VOA常速英语2008年-Senegal President Reaches Out to Opposition

By Nancy Palus
Dakar
05 March 2008

In Senegal, President Abdoulaye Wade¹ has said he is ready to meet with opposition² leaders, who are rejoining the political process after boycotting³ legislative⁴ elections last year.  But opposition politicians say they are skeptical⁵ about whether the president is committed to meaningful dialogue and say he might be doing this because an international conference is about to be held in Dakar.  Nancy Palus reports.

Opposition leaders say they need time to consider President Abdoulaye Wade's recent offer and they say they will announce a decision in the coming days.

But many say the president simply wants to portray⁶ the country as a healthy democracy as Senegal gears up for an international conference next week in the capital, Dakar.

Abdoulaye Bathily, secretary general of the opposition Democratic League party, says President Wade has long rejected the opposition.

"He has refused any dialogue," he said.  "This is just an exercise for him to show an image of himself, which does not correspond to the reality."

The opposition last year boycotted⁷ legislative polls to protest the February 2007 election that put President Wade in office for a second term. They said that the election was fraudulent.  International and national observers said the vote was satisfactory, but that opposition candidates did not have equal access to funding and media.

Since the disputed poll, the opposition coalition⁸ has been calling for a broad national conference - including civil society, rural leaders and the business community.  While they do not reject the idea of a political dialogue with President Wade, many say such a meeting cannot replace a national forum⁹.

Penda Mbow is president of the civil society group called by its French name, Mouvement Citoyen, which means citizen action.

She says a national conference is necessary to take stock of Senegal's democracy, and citizens' and civil society's concerns must not be ignored.

Presidential spokesman Amadou Sall says the opposition is free to hold a national meeting, but the president would not be involved.

The spokesman says the president is always ready to meet the opposition, which he says is only normal in a democracy.  But he says the president would not take part in a national meeting the opposition would see as an occasion to talk about sharing power.

Both sides say Senegal is not immune to unrest that recently struck other countries in the region.  Residents of Burkina Faso and Cameroon last week took to the streets to protest the high cost of living.

Opposition leader Bathily calls Senegal "a boiling pot."

"It is a bomb," he noted¹⁰.  "We are sitting on a bomb which may explode anytime, because of the level of poverty, the level of social tensions, the level of injustices¹¹ brought about by this regime of Abdoulaye Wade."

Political analyst¹² Babacar Justin N'diaye says Senegal faces problems typical in a developing county, but that it can avoid a political and social crisis.

He says there are very, very serious social and economic difficulties in Senegal.  He says no one side holds a magic solution and he is confident the president and the opposition will find a way forward.

While efforts are underway to prepare the capital for next week's conference, opposition leaders say they, like all Senegalese, want it to be a success.  But opposition coalition spokesman Madior Diouf says Senegal's political problems will be waiting when the summit is over.

1 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

2 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

6 portray   

v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等)

参考例句：

• It is difficult to portray feelings in words.感情很难用言语来描写。
• Can you portray the best and worst aspects of this job?您能描述一下这份工作最好与最坏的方面吗？

7 boycotted   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Athletes from several countries boycotted the Olympic Games. 有好几国的运动员抵制奥林匹克运动会。
• The opposition party earlier boycotted the Diet agenda, demanding Miyaji's resignation. 反对党曾杯葛国会议程，要宫路下台。

8 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

9 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

11 injustices   

不公平( injustice的名词复数 )； 非正义； 待…不公正； 冤枉

参考例句：

• One who committed many injustices is doomed to failure. 多行不义必自毙。
• He felt confident that his injustices would be righted. 他相信他的冤屈会受到昭雪的。

12 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。