2007年VOA标准英语-Turkey Swears in New Parliament

By Dorian Jones
Ankara
04 August 2007

Turkey swore in its new Parliament Saturday. In elections last month, the Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party achieved a landslide¹ victory, prompting some analysts² to voice concern about Turkey's future as a secular³ state. But many eyes today were on 21 newly elected Kurdish deputies, the first pro-Kurdish representation in parliament in more than a decade. From Turkey's capital, Ankara, Dorian Jones has more on the first day of Turkey's new parliament.

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Newly elected Turkish and Kurdish lawmakers sing the national anthem during the opening session of the new Parliament in Ankara

The oldest member of parliament, Sukru Elekdag, of the secular People's Republican Party, was given the traditional honor of chairing the opening session. In his address to the newly elected deputies, he appealed for unity⁵ by directly quoting the words of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the leader of the ruling Justice and Development party. He said "We have common values and goals that unite us." quoting a statement by the prime minister after his party's recent victory. He continued with the rest of Mr. Erdogan's remark: "We will improve our republic which is a democratic, secular, social state of law, and we will never make concessions⁶ on these values."

Political analysts say Elekdag was sending a message to Mr. Erdogan about his expected nomination⁷ of a presidential candidate. Parliament will elect the new president this month.

In April, Mr. Erdogan sparked the country's worst political crisis in years by naming Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul as his presidential candidate. Gul, a devout⁸ Muslim, is accused by secularists of seeking to undermine the secular state, a charge he denies. The crisis over his candidacy led to last month's early election.

Mr. Erdogan is facing calls from opposition⁹ parties to choose a consensus¹⁰ candidate, but having won a landslide victory at the polls, he faces pressure from his own party to support Gul again.

But as the 550 deputies took their oaths of office, Turkey's secular status was not the only issue facing them. Attention was focused on 21 newly elected Kurdish deputies.

Their swearing-in Saturday marks the first time the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party is represented in parliament in more than a decade. In 1991, five Kurdish deputies provoked an uproar¹¹ when one of them took the oath in Kurdish. Within two years they were expelled from parliament and jailed for a decade. But this time there were no provocative¹² gestures.

Pro-Kurdish deputy Gultan Kisanak says they are not looking for confrontation¹³. She says the party's presence as well as its politics are going to be for the benefit of the country, for people to see better days and for peace.

Some analysts say Kurdish representation can open the way to a peaceful resolution of the 20-year conflict between the Turkish state and Kurdish fighters of the outlawed¹⁴ Kurdish Workers' Party who have been fighting for autonomy. In the last 18 months, there has been a resurgence¹⁵ in fighting between Turkish forces and the PKK in the predominantly Kurdish southeast of the country. Since 1984, more than 30-thousand people have been killed in the conflict.

The new Kurdish deputies are under intense scrutiny¹⁶ amid accusations¹⁷ they are a political front for the PKK. Gunduz Aktan is a deputy for the far-right National Action Party. "Well, it depends on their behavior, whether or not they will denounce PKK terrorism that is essential, otherwise you know they will lose their legitimacy," he said.

The Kurdish deputies have consistently resisted calls to denounce the PKK, saying such pressure is unhelpful in finding a peaceful solution.

1 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

2 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。

3 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。

4 anthem   

n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌

参考例句：

• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
• As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。

5 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

6 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

7 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

8 devout   

adj.虔诚的，虔敬的，衷心的 (n.devoutness)

参考例句：

• His devout Catholicism appeals to ordinary people.他对天主教的虔诚信仰感染了普通民众。
• The devout man prayed daily.那位虔诚的男士每天都祈祷。

9 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。

10 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

11 uproar   

n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸

参考例句：

• She could hear the uproar in the room.她能听见房间里的吵闹声。
• His remarks threw the audience into an uproar.他的讲话使听众沸腾起来。

12 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。

13 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

14 outlawed   

宣布…为不合法（outlaw的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Most states have outlawed the use of marijuana. 大多数州都宣布使用大麻为非法行为。
• I hope the sale of tobacco will be outlawed someday. 我希望有朝一日烟草制品会禁止销售。

15 resurgence   

n.再起，复活，再现

参考例句：

• A resurgence of his grief swept over Nim.悲痛又涌上了尼姆的心头。
• Police say drugs traffickers are behind the resurgence of violence.警方说毒贩是暴力活动重新抬头的罪魁祸首。

16 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

17 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。