VOA常速英语2008年-Choice for Kenya Mediator Withdraws

By Derek Kilner
Nairobi
04 February 2008

South African businessman Cyril Ramaphosa has withdrawn¹ from his planned role as chief mediator² in talks to resolve Kenya's political crisis, after the Kenyan government expressed objections. As Derek Kilner reports from Nairobi, former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan is currently leading a mediation³ effort to put an end to violence that as killed about 900 people since a disputed presidential election in late December.

On Friday, representatives of President Mwai Kibaki and opposition⁴ leader Raila Odinga agreed on a two-week plan for negotiations⁶ toward resolving Kenya's political crisis. Mr. Annan had tapped Cyril Ramaphosa to lead a longer-term negotiation⁵ to address underlying⁷ issues of contention⁸, including disputes over land and ethnic⁹ tensions.

But Ramaphosa announced he is pulling out of the mediation team, after President Kibaki's side expressed opposition to his role.

"I thought that it is best that I should withdraw and go back to South Africa so that I do not become a stumbling block myself," said Ramaphosa. "My experience is that you can only play that role effectively if you have the confidence and full support of those that you are involved with in the mediation process."

Government and opposition representatives resumed discussions, focusing on the humanitarian¹⁰ situation in the country. An estimated 300,000 people have been displaced by violence since the December 27 election.

On Tuesday, negotiators plan to discuss the conduct of the election itself and the role of the Electoral Commission. Supporters of Mr. Odinga claim the vote was rigged, and international observers have said the election was flawed.

The election results set off a wave of violent clashes across Kenya. Much of the violence has fallen along ethnic lines, with members of minority tribes driven out of several communities. Long-running disputes over land are thought to underlie¹¹ many of the clashes.

Violence continued through the weekend with more than 70 people killed since Friday. The latest clashes have involved members of the Kisii and Kalenjin communities near the town of Kisii in western Kenya.

Mr. Odinga has called for the deployment¹² of international peacekeepers from the African Union or United Nations. Kenya's foreign minister announced that the regional body IGAD would join in efforts to resolve the crisis. But with Kenya currently chairing the group, the opposition may reject the IGAD involvement.  

1 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

2 mediator   

n.调解人，中介人

参考例句：

• He always takes the role of a mediator in any dispute.他总是在争论中充当调停人的角色。
• He will appear in the role of mediator.他将出演调停者。

3 mediation   

n.调解

参考例句：

• The dispute was settled by mediation of the third country. 这场争端通过第三国的斡旋而得以解决。
• The dispute was settled by mediation. 经调解使争端得以解决。

4 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。

5 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

6 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

7 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

8 contention   

n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张

参考例句：

• The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。
• The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道，争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。

9 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。

10 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。

11 underlie   

v.位于...之下，成为...的基础

参考例句：

• Technology improvements underlie these trends.科技进步将成为此发展趋势的基础。
• Many facts underlie my decision.我的决定是以许多事实为依据的。

12 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。