VOA标准英语2008年-France's Kouchner, Kurdistan's Barzani Discuss

By Suzanne Presto¹
Irbil
02 June 2008

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner have spent two days in Iraq on a previously² unannounced visit to meet with political leaders in Baghdad and the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq. VOA's Suzanne Presto reports from the northern city of Irbil.

French Foreign Minister Kouchner praised the political stability and security in northern Iraq's Kurdish region during his visit to the area on Sunday.
　

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner (L) speaks during a joint3 press conference with Kurdistan Regional Government President Massoud Barzani in the northern Kurdish resort of Salaheldin, 01 June 2008

Speaking at a news conference late that night alongside Kurdistan's President Massoud Barzani, Kouchner hailed the cooperative efforts between the regional government and Iraq's central government in Baghdad.

The French foreign minister noted⁴ that he met jointly⁵ with Kurdistan's President Barzani and Iraq's President Jalal Talabani last year. Both men are Kurds, a minority in Iraq, and they head rival Kurdish political parties.

Now, Kouchner says, the president of the region and the president of the nation are friends who can work with each other - and all other groups - to rebuild Iraq.

But a main source of contention⁶ between the Kurdish government and the central government continues to thrive - the status of the disputed territory of oil-rich Kirkuk province in northern Iraq.

Article 140 of Iraq's constitution says a referendum will decide the status of the city and province of Kirkuk and other towns in the region. That referendum was due to be held by the end of 2007. But, last December, lawmakers in the Kurdish region approved a six-month delay to give the United Nations a greater role in preparations.

Those six months will be up at the end of the June.

Much of Iraq's oil wealth lies beneath Kirkuk province. The city of Kirkuk was "Arabized" under Saddam Hussein, with Arabs being moved in to the region and Kurds driven out. The Kurds reasserted their rights to the area after U.S.-led forces toppled Saddam in 2003.

Ethnic⁷ Kurds want it to be part of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region, arguing that, oil-resources aside, it is culturally and historically a Kurdish area. But, minority Arab and Turkmen residents fear marginalization and want Kirkuk to be under Baghdad's control.

Kurdistan's President Barzani told reporters that he discussed the issue of Kirkuk with his French guest.

France is a major political power, as well as a veto-wielding member of the United Nations Security Council. But when a reporter asked Kouchner for France's stance on the disputed territory, the foreign minister declined to directly answer the question.

He said the issue is related to Iraq's constitution and it is up to the people of Iraq to decide how to resolve the dispute.

Still, Mr. Barzani said the Kurdish government is working well with the central government and the United Nations on the issue of Kirkuk.

He stressed that the ultimate decision will be based on Iraqi law, and he said the Kurdish government will adhere to that final decision, whatever the outcome.

1 presto   

adv.急速地；n.急板乐段；adj.急板的

参考例句：

• With something so important,you can't just wave a wand and presto!在这么重大的问题上，你想挥动一下指挥棒，转眼就变过来,办不到！
• I just turned the piece of wire in the lock and hey presto,the door opened.我把金属丝伸到锁孔里一拧，嘿，那门就开了。

2 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

3 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

4 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。

5 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。

6 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。

7 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。