2007年VOA标准英语-Protests Mount over Suspension of Pakistan's Ch

By Robert Raffaele
Washington
22 June 2007
 

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's suspension of the nation's chief justice has sparked several months of street protests in Pakistan. The outcry against General Musharraf is the strongest public challenge to his presidency¹ since he took power in a bloodless coup² eight years ago. It also comes as Pakistan prepares for legislative³ elections. As VOA's Robert Raffaele explains, the future of  Musharraf's regime is now in question.

Pakistani protests

Thousands of protesters demonstrated again Thursday in Lahore, Pakistan in support of the nation's chief justice of the Supreme⁴ Court. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf suspended Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry in March amid allegations of misconduct.

The suspension has fueled months of street protests, with lawyers and opposition⁵ activists⁶ who oppose General Musharraf demanding his resignation.

The government has responded by cracking down on lawyers, opposition parties and the media.

During a recent forum about Pakistan's future (Monday, June 18th) in Washington at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, several speakers said General Musharraf must begin accommodating opposing voices to prevent further chaos⁷.

Professor Hasan Askari Rizv

Professor Hasan-Askari Rizvi of Johns Hopkins University said even if General Musharraf does not survive the political crisis, a more democratic Pakistan can emerge only if the nation's military-civilian⁸ leadership agrees to a change in the balance of power. "At the moment, the balance is decisively tilted⁹ in favor of the military commanders," he said, "and this would mean that military commanders would have to step back and the civilian leaders would have to realize that in the initial stages they will have to work with them on security and foreign policy matters."

Lisa Curtis

Lisa Curtis is a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a research group in Washington, D.C.  Curtis says even if a new administration takes power, Pakistan's relations with its neighbors will not change dramatically, including its peace talks with India. "I think both the Indian and Pakistani publics support these talks, so I think there would be a lot of momentum¹⁰ for continuing those talks. And with regard to the relationship with China, Pakistan has always had a special relationship with China. I think that would continue."

The United States has praised General Musharraf repeatedly, calling him an ally in the war on terror. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte met with the Pakistani president and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz last week. Negroponte offered them U.S. support, but he also urged them to ensure that forthcoming elections are free and fair.

Professor Rizvi says many Pakistanis resent Washington’s unwavering support of General Musharraf. "The U.S. government has to acknowledge -- in its support of the [Pakistani] government -- that there are serious concerns expressed in Pakistan's political circles and the government of Pakistan needs to address those concerns."

Lisa Curtis agrees that the U.S. must privately¹¹ press General Musharraf to work toward bringing civilian democratic rule to Pakistan. She says if he refuses to do so, prolonged unrest may force his army to insist that he step down, and result in a new leader who is not friendly toward Washington.

She says General Musharraf can still determine whether Pakistan moves closer toward democracy, or more violence.  "If Musharraf develops an approach where he takes all the parties into (his) confidence, he acknowledges the changing scenario¹² that is happening, and the increased demands for a return to democratic civilian rule. If he can somehow spearhead that effort, that transition to democracy, then I think we are looking at a much more peaceful, more predictable transition, and you would be more likely to see a leader who is democratic, more secular¹³ in his outlook, and has the same pro-U.S. views that Musharraf does."

General Musharraf, however, appears unwilling¹⁴ to give up his presidency without a struggle. Under Pakistan's constitution, parliament elects the president.

General Musharraf has drawn¹⁵ criticism for suggesting he would seek re-election from the current parliament, which endorsed¹⁶ him in 2002.

1 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

2 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。

3 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

4 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 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》

7 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

8 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

9 tilted   

v. 倾斜的

参考例句：

• Suddenly the boat tilted to one side. 小船突然倾向一侧。
• She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。

10 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

11 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

12 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

13 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

14 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

15 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

16 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》