2007年VOA标准英语-Experts, Activists Urge Bush to Take Stronger A

By Dan Robinson
Capitol Hill
19 April 2007

Experts and activists¹ appearing before a congressional committee have urged President Bush to take stronger action to pressure the Sudanese government to comply with international demands for a 20,000 - strong United Nations and African peacekeeping force for Darfur. VOA's Dan Robinson reports, the calls follow the president's warning to Khartoum that the U.S. will tighten² financial and other sanctions if more progress is not forthcoming.

John Prendergast of the International Crisis Group says the U.S. must begin a new diplomatic offensive on Darfur, and combine it with planning for possible military steps, such as imposing³ a no-fly zone in Darfur.

President Bush's special envoy⁴ for Sudan, Andrew Natsios, has been engaged since his appointment in negotiations⁵ with officials and leaders in Khartoum, and with various rebel factions⁶.

Prendergast says this, along with occasional visits by high level officials, such as Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte who visited Darfur recently, is not enough.

He says the president needs "a full-time⁷ diplomatic team" working to, among other things, strengthen the Darfur Peace Agreement, address the affects of the Darfur conflict on Chad and Central African Republic, and save the fragile Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended the north-south Sudan conflict.

President Bush warned Khartoum this week that the U.S. will tighten sanctions, including blocking dollar transactions, banning Sudanese companies from doing business in the U.S, and targeting specific Sudanese figures known to have had a role in violence against civilians⁸ in Darfur.

However, the president agreed to delay implementation⁹ of sanctions at the request of U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

Describing the president's speech as "bark with no bite" Prendergast says financial and legal measures must be accompanied by planning for stronger steps:

"While we are escalating¹⁰ on the legal and financial measures, we need to plan the military measures," said John Prendergast. "It is very grave to talk about a no-fly zone, it is an act of war because it would involve destroying the air force of the Sudanese regime, we may well need to do that. I think we ought to try these other instruments first, very rapidly, while we plan a credible¹¹ military effort."

Tom Lantos (file photo)

Tom Lantos, chairman of the House foreign affairs committee, supports establishment of a no-fly zone to stop Khartoum government aircraft from attacking civilians in Darfur.

 

Lantos says Khartoum's agreement to allow a 3,000 - strong U.N. force join African Union peacekeepers is a sign of progress, but calls the more substantial deployment¹² sought by the international community essential.

Referring to President Bush's decision to delay tightening¹³ of sanctions, the lawmaker had this message:

"I want to serve notice on the President of the United States that while we can go along with two or three weeks of delay, this committee and this Congress will not rest any longer and we are demanding action," said Lantos.

Meanwhile, Alex de Waal, director of the Social Science Research Council at Harvard University, says the international community must act to strengthen the Darfur Peace Agreement, implementation of which he describes as "farcical", as well as the wider Comprehensive Peace Agreement for Sudan:

"A Darfur Peace Agreement only makes sense if there is a comprehensive peace agreement that is working and has the confidence of the Sudanese people," noted¹⁴ Alex de Waal. "If the Darfurians see the CPA as a ceiling on their ambition, or worse still as a sinking ship, they have absolutely no reason to join it."

At Thursday's hearing, Mia Farrow, actress and Goodwill¹⁵ Ambassador for UNICEF, said that while non-government aid organizations are managing to save lives in Darfur, despite obstacles from Khartoum, the situation is precarious¹⁶:

"It is true that they are sustaining the lives of more than four million people," she said. "It is also true that they are hanging by the thread."

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John Holmes inspects a water pump in the Es Sallam refugee camp, northern Darfur, 25 Mar 2007

Speaking in Washington Thursday, John Holmes, U.N. Coordinator¹⁸ for Humanitarian¹⁹ Affairs, said international pressure must be increased not only on Khartoum, but various rebel movements to pave the way for proper deployment of peacekeeping forces.

"We do need effective international pressure," said John Holmes. "And we need, I think what would be really helpful, is to have a unified²⁰ international drive to this, so that it's not distracted by internal divisions, and I'm not going to single out any countries. You all know what I'm talking about. But I think it would be very helpful if we could have a little bit more of a unified position within the Security Council on some of these issues."

Holmes called for a new diplomatic push during the delay that President Bush agreed to at the request of U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

1 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》

2 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

3 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

4 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

5 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

6 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

7 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

8 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

9 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

10 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

11 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

12 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。

13 tightening   

上紧，固定，紧密

参考例句：

• Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
• It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。

14 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。

15 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。

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 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。

18 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

19 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

20 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。