（假期）；vi.度蜜月

参考例句：

• While on honeymoon in Bali,she learned to scuba dive.她在巴厘岛度蜜月时学会了带水肺潜水。
• The happy pair are leaving for their honeymoon.这幸福的一对就要去度蜜月了。

9 resentment   

n.怨愤，忿恨

参考例句：

• All her feelings of resentment just came pouring out.她一股脑儿倾吐出所有的怨恨。
• She cherished a deep resentment under the rose towards her employer.她暗中对她的雇主怀恨在心。

10 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

11 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

12 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

13 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

15 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

16 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

17 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。

18 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

19 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。

20 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

21 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

22 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

23 embolden   

v.给…壮胆，鼓励

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。
• The Prime Minister was steadily emboldened by the discovery that he faced no opposition.发现自己并未遭到反对，首相渐渐有了信心。