2007年VOA标准英语-Guinea President Dismisses Top Military Officia

By Kari Barber
Dakar
12 May 2007

Guinea's President Lansana Conte has dismissed several top military officials, including the minister of defense¹, after a week of protests by soldiers angry over back pay and military leadership. Kari Barber reports from our regional bureau in Dakar that the meeting between soldiers and President Conte has been rescheduled for Monday.

Lansana Conte (2002 photo)

Guinea's Minister of Defense General Arafan Camara, armed forces chief General Kerfalla Camara (no relation) and his assistant, along with one other top military official, have been removed from their positions.

This comes after soldiers fired shots in the air during the past week and a half, demanding back pay and the dismissal of top commanders.  Several civilians² were killed by stray bullets.

Friday, hundreds of soldiers took to the streets, marching on the capital.  Presidential security halted the march before it reached the presidential palace.

Rolake Akinola with the London-based analysis group Control Risks says the soldiers helped keep Mr. Conte in power during union-led, nationwide strikes and protests in January and February when strike leaders called for the president to resign.

"They came to Conte's aid during the nationwide political crisis and the strike, so what we are seeing is sort of an attempt by the army to gain leverage³ in the entire process, particularly the junior officers who were behind this latest mutiny we saw," she explained.

The general strike and protests ended in February when President Conte agreed to name Lansana Kouyate as prime minister and to give the position expanded powers.

Guinea analyst⁴ Gilles Yabi with International Crisis Group says that while the soldiers' demonstrations⁵ are not directly connected to general strikes earlier this year, both resulted from poverty, deteriorating⁶ services and perceived corruption⁷.

"This is a problem within the Guinean military, it is not new," he said.  "The soldiers have been complaining for years about their conditions, about the housing, about their living conditions.  But in fact it was just a symbol of the dereliction of the Guinean state itself."

President Conte has already named replacements⁸ for those discharged Saturday.

Yabi says the military protest has been powerful in shaking up the country.

"It is clear that we have a country with a lot of poverty and these economic difficulties by the soldiers, but contrary to the civilians they have a way of protesting by shooting into the air and threatening the stability of the country," he added.

The government says it has begun efforts to meet soldiers' demands for back pay and promotions⁹. The military has helped keep Mr. Conte, in his seventies and in poor health, in power since he seized leadership in a 1984 coup¹⁰.

1 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。

2 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。

3 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。

4 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。

5 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。

6 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

7 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。

8 replacements   

n.代替( replacement的名词复数 )；替换的人[物]；替代品；归还

参考例句：

• They infiltrated behind the lines so as to annoy the emery replacements. 他们渗透敌后以便骚扰敌军的调度。 来自辞典例句
• For oil replacements, cheap suddenly looks less of a problem. 对于石油的替代品来说，价格变得无足轻重了。 来自互联网

9 promotions   

促进( promotion的名词复数 )； 提升； 推广； 宣传

参考例句：

• All services or promotions must have an appeal and wide application. 所有服务或促销工作都必须具有吸引力和广泛的适用性。
• He promptly directed the highest promotions and decorations for General MacArthur. 他授予麦克阿瑟将军以最高的官阶和勋奖。

10 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。