2007年VOA标准英语-Thailand Government Says Secret Talks Progress

By Ron Corben
Bangkok
21 June 2007

The violence in Thailand's southern border provinces has escalated² in recent months, the death toll³ rising from almost daily attacks, with schools and state officials especially targeted. The rising terror comes as the government says secret talks aimed at quelling⁴ the bloodshed have been taking place. But as Ron Corben reports from Bangkok, analysts⁵ remain fearful Muslim separatists may be about to step up the violence despite the talks.

 

wreckage6 of a pickup7 truck which was hit by a bomb while their colleagues were riding on for a morning patrol in Yala province, southern Thailand, 15 Jun 2007" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070629/0919150.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

Thai soldiers examine the wreckage of a pickup truck which was hit by a bomb while their colleagues were riding on for a morning patrol in Yala province, southern Thailand, 15 Jun 2007

Thai intelligence reports warn that security in the far south is deteriorating⁸ as insurgent⁹ attacks create a climate of fear and mounting mutual¹⁰ hatred¹¹ between the Muslim and Buddhist¹² communities.

 

The reports seen by VOA paint a grim picture of the rising violence - beheadings, drive-by shootings and arson¹³ attacks on both private homes and Muslim schools.

 

Interim¹⁴ Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont, who last year apologized to Muslim Thais for past violence by authorities in an effort to foster reconciliation¹⁵, acknowledged this week that the situation has gotten worse. Mr. Surayud insisted secret talks aimed at pacifying¹⁶ the region are progressing. But he offered few other details.

 

In the past, efforts by the government to hold talks with the separatists have failed to make headway.

 

The Thai representative for the U.S.-based group Human Rights Watch, Sunai Pasuk says all the evidence points to escalating¹⁷ violence in the south.

 

"The direction of violence is very disturbing," said Sunai. "There seems to be no end in the near future at all. Information and warnings that we receive from separatist militants¹⁸ indicated that they are committed to this killing¹⁹ spree without any interest in having political dialogue with the government or Thai authorities."

The Muslim-majority southern border region was an autonomous²⁰ sultanate until it was annexed²¹ by mainly Buddhist Thailand more than a century ago. Separatist unrest has erupted there periodically ever since, only to subside²² thanks to a mixture of military action, amnesty and government support for local communities.

 

The latest wave of violence, which erupted in early 2004, has claimed more than 2,300 lives. Thousands of government employees, especially nurses and schoolteachers from outside the region who work in the south, are seeking to be relocated to other provinces.

 

Schools, with an emphasis on a Thai-language curriculum instead of one in the local Malay dialect, have been a special target of the insurgents²³.

 

Dozens of schools have been torched. Last week, nearly 100 schools in one border province were closed, many expected not to reopen after two female teachers were gunned down inside a school library as 100 children played in front of the building. The women were shot in the head, abdomen²⁴ and legs. They died instantly, pools of blood staining the floors.

 

Human Rights Watch's Mr. Sunai says growing frustrations²⁵ in the local communities may spill over into inter-communal²⁶ violence.

 

"People in the South can take self-defense measures to the extreme," he said. "They might resort to vigilante violence in order to defend themselves from attacks. This will escalate¹ the situation in southern Thailand from an insurgency²⁷ to a communal conflict. That is one of the possible scenarios²⁸ which we can foresee now."

 

Thai intelligence has identified two key separatist groups, the BRN Coordinate²⁹ and the RKK Commando Force. It says the RKK has less than 2,000 militants spread among 200 villages and has ties to dozens of Islamic private schools led by teachers committed to a separate Muslim entity³⁰ in the south.

 

Chulalongkorn University academic, Panitan Wattanayagorn, says the increased cooperation between various separatist groups points to the region entering a new and dangerous stage.

 

"We are entering into the new era, which organizations like the BRN is emerging as a front organization able to coordinate activities and sustain levels of violence despite several efforts by the Government," said Panitan. "From now on, if they can take the activities to the higher level they will be a real threat to Thai security."

