2007年VOA标准英语-Controversy Flares Over Military Presence in Ma

By Douglas Bakshian
Manila
28 March 2007

Leftist parties in the Philippines say their members are being harassed² by troops sent to poor sections of Manila. The military says the soldiers are there to help with public works projects and assist the police. Douglas Bakshian reports from Manila on a program that is bringing back some troubling memories as the country prepares for congressional elections in May.

 

Philippine soldiers constructing a day care center in Manila

Philippine soldiers are helping³ to build day care centers, offering free medical and dental care, and even giving haircuts to win over the hearts and minds of the people.

That kind of activity is nothing new in areas where the military is bogged⁴ down in conflict, such as the four-decade-long war with Muslim separatists in the south. But this latest program is taking place among the urban poor of the capital, Manila. The military's competitors in the battle for ideas - left-wing political parties - are upset at what they call an intrusion.

 

The operation in Manila, which began in September, involves 26 teams of 10 members each. Major General Benjamin Dolorfino, commander of the armed forces in the capital, says the program is standard operating procedure.

 

"It is the civil-military operations program of the Armed Forces. And this has been a continuing program because all the armed forces has both the right hand and left hand approach," he said. "The right hand approach utilizes⁵ military force. And the left hand, these are military operations other than war, otherwise known as civil military operations."

 

Leftist groups, such as Bayan Muna and its allies, tell a different story. They say the troops harass¹ party workers and put them under surveillance. They also accuse troops of giving propaganda lectures describing legal leftist groups as people to be regarded with suspicion.

Dolorfino admits as much.

The military links even legal leftist groups with its old enemy, the Communist Party of the Philippines, and says it believes the communists are trying to regain⁶ a foothold in the capital. The guerrillas normally operate in rural areas, but in the late 1980s they sent assassination⁷ squads⁸ to Manila.

 

"Public information, making the people aware of good ideas - be responsible citizens, and of course to counter bad ideas, like the ideas propagated by the communist-terrorist movement," he said.

There is a powerful historic element at play here. The Philippines was under martial⁹ law for 14 years, until the People Power revolution of 1986 deposed¹⁰ President Ferdinand Marcos and brought back democratic government. It is a gain cherished by many Filipinos.

Recently, the military has been accused by local and international human rights organizations of conducting an assassination campaign against leftists.

Ramon Casiple heads Manila's Institute on Political and Electoral Reforms. He says that whatever the soldiers are doing, their deployment¹¹ in sections of the capital prior to a national election looks too much like the Marcos days.

 

"Definitely you're talking repression," he said. "The tendency there, of course, is that they are using practices that have been going on during the Marcos days. Marcos was fond of doing that also. It smacks¹² of a militarization of society."

Opinion polls show that Bayan Muna and similar groups are making a strong showing in urban areas, and the leftists say they are being targeted because of their political strength ahead of congressional elections set for May.

Bayan Muna congressman¹³, Teodoro Casino, calls the creeping military influence a dangerous trend.

"The anti-poverty program, the development program, has now been meshed¹⁴ with the counter-insurgency program, and that is what they say is the holistic¹⁵ approach," he said. " And it is basically the militarization of government. So it's practically martial law."

Critics of the military presence in Manila note that there are many civilian¹⁶ agencies capable of providing public services and anti-poverty programs.

 
Maria Teresa Bautist, mother of six, in Payatas district of Manila 
Manila's Payatas district is one area where Bayan Muna says leftists have been harassed. When reporters visited the district recently, soldiers were constructing day care centers. Maria Teresa Bautista, 43, who has six children, was positive about the military's presence.

"That is for the children, we call that a day care center, for the kids four years to six years," she said.

BAKSHIAN: "Is the military helping?"

"Good. That is Help. No asking money. They did not ask me about the election," she replied.

Bautista says many politicians have been to her neighborhood and made promises, but these are not kept.

She expects nothing to change with the elections.

"That is the same old story," she said. "Always promise, promise, promise…Promise made…broken."

BAKSHIAN: "What do the elections mean to you?"

"You choose the good one, but until now I don't know if there is a good one," she said.

BAKSHIAN: "So you're not expecting much from the election?"

"Nothing," she replied.

 
Philippines soldiers doing cement work on a day care center in Manila
Complaints about the military have been made to the Philippine Elections Commission. Its chairman, Benjamin Abalos, says the charges have not yet been adequately documented, but he says he is watching the situation.

