VOA标准英语2008年-Thai Police Issue Arrest Warrants for Demonstra

Thai police have issued warrants for the arrest of the leaders of this week's protests in Bangkok after thousands surrounded key government buildings. As Ron Corben reports, the protest movement's activities, led by the People's Alliance for Democracy, appears to be losing the backing of its key support base - Bangkok's urban and middle class.
　
Thai riot police clash with demonstrators inside Government House as they break into building in Bangkok, early 27 Aug 2008

Warrants for the nine key leaders of this week's anti-government protests were issued late Wednesday. They face charges of treason, inciting¹ unrest and attempting to overthrow² the government.

On Tuesday, the nine led up to 35,000 people to surround government buildings in Bangkok, demanding that Prime Minister Samak Sundarvej to resign.

Mr. Samak, elected last December, says he will not quit and plans to "seek other measures", including negotiation³ - to end the protests.

The protesters, many of them supporters of the People's Alliance for Democracy or PAD - continued their demonstration⁴ on Wednesday

So far, the protests have been largely free from violence, but Mr. Samak accuses the protest leaders of seeking to trigger bloodshed to lure⁵ the military to stage a coup⁶.

Public opinion polls Wednesday indicated over 70 percent surveyed disagreed with the PAD's tactics. Thai news media also criticized the demonstrations⁷.

Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University, says the PAD risks losing support from its key constituency, the urban middle class.

"I don't think the PAD will succeed on this occasion," Thitinan said. "The government has the upper hand. The PAD is hoping for something spontaneous to make a political change. As long as the government is restrained, as long as it does not overreact, time is on the government's side. For the PAD, they are cornered and the government has the upper hand."

Somphob Manarangsan, an economist⁸ at Chulalongkorn University, says the Thai government must be careful to avoid violence.

"It's a serious time for the Thai political situation - one of the challenging times of the country," Somphob said. "So if they rethink about the situation and then have a mechanism⁹ to turn the prospective¹⁰ violence into the more peaceful way, it will solve the problem."

Somphob says among the government's possible solutions are dissolving parliament and calling for fresh elections, or for Mr. Samak to stand down and allow parliament elect a new prime minister.
　
Thai demonstrator displays sign calling for ouster of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej during rally outside Government House in Bangkok, 26 Aug 2008

The protestors say Mr. Samak's government acts as a nominee¹¹ for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. He was ousted¹² in a coup two years ago, after months of PAD-led demonstrations.

Thailand's political landscape has been deeply divided since Mr. Thaksin's election in 2001, when he drew widespread support from the poor and rural residents. Thailand's urban middle class, however, considered him corrupt¹³ and authoritarian¹⁴.

Mr Thaksin, facing court trial on corruption¹⁵ charges, earlier this month fled to Britain. He says he is innocent and accuses the Thai judiciary of bias¹⁶.

1 inciting   

刺激的，煽动的

参考例句：

• What are you up to inciting mutiny and insubordination? 你们干吗在这里煽动骚动的叛乱呀。
• He was charged with inciting people to rebel. 他