2007年VOA标准英语-East Timor President Says Dili Remains Volatile

By Nancy-Amelia Collins
Jakarta
05 June 2007

East Timor President Jose Ramos Horta in Dili (File Photo)

The president of East Timor says the capital, Dili, remains¹ volatile² after two people were killed during election campaigning for parliamentary elections at the end of the month. VOA's Nancy-Amelia Collins in Jakarta has more.

East Timor President Jose Ramos Horta says most of the violence in his country is not political.

"The security situation in Dili remains volatile in the sense that we have not been able to completely eliminate some of the causes of the violence," he said. "But the violence is largely non-politically motivated. It involves youth gangs."

Mr. Ramos Horta made the remarks in Jakarta, during his first state visit since being elected president last month.

While those elections were peaceful, two people died in separate incidents Sunday in what appears to be political violence before this month's parliamentary election. Both were supporters of the National Congress of Reconstruction³ of Timor (CNRT), the new party led by former President Xanana Gusmao.

The parliamentary elections are expected to be a tough race between the CNRT and Fretilin, East Timor's dominant⁴ party.

The deaths have been blamed on a group of off-duty police officers, and an investigation⁵ is under way. 

Mr. Gusmao, who will become prime minister if his party wins, accused the killers⁶ of not wanting the elections to take place.  Mr. Ramos Horta played down the incident, saying while there has been sporadic⁷ campaign violence, most has been rock throwing and name calling.

"This is the level of violence so far. In the comparative to elections in a few other countries, I do not believe that this can be considered as violence," said Mr. Ramos Horta. "I do not know whether it will be managed at this level, whether it will get worse, but I can say is we are taking precautionary measures."

Bitter rivalry⁸ between the police and security forces led to looting and street fighting a year ago in Dili. Around two-thirds of the residents fled to refugee camps where thousands still live.

The government asked for an international security force to keep the peace, and it continues to patrol the country.

The East Timor president was in Jakarta to meet with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. The two leaders agreed to focus on building the relationship between their countries.

They pledged to extend the work of a Commission of Truth and Friendship, which is investigating violence that took place before and after East Timor voted for independence from Indonesia in 1999. More than 1,000 people may have died in rampages by anti-independence militias⁹ backed by Jakarta's army.

Human rights activists¹⁰ criticize the commission as toothless and say it has not brought to justice those responsible for the 1999 violence, or for Indonesia's often-brutal rule of East Timor. The East Timor government has repeatedly said it wanted to focus more on building a friendly relationship with Indonesia than on justice.

East Timor became fully¹¹ independent in 2002 after a brief period of U.N. administration.

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

3 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

4 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

5 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

6 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

7 sporadic   

adj.偶尔发生的 [反]regular；分散的

参考例句：

• The sound of sporadic shooting could still be heard.仍能听见零星的枪声。
• You know this better than I.I received only sporadic news about it.你们比我更清楚，而我听到的只是零星消息。

8 rivalry   

n.竞争，竞赛，对抗

参考例句：

• The quarrel originated in rivalry between the two families.这次争吵是两家不和引起的。
• He had a lot of rivalry with his brothers and sisters.他和兄弟姐妹间经常较劲。

9 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

10 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》

11 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。