"If, as I said, in any way it will cause intimidation¹⁷ and somehow affect the political rights or, in a way, thwart¹⁸ the political outcome there, the real political outcome, I assure you, I'll see to it that these people, I mean these military, should have to be back to the barracks and leave the area," he said.

The Election Commission has already officially isolated¹⁹ the military from the electoral process. Troops are no longer allowed to transport ballot²⁰ boxes or ballots²¹, since a 2004 election scandal in which several generals were accused of meddling²² with the vote count to help President Gloria Arroyo²³ win the race.

1 harass   

vt.使烦恼，折磨，骚扰

参考例句：

• Our mission is to harass the landing of the main Japaness expeditionary force.我们的任务是骚乱日本远征军主力的登陆。
• They received the order to harass the enemy's rear.他们接到骚扰敌人后方的命令。

2 harassed   

adj. 疲倦的，厌烦的 动词harass的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He has complained of being harassed by the police. 他投诉受到警方侵扰。
• harassed mothers with their children 带着孩子的疲惫不堪的母亲们

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

4 bogged   

adj.陷于泥沼的v.（使）陷入泥沼， （使）陷入困境( bog的过去式和过去分词 )；妨碍，阻碍

参考例句：

• The professor bogged down in the middle of his speech. 教授的演讲只说了一半便讲不下去了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The tractor is bogged down in the mud. 拖拉机陷入了泥沼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 utilizes   

v.利用，使用( utilize的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• One highly successful approach utilizes a triplet aspheric lens array. 一种很成功的方法是利用一个三合非球面透镜阵列。 来自辞典例句
• The first utilizes a blend of finely ground ceramic powders. 第一种用的是一种磨细的陶瓷粉末混合物。 来自辞典例句

6 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

7 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

8 squads   

n.（军队中的）班( squad的名词复数 )；（暗杀）小组；体育运动的运动（代表）队；（对付某类犯罪活动的）警察队伍

参考例句：

• Anti-riot squads were called out to deal with the situation. 防暴队奉命出动以对付这一局势。 来自辞典例句
• Three squads constitute a platoon. 三个班组成一个排。 来自辞典例句

9 martial   

adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的

参考例句：

• The sound of martial music is always inspiring.军乐声总是鼓舞人心的。
• The officer was convicted of desertion at a court martial.这名军官在军事法庭上被判犯了擅离职守罪。

10 deposed   

v.罢免( depose的过去式和过去分词 )；（在法庭上）宣誓作证

参考例句：

• The president was deposed in a military coup. 总统在军事政变中被废黜。
• The head of state was deposed by the army. 国家元首被军队罢免了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

12 smacks   

掌掴（声）( smack的名词复数 )； 海洛因； （打的）一拳； 打巴掌

参考例句：

• His politeness smacks of condescension. 他的客气带有屈尊俯就的意味。
• It was a fishing town, and the sea was dotted with smacks. 这是个渔业城镇，海面上可看到渔帆点点。

13 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

14 meshed   

有孔的，有孔眼的，啮合的

参考例句：

• The wheels meshed well. 机轮啮合良好。
• Their senses of humor meshed perfectly. 他们的幽默感配合得天衣无缝。

15 holistic   

adj.从整体着眼的，全面的

参考例句：

• There is a fundamental ambiguity in the use of word "whole" in recent holistic literature.在近代的整体主义著作中，“整体”这个词的用法极其含混。
• In so far as historicism is technological,its approach is not piecemeal,but "holistic".仅就历史决定论是一种技术而论，它的方法不是渐进的，而是“整体主义的”。

16 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。

17 intimidation   

n.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
• The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。

18 thwart   

v.阻挠，妨碍，反对；adj.横(断的)

参考例句：

• We must thwart his malevolent schemes.我们决不能让他的恶毒阴谋得逞。
• I don't think that will thwart our purposes.我认为那不会使我们的目的受到挫折。

19 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

20 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

21 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 meddling   

v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He denounced all "meddling" attempts to promote a negotiation. 他斥责了一切“干预”促成谈判的企图。 来自辞典例句
• They liked this field because it was never visited by meddling strangers. 她们喜欢这块田野，因为好事的陌生人从来不到那里去。 来自辞典例句

23 arroyo   

n.干涸的河床，小河

参考例句：

• She continued along the path until she came to the arroyo.她沿着小路一直走到小河边。
• They had a picnic by the arroyo.他们在干枯的河床边野餐过。