VOA标准英语2008年-Analysts Say ASEAN Trying to Bridge Burma's Tru

By Heda Bayron
Bangkok
26 May 2008

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has long had a policy of engaging with Burma, even when many countries have criticized its military government. Now, some regional political analysts¹ credit ASEAN with helping² persuade Burma to allow in foreign aid to help victims of Cyclone³ Nargis. But, as Heda Bayron reports from VOA's Southeast Asia bureau in Bangkok, others criticize the organization for responding too late.

It took more than two weeks after Cyclone Nargis devastated⁴ the Irrawaddy Delta⁵ before ASEAN members could persuade Burma to meet to discuss aid for the storm's victims.

The isolated⁶ Burmese government up to then had allowed in just a trickle⁷ of assistance from neighbors Thailand, Singapore, China and India. It sharply restricted aid and aid workers from the United Nations and Western countries.

Mely Caballero-Anthony is an expert on ASEAN at the Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.

"One would imagine it took a while for them [Burma's government] to open up and come to the meeting and meet the whole group," said Caballero-Anthony . "The reality on the ground is that Myanmar has been an unwilling⁸ player in the ASEAN context. And because of that it had to be take a while for ASEAN to persuade its member to open to international community for humanitarian⁹ help."

Cyclone Nargis left more than 100,000 people dead or missing, and the United Nations warns that many more could perish from disease and hunger if help remains¹⁰ restricted. At an ASEAN meeting on May 19, Burma agreed to let the group coordinate¹¹ international relief efforts.

That led to a donor's conference Sunday in Rangoon, at which countries pledged $100 million in relief and recovery aid. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who met with Burma's leaders last week, said he believed they would allow in foreign aid workers.

While critics hit at its slow response, regional political analysts say ASEAN as a group does not have the capacity to respond to large disasters the way the United Nations does. The organization functions primarily for economic cooperation. Only in 2005, following the Indian Ocean tsunami¹², did it adopt an agreement obliging members to help one another in natural calamities¹³.

But what ASEAN seems to have, that the West and the United Nations do not, is the ear of Burma's rulers, however reluctantly they listen.

"Perhaps it's easier for Burma to accept the opinion or to be persuaded by its neighbors rather than the international community," added Caballero-Anthony.

Despite tough economic sanctions, Burma has ignored Western pressure for political reforms and the release of detained opposition¹⁴ leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The military maintains it needs to keep tight control over most segments of society to keep the country from being fractured by ethnic¹⁵ division. Some experts have said the government apparently¹⁶ fears that foreign aid workers might undermine its rule.

Rodolfo Severino, a former ASEAN secretary-general, the group has played a role in bridging the gap between Burma and Western nations.

"The main outcome of that meeting [in Singapore] was to generate a bit more mutual¹⁷ confidence between Myanmar, its government and the countries are most capable of large-scale assistance," said Severino.

Severino says the focus now should be on helping the people of Burma. 1"I think the fact that ASEAN and the United Nations have jointly¹⁸ assumed the lead in this effort would deflate a bit the political content of these exchanges between the Myanmar government and the major donors¹⁹, indirectly²⁰ [though] these exchanges may be," added Severino.

Political analysts say persuading Burma on the aid issue is not likely to elicit²¹ the same response on political reform. They say ASEAN's engagement policy with Burma has failed to produce credible²² steps toward democracy.

Days after the cyclone, the government pushed through a referendum on its new constitution, which will continue military control.

"It's precisely²³ because of this ineffective constructive²⁴ engagement that ASEAN proposes, that's why to some extent the government of Burma is playing with them," said William Case, the director of the Southeast Asia Research Center in Hong Kong. "So if you're looking for political change, that's somehow initiated²⁵ by ASEAN, I think we can forget that."

Burma joined ASEAN in 1997 - a step that many in Asia hoped would help open up the reclusive country. But since then, military had done little to ease its grip. It continues to imprison²⁶ hundreds of dissidents and opposition members. And last September, the military crushed large protests over rising fuel prices, imprisoning²⁷ hundreds more people.

1 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。

2 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。

3 cyclone   

n.旋风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• An exceptionally violent cyclone hit the town last night.昨晚异常猛烈的旋风吹袭了那个小镇。
• The cyclone brought misery to thousands of people.旋风给成千上万的人带来苦难。

4 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

5 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

6 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

7 trickle   

vi.淌，滴，流出，慢慢移动，逐渐消散

参考例句：

• The stream has thinned down to a mere trickle.这条小河变成细流了。
• The flood of cars has now slowed to a trickle.汹涌的车流现在已经变得稀稀拉拉。

8 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

9 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。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。

12 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

13 calamities   

n.灾祸，灾难( calamity的名词复数 )；不幸之事

参考例句：

• They will only triumph by persevering in their struggle against natural calamities. 他们只有坚持与自然灾害搏斗，才能取得胜利。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• One moment's false security can bring a century of calamities. 图一时之苟安，贻百年之大患。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 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。

15 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。

16 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

17 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

18 jointly   

ad.联合地，共同地

参考例句：

• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
• She owns the house jointly with her husband. 她和丈夫共同拥有这所房子。

19 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 indirectly   

adv.间接地，不直接了当地

参考例句：

• I heard the news indirectly.这消息我是间接听来的。
• They were approached indirectly through an intermediary.通过一位中间人，他们进行了间接接触。

21 elicit   

v.引出,抽出,引起

参考例句：

• It was designed to elicit the best thinking within the government. 机构的设置是为了在政府内部集思广益。
• Don't try to elicit business secrets from me. I won't tell you anything. 你休想从我这里套问出我们的商业机密, 我什么都不会告诉你的。

22 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

23 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

24 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。

25 initiated   

n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入

参考例句：

• He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。
• The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。

26 imprison   

vt.监禁，关押，限制，束缚

参考例句：

• The effect of this one is going to imprison you for life.而这件事的影响力则会让你被终身监禁。
• Dutch colonial authorities imprisoned him for his part in the independence movement.荷兰殖民当局因他参加独立运动而把他关押了起来。

27 imprisoning   

v.下狱，监禁( imprison的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Mr Afwerki may disgust his compatriots by torturing and imprisoning his critics. Afwerki总统拷打和监禁他的反对者已经使的国人生厌。 来自互联网
• Proud and intelligent, it takes great pleasure and imprisoning enemies through psionic exploitation. 它骄傲并狡猾，非常喜欢囚禁敌人并剥夺他们的智力。 来自互联网