VOA标准英语2008年-DRC Rebel Delegates Return to Peace Conference

By Selah Hennessy
Goma
11 January 2008

Delegates from a rebel group in the Democratic Republic of Congo have returned to peace talks. The delegation¹ from renegade general Laurent Nkunda's rebel militia² pulled out of talks on Thursday saying they feared for their security, but returned on Friday. The conference comes after months of unrest in the volatile³ eastern DRC, where the army and armed groups have engaged in almost daily clashes that have left hundreds of thousands of people homeless. Selah Hennessy brings this report for VOA from the regional capital, Goma.

Peace talks continued in Goma on Friday, with Nkunda's delegation once again in the conference room.

On Thursday, Nkunda's 10 delegates pulled out of the conference, citing what they called a security risk. They said Nkunda's military spokesman had been threatened with arrest by a member of the U.N. peacekeeping force in Congo.

But now, they say, they have been assured by conference organizers that their security is guaranteed.

Clovis Muni, a conference organizer, says the presence of Nkunda's delegation at the conference is important. He says without the armed groups of North and South Kivu provinces attending, the conference is pointless.

Nkunda, a former general in the Congolese army, has led a rebellion against the government since 2004. He says he is fighting to protect local Tutsis from Rwandan ethnic⁵ Hutus.

After a peace deal in January last year, fighting between Nkunda's guerrillas and the army broke out again in August, once again throwing this eastern jungle region into unrest.

The United Nations says hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee the violence. Many are now homeless and living without clean water, food, or medical care.

In Goma on Friday, representatives from both the Hutu and Tutsi communities spoke⁴ at the conference.

Muni says the conference gives communities the chance to speak about problems they face and suggest solutions.

But some people have criticized the conference. Neither Congo's president Joseph Kabila nor rebel leader Nkunda have so far attended. With almost 1,000 delegates at the conference, many people say little will actually be accomplished⁶.

Conference organizer Muni says Nkunda's delegation will speak at the conference on Saturday morning.

1 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

2 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

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 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

6 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。