2007年VOA标准英语-Somali Clan United Against Peace Conference

By Alisha Ryu
Mogadishu
11 June 2007

In a new sign of trouble for Somalia's transitional government, elders of the Hawiye clan¹, which dominates in the capital, are threatening to boycott² a national reconciliation³ conference, scheduled to begin in five days. Meanwhile, the chairman of the reconciliation committee tells VOA there is a chance the peace talks may be delayed again for the third time. Correspondent Alisha Ryu reports from Mogadishu.

Hawiye clan soldiers fire towards Ethiopian troops in Mogadishu, 19 Apr 2007

A prominent Hawiye elder in Mogadishu, Haji Abdi Imam Omar, tells VOA that the clan is united in opposing the reconciliation conference, which he says is promising⁴ to be little more than a get-together⁵ of pro-government delegates.

Haji Omar is the chairman of the newly-formed Hawiye Elders Congress, a political body established to unite fractious sub-clans⁶ and to function as the voice of the Hawiye people.

The Hawiye leader says the interim⁷ government has failed to engage clan elders in any meaningful talks before the conference and has not responded to the list of demands they submitted to the reconciliation committee in early May.

Haji Omar says that is why the Hawiye believe the June 16 talks will not be held in the interest of all of the Somali people.

The participation⁸ of the Hawiye clan is crucial to the talks, not only because it is one of the largest clans in Somalia, but because the clan dominates in the capital, where the government is struggling to assert full control.

A violent insurgency⁹ erupted in February, a month after the Ethiopian-backed interim government defeated Somalia's Islamist movement and took power in Mogadishu.

Ensuing battles between insurgents¹⁰ and Ethiopian troops have killed nearly 2,000 people and have caused hundreds of thousands of others to flee the city.

 

The insurgents are believed to be a mix of Islamist fighters and Hawiye militiamen. Both groups are angry over the government's close relationship with Ethiopia and the presence of Ethiopian troops in Somalia.

Many Hawiye clan members also believe that President Abdullahi Yusuf's powerful rival clan, the Darod, are using the presidential office to lay down the groundwork to weaken and marginalize the Hawiye.

They criticize Hawiye members in the interim government, such as Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi and the chairman of the national reconciliation committee, Ali Mahdi Mohamed, as doing little to protect Hawiye interests.

Somali Prime Minister, Ali Mohamed Gedi (center), 17 May 2007

Prime Minister Gedi vigorously denies accusations¹¹ the government is being deliberately¹² vague about the make-up and the agenda of the conference and hand-picking delegates.

"Friends and brothers and sisters are not in place," he said. "This [conference] is based according to the transitional federal charter. The selection mandate¹³ has been given to the elders and traditional leaders of each and every clan. So, this is the way and nobody can change it, even myself, even the president, even the parliament. No."

 

Western donor¹⁴ nations, particularly the European Union, have made financial support of the reconciliation conference conditional¹⁵ on the government's willingness to hold inclusive, transparent¹⁶ talks.

On Sunday, committee chairman, Ali Mahdi Mohamed, told VOA that donors¹⁷ have only released a fraction of the money needed. He says this may cause the start of the conference to be delayed one to two weeks.

The conference has been postponed¹⁸ twice, in April and in May, because of insecurity in the capital.

1 clan   

n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派

参考例句：

• She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。
• The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以，中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。

2 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

3 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

4 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

5 get-together   

n.(使)聚集；(使)集合

参考例句：

• Well,Miss Huang,we are planning to have a casual get-together.嗯，黄小姐，我们打算大家小聚一番。
• Will you help me prepare for the get- together of the old classmates?你能否帮我为这次老同学聚会做好准备工作？

6 clans   

宗族( clan的名词复数 )； 氏族； 庞大的家族； 宗派

参考例句：

• There are many clans in European countries. 欧洲国家有很多党派。
• The women were the great power among the clans [gentes], as everywhere else. 妇女在克兰〈氏族〉里，乃至一般在任何地方，都有很大的势力。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源

7 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

8 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

9 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

10 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

11 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

12 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

13 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

14 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

15 conditional   

adj.条件的，带有条件的

参考例句：

• My agreement is conditional on your help.你肯帮助我才同意。
• There are two forms of most-favored-nation treatment:conditional and unconditional.最惠国待遇有两种形式:有条件的和无条件的。

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 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。