2007年VOA标准英语-Analyst Says Puntland Crisis Could Further Dest

By Alisha Ryu
Nairobi
10 August 2007

A leading, U.S.-based analyst¹ on Somalia says the semi-autonomous region of Puntland is in a serious political and economic crisis, which he believes could undermine Somalia's efforts to achieve national reconciliation² and to create more instability in the volatile³ Horn of Africa.   VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu in our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi spoke⁴ to the analyst, Professor Michael Weinstein, and has this story. 

In a report published last week on the website Power and Interest News Report, Somali analyst and political scientist Michael Weinstein argues that failures in governance under President Mohamed Adde Muse⁵ have badly weakened Puntland's stability.

Among the region's worst problems is hyperinflation, which triggered mass protests last month in Puntland's capital Garowe and in the commercial center Bossasso.  

The government's mounting financial problems have prompted President Muse to try to exert control over Puntland's natural and economic resources, a move that Weinstein says has heightened tension with sub-states, the business community, and political opponents.      

Weinstein says there are already signs that Puntland is too weak economically and militarily to maintain the status quo.  Recently, a region called Sanag, claimed by neighboring rival Somaliland and occupied by Puntland since 2002, and another hotly disputed area called Western Bari, created a new regional state.  The Maakhir State of Somalia says it will function independently from Puntland and Somaliland.  

"It Puntland starts fragmenting, then you have all the more possibility of terrorist groups forming there," he said.  "You have opportunities for the Arab states, Ethiopia, to come in to try to manipulate the situation.  And then, you also bring Somaliland into the mix and heighten the possibility that there is going to be an armed conflict in the northeast region."

Since Puntland came into being in 1998, the northeastern region of Somalia, dominated by a clan⁶ called the Darod, had been considered relatively⁷ stable.   

The region's first president was Abdullahi Yusuf, who remained in power until he assumed the presidency⁸ of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government in 2004.

Observers say his successor, Adde Muse, is struggling to consolidate⁹ power amid Somali interim¹⁰ government's attempts to assert its authority over Puntland.  

Last month, Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi's office reprimanded President Muse for signing a fishing deal with Yemen without the government's consent.  But Puntland officials say that the fishing deal, and several other deals since, did have the blessings¹¹ of interim President Abdullahi Yusuf.  

Weinstein says he believes Puntland is in a no-win, political tug-of-war between the prime minister, who wants the transitional government to administer Puntland, and the president, who has a different agenda. 

Weinstein says President Yusuf has demonstrated repeatedly that his aim is to turn Puntland into a personal fiefdom.     

"He is the protagonist¹² in this affair," he said.  "He is striving mightily¹³ to bring Puntland under his wing, so that he can control Puntland's security forces and extract money from taxes and trade deals Puntland is making."

President Yusuf has not commented on the accusations¹⁴, which have been voiced by other western analysts¹⁵ and Somali intellectuals.

Weinstein says Puntland has entered a period of deep uncertainty¹⁶, made worse by the volatile political situation in Mogadishu.  He says the only thing that is clear is that Puntland's relative stability can no longer be taken for granted.

1 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

2 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。

3 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。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 muse   

n.缪斯（希腊神话中的女神），创作灵感

参考例句：

• His muse had deserted him,and he could no longer write.他已无灵感，不能再写作了。
• Many of the papers muse on the fate of the President.很多报纸都在揣测总统的命运。

6 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。

7 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

8 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。

9 consolidate   

v.使加固，使加强；(把...)联为一体，合并

参考例句：

• The two banks will consolidate in July next year. 这两家银行明年7月将合并。
• The government hoped to consolidate ten states to form three new ones.政府希望把十个州合并成三个新的州。

10 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。

11 blessings   

n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福

参考例句：

• Afflictions are sometimes blessings in disguise. 塞翁失马，焉知非福。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We don't rely on blessings from Heaven. 我们不靠老天保佑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 protagonist   

n.(思想观念的)倡导者；主角，主人公

参考例句：

• The protagonist reforms in the end and avoids his proper punishment.戏剧主角最后改过自新并避免了他应受的惩罚。
• He is the model for the protagonist in the play.剧本中的主人公就是以他为模特儿创作的！

13 mightily   

ad.强烈地；非常地

参考例句：

• He hit the peg mightily on the top with a mallet. 他用木槌猛敲木栓顶。
• This seemed mightily to relieve him. 干完这件事后，他似乎轻松了许多。

14 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。

15 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。

16 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。