VOA标准英语2008年-Guineans Relieved to Avoid Violence, But Still

By Nico Colombant
Conakry
10 January 2008

Many Guineans in the capital, Conakry, want to avoid violence, but still want to find a way to get rid of long-standing President Lansana Conte. Union leaders who have led recent mass protests against his rule decided¹ to rescind² a general strike threat, giving the president nearly two more months to respect previous accords. VOA's Nico Colombant reports from Conakry.

At the Koloma market in the Bambeto neighborhood, market sellers and market goers are unanimous in their disapproval³ of President Conte.

Medical student Aicha Ba says she wants what Guineans call total change.

She says she gets a state student stipend⁴ of about $140 a month, but needs $150 for her transport. She says her mom supports her entire family by selling coffee at the market.

But Ba says she does not want a new strike.

Last year during protests, nearly 200 people were killed, most of them shot dead by soldiers, some of them innocent bystanders in impoverished⁵ neighborhoods.

A 50-year-old seller of furnaces Mohammadou Diallo says young people do not know how to strike anymore. He says as soon as a strike action begins, they loot stores and burn tires, creating chaos⁶ and crackdowns, rather than bringing about change with placards.

He says the government of resource-rich Guinea should stop exporting so many goods, and focus more on the welfare of its own people, who face daily challenges of inflation, low pay and crumbling⁷ infrastructure⁸.

A presidential aide welcomed the agreement to avoid a new strike, as a way forward. Mr. Conte's supporters credit him for keeping Guinea safe in recent years, while neighbors Liberia, Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast all spiraled into civil war.

Union leaders said they would work with President Conte, hoping he would implement⁹ previous strike-ending agreements. These deals called for him to relinquish¹⁰ broad powers to consensus¹¹ prime minister Lansana Kouyate.

But Mr. Conte recently issued a decree giving many of the prime minister's powers to his presidential secretary, and then unilaterally fired the communications minister.

Another student in Conakry, Kante Salifou, says the president always attacks first, rejecting previous agreements, and that everything ends up with the president in total control.

"These agreements have not been respected by the president, so it is better for us to go on strike," said Salifou. "If we think the strike to be a problem we could not go where we want to go and we want to be free forever. At this time, Guineans are living in very difficult conditions. Our living standards are very low and so to improve them, we have to have a very good president, a very good head of state."

Mr. Conte extended presidential mandates¹² to seven years, bringing his current term to 2010, while also lifting term limits.

He took power in a coup¹³ in 1984.

In this the 50th year of Guinea's independence, legislative¹⁴ elections are planned, but many Guineans say they have no faith in the democratic process either.

No date has yet been set for the polling. Unions have given Mr. Conte's side until the end of March to respect the previous agreements, or they say they will strike again.

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 rescind   

v.废除，取消

参考例句：

• They accepted his advice and rescinded the original plan.他们听从了他的劝告，撤销了原计划。
• Trade Union leaders have demanded the government rescind the price rise.工会领导已经要求政府阻止价格上涨。

3 disapproval   

n.反对，不赞成

参考例句：

• The teacher made an outward show of disapproval.老师表面上表示不同意。
• They shouted their disapproval.他们喊叫表示反对。

4 stipend   

n.薪贴；奖学金；养老金

参考例句：

• The company is going to ajust my stipend from this month onwards.从这一个月开始公司将对我的薪金作调整。
• This sum was nearly a third of his total stipend.这笔钱几乎是他全部津贴的三分之一。

5 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。

7 crumbling   

adj.摇摇欲坠的

参考例句：

• an old house with crumbling plaster and a leaking roof 一所灰泥剥落、屋顶漏水的老房子
• The boat was tied up alongside a crumbling limestone jetty. 这条船停泊在一个摇摇欲坠的石灰岩码头边。

8 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

9 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

10 relinquish   

v.放弃，撤回，让与，放手

参考例句：

• He was forced to relinquish control of the company.他被迫放弃公司的掌控权。
• They will never voluntarily relinquish their independence.他们绝对不会自动放弃独立。

11 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？

12 mandates   

托管（mandate的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• Individual mandates would require all people to purchase health insurance. 个人托管要求所有人都要购买健康保险。
• While I agree with those benefits, I'm not a supporter of mandates. 我同意上述好处，我不是授权软件的支持者。

13 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。

14 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。