VOA常速英语2008年-Iraq Unity Conference Marred by Boycott, Walkou

By Daniel Schearf
Irbil
18 March 2008

Iraq's national reconciliation¹ conference got off to a rough start when large Sunni and Shi'ite blocs² boycotted³ the meeting or walked out.  The conference, hosted by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, is designed to encourage political participation⁴ and dialogue among Iraq's divided ethnic⁵ and religious groups.  Daniel Schearf reports for VOA from the northern Iraqi city of Irbil.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki opened the conference Tuesday in Baghdad with a positive review of the country's sectarian divisions.  He said national reconciliation efforts had prevented civil war and stopped fighting between the Sunni and Shi'ite factions⁶.

He praised former insurgent⁷ Sunni militias⁹ for joining al-Sahwah or "reawakening" councils that are helping¹⁰ improve security in the country. 

He says national reconciliation efforts got more than 35,000 former terrorists to separate from al-Qaida and support the government.  He says now they are serving in al-Sahwah councils in support of the Iraqi Army and security forces.

Mr. Maliki said 29 al-Sahwah councils were now supporting the government's efforts and a further 13 were in the process of joining.

The U.S. military says the militia⁸ groups helped to lower violence in Iraq by more than half since June.  

But, Iraq's death toll¹¹ has jumped since February and sectarian fighting is a daily problem. 

Even before the conference started Iraq's largest Sunni political block, al-Tawafiq, said they would not participate because they were not properly invited.  The group pulled out of Mr. Maliki's government in August, saying his Shi'ite-led administration was not making enough concessions¹² to the Sunni minority.

A Shi'ite party loyal to the influential¹³ anti-U.S. Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr walked out of the conference Monday.

The spokesman for the al-Sadr party, parliamentarian Nassar al-Rubaie, said the meetings were just propaganda and had no substance.

He says political groups were not informed about the program, they were just invited.  He says they entered the conference to prove that they are in favor of national peace, but left because they reject what he calls a "decorative¹⁴" conference.  He says Iraq needs real conferences.

Organizers of the meeting said at least one member of each political group was invited, and that 500 representatives were attending.  It was the second attempt by Mr. Maliki to bring together Iraq's tribally¹⁵ divided groups.

The meeting comes just ahead of the five-year anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, which critics blame for unleashing¹⁶ Iraq's sectarian bloodletting.

1 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

2 blocs   

n.集团，联盟( bloc的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The division of Europe into warring blocs produces ever-increasing centrifugal stress. 把欧洲分为作战集团产生了越来越大的离心效果。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The policy of the two blocs was played out. 把世界分为两个集团的政策已经过时了。 来自辞典例句

3 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。

4 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

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 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

7 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

8 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。

9 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

10 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

11 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

12 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

13 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

14 decorative   

adj.装饰的，可作装饰的

参考例句：

• This ware is suitable for decorative purpose but unsuitable for utility.这种器皿中看不中用。
• The style is ornate and highly decorative.这种风格很华丽，而且装饰效果很好。

15 tribally   

部落的，部族的； 种族的

参考例句：

• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities. 那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。
• Vincent's father is a tribal chief. 文森特的父亲是一个部落的酋长。

16 unleashing   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Company logos: making people's life better by unleashing Cummins power. 公司理念：以康明斯动力建设更美好的生活！ 来自互联网
• Sooner or later the dam will burst, unleashing catastrophic destruction. 否则堤坝将崩溃，酿成灾难。 来自互联网