2007年VOA标准英语-British PM Threatens to Boycott EU-AU Summit if

By Tendai Maphosa
London
20 September 2007

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has announced that he will not attend the European Union-African Union summit slated¹ for December in Lisbon if Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe also attends. Tendai Maphosa has more in this report for VOA from London.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's threat was published in an article he wrote for The Independent daily newspaper. He said Mr. Mugabe's attendance would divert attention from important issues that need to be resolved.

A statement released later by the prime minister's office said Mr. Brown might attend if Zimbabwe was represented by another government official.

Mr. Brown said the Zimbabwe leader's attendance would mean a suspension of a travel ban imposed by the European Union on Mr. Mugabe and other Zimbabwe officials for alleged² human rights abuses.

The British prime minister blamed Mr. Mugabe for the economic meltdown and human rights abuses in Zimbabwe. He said the British government is doing its best to alleviate³ the suffering of ordinary Zimbabweans and announced an additional $16 million in aid to Zimbabwe.

Britain provides Zimbabwe about $80 million annually⁴ in humanitarian⁵ assistance and HIV and AIDS care.

Mr. Brown said the travel ban may be extended to include more individuals close to Mr. Mugabe and that he wants to put pressure on the U.N. Security Council to send a humanitarian team to Zimbabwe.

Mr. Brown's threat follows a call by the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, to increase pressure on Mr. Mugabe's government. South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu also called for a more effective intervention⁶ by the prime minister.

British Member of Parliament Kate Hoey who heads the all-party parliamentary committee on Zimbabwe welcomed the prime minister's announcement. She said it would force African leaders to come out against what Mr. Mugabe is doing in Zimbabwe.

"There has not been an African Union-European Union summit for some years because of the situation in Zimbabwe," said Hoey. "It would be quite wrong for our country to allow the sanctions, which prevents Mugabe from traveling, to be lifted to allow him to come to this summit because it then would be showing that we felt he was a dictator who we could deal with."

The Zimbabwean government has dismissed Mr. Brown's threat of boycotting⁷ the summit by saying he is "wasting his time."

An AFP report quotes Deputy Information Minister Bright Matonga as saying Mr. Mugabe was invited and is going to Lisbon whether Gordon Brown attends or not. But Reuters quoted a Portuguese⁸ official as saying no decision had been made on whether to invite Mr. Mugabe.

Zimbabwe's government blames western imposed sanctions for the country's problems, but critics of Mr. Mugabe say mismanagement of the economy is the cause.

1 slated   

用石板瓦盖( slate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Yuki is working up an in-home phonics program slated for Thursdays, and I'm drilling her on English conversation at dinnertime. Yuki每周四还有一次家庭语音课。我在晚餐时训练她的英语口语。
• Bromfield was slated to become U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. 布罗姆菲尔德被提名为美国农业部长。

2 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

3 alleviate   

v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等)

参考例句：

• The doctor gave her an injection to alleviate the pain.医生给她注射以减轻疼痛。
• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。

4 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

5 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

6 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

7 boycotting   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They're boycotting the shop because the people there are on strike. 他们抵制那家商店，因为那里的店员在罢工。
• The main opposition parties are boycotting the elections. 主要反对党都抵制此次选举。

8 Portuguese   

n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语

参考例句：

• They styled their house in the Portuguese manner.他们仿照葡萄牙的风格设计自己的房子。
• Her family is Portuguese in origin.她的家族是葡萄牙血统。