 

Southern Thailand is one of the country's poorest regions, and many Muslims there complain of discrimination and insufficient³¹ control over their daily lives . The Surayud Government has attempted to rebuild local community trust by reconciliation, but the separatists have only responded with increased violence.

1 escalate   

v.(使)逐步增长(或发展)，(使)逐步升级

参考例句：

• It would tempt Israel's neighbors to escalate their demands.它将诱使以色列的邻国不断把他们的要求升级。
• Defeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.失败可能会导致其中一方将冲突升级。

2 escalated   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The fighting escalated into a full-scale war. 这场交战逐步扩大为全面战争。
• The demonstration escalated into a pitched battle with the police. 示威逐步升级，演变成了一场同警察的混战。

3 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

4 quelling   

v.（用武力）制止，结束，镇压( quell的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Quelling her grief, she said 'Good-bye! 'again and went on. 她把悲痛压下去，二番说了一声再见，又转身走去了。 来自辞典例句
• The police succeeded in quelling the riot. 警方把暴乱镇压了下去。 来自辞典例句

5 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

6 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

7 pickup   

n.拾起，获得

参考例句：

• I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。

8 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。

9 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

10 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

11 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

12 Buddhist   

adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒

参考例句：

• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
• In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。

13 arson   

n.纵火，放火

参考例句：

• He was serving a ten spot for arson.他因纵火罪在服十年徒刑。
• He was arraigned on a charge of arson.他因被指控犯纵火罪而被传讯。

14 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。

15 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。

16 pacifying   

使（某人）安静( pacify的现在分词 )； 息怒； 抚慰； 在（有战争的地区、国家等）实现和平

参考例句：

• The papers put the emphasis on pacifying rather than suppressing the protesters. 他们强调要安抚抗议者而不是动用武力镇压。
• Hawthorn products have the function of pacifying the stomach and spleen, and promoting digestion. 山楂制品，和中消食。

17 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

18 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

19 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

20 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

21 annexed   

[法] 附加的，附属的

参考例句：

• Germany annexed Austria in 1938. 1938年德国吞并了奥地利。
• The outlying villages were formally annexed by the town last year. 那些偏远的村庄于去年正式被并入该镇。

22 subside   

vi.平静，平息；下沉，塌陷，沉降

参考例句：

• The emotional reaction which results from a serious accident takes time to subside.严重事故所引起的情绪化的反应需要时间来平息。
• The controversies surrounding population growth are unlikely to subside soon.围绕着人口增长问题的争论看来不会很快平息。

23 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

24 abdomen   

n.腹，下腹(胸部到腿部的部分)

参考例句：

• How to know to there is ascarid inside abdomen?怎样知道肚子里面有蛔虫？
• He was anxious about an off-and-on pain the abdomen.他因时隐时现的腹痛而焦虑。

25 frustrations   

挫折( frustration的名词复数 )； 失败； 挫败； 失意

参考例句：

• The temptation would grow to take out our frustrations on Saigon. 由于我们遭到挫折而要同西贡算帐的引诱力会增加。
• Aspirations will be raised, but so will frustrations. 人们会产生种种憧憬，但是种种挫折也会随之而来。

26 communal   

adj.公有的，公共的，公社的，公社制的

参考例句：

• There was a communal toilet on the landing for the four flats.在楼梯平台上有一处公共卫生间供4套公寓使用。
• The toilets and other communal facilities were in a shocking state.厕所及其他公共设施的状况极其糟糕。

27 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

28 scenarios   

n.[意]情节；剧本；事态；脚本

参考例句：

• Further, graphite cores may be safer than non-graphite cores under some accident scenarios. 再者，根据一些事故解说，石墨堆芯可比非石墨堆芯更安全一些。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Again, scenarios should make it clear which modes are acceptable to users in various contexts. 同样，我们可以运用场景剧本来搞清楚在不同情境下哪些模式可被用户接受。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

29 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。

30 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。

31 insufficient   

adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的

参考例句：

• There was insufficient evidence to convict him.没有足够证据给他定罪。
• In their day scientific knowledge was insufficient to settle the matter.在他们的时代，科学知识还不能足以解决这些问题。