VOA常速英语2008年-US-Georgia Relations at Center of Saakashvili F

By Andre de Nesnera
Washington
06 February 2008

U.S. President George Bush was among the first western leaders to congratulate Mikhail Saakashvili on his election last month to a second term as Georgia's president. In this report from Washington, VOA Senior Correspondent André de Nesnera looks at the state of relations between Washington and Tbilisi.

Mikhail Saakashvili received 53 percent of the votes cast in elections described by international observers as free and fair, despite some irregularities. But Georgian opposition¹ groups still contest the election results.

Mr. Saakashvili was forced to call early elections following demonstrations² in Georgia's capital, Tbilisi. Tens of thousands of demonstrators spilled into the streets in November, calling for the president's resignation and accusing him of presiding over an increasingly authoritarian³ government.

Police used tear gas, water cannons⁴, baton⁵ charges and rubber bullets to disperse⁶ the crowd. Many observers say that was the low point of Mr. Saakashvili's presidency⁷.

The United States and other western countries have been very supportive of Mr. Saakashvili since he first came to power four years ago. But Ronald Suny from the University of Chicago, says Washington and others were troubled by Mr. Saakashvili's strong-arm tactics.

"The United States was upset and called Saakashvili to task after the November 7 demonstrations and the use of the police and so forth⁸ against them," he said. "They may have been a little embarrassed by 'their boy', in fact, acting⁹ in such a rough way with the opposition. But still, Georgia is considered a friendly state and an ally. But Georgia cannot go too far."

Mr. Saakashvili has been pursuing a pro-western foreign policy, moving his country away from Russia, toward the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and toward the European Union.

Olga Oliker with the RAND Corporation, says that trend will continue, but she says it is not just a pro-western policy.

"There is a difference between pro-western and pro-American and I think we should be clear that Saakashvili has pursued primarily a pro-United States policy: sending troops to Iraq, working very hard to build close ties with the United States," she said. "He has certainly worked to build ties with NATO, with the European Union as well - but really, his focus has been on the United States. And with a change of government in the United States coming, a change of government in Russia coming, some of the options for the Georgians may shift a bit as well, even as a new political grouping in Georgia with a new parliament soon, a weaker presidency might limit some of the choices and options."

Georgia's pro-U.S. policy has angered Russia. But many analysts¹⁰ say there are signs that strained relations between Tbilisi and Moscow might be easing.

In his inauguration¹¹ speech on January 20, Mr. Saakashvili said Georgia extends the hand of friendship to Russia. And Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, who attended the ceremony, said his presence confirms Russia's intention to normalize ties with Georgia.

As for relations between Washington and Tbilisi, many experts - including Robert Legvold from Columbia University - say they have not cooled, despite the government's violent crackdown against demonstrators last November.

"If cooling means that we have stood back from the relationship a bit and said look, you still have some things to prove to us and we are therefore not going to passionately¹² be pushing for a membership action plan in NATO at Bucharest which is the next round in the spring for Georgia - and I think that is the U.S. position, we are not going to push as hard at it as we might have otherwise - I would describe that as standing¹³ back from the relationship, rather than rising tensions," he said.

But Legvold says he does not believe Washington and other Western nations will give Mr. Saakashvili unconditional¹⁴ support, as they did following his election to the presidency four years ago, following a popular movement known as the Rose Revolution. Legvold and others believe the support will be based on whether Mr. Saakashvili moves Georgia firmly on the path of democracy.

1 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。

2 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

3 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

4 cannons   

n.加农炮，大炮，火炮( cannon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Cannons bombarded enemy lines. 大炮轰击了敌军阵地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• One company had been furnished with six cannons. 某连队装备了六门大炮。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 baton   

n.乐队用指挥杖

参考例句：

• With the baton the conductor was beating time.乐队指挥用指挥棒打拍子。
• The conductor waved his baton,and the band started up.指挥挥动指挥棒，乐队开始演奏起来。

6 disperse   

vi.使分散；使消失；vt.分散；驱散

参考例句：

• The cattle were swinging their tails to disperse the flies.那些牛甩动着尾巴驱赶苍蝇。
• The children disperse for the holidays.孩子们放假了。

7 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。

8 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

9 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

10 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。

11 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

12 passionately   

ad.热烈地，激烈地

参考例句：

• She could hate as passionately as she could love. 她能恨得咬牙切齿，也能爱得一往情深。
• He was passionately addicted to pop music. 他酷爱流行音乐。

13 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

14 unconditional   

adj.无条件的，无限制的，绝对的

参考例句：

• The victorious army demanded unconditional surrender.胜方要求敌人无条件投降。
• My love for all my children is unconditional.我对自己所有孩子的爱都是无条件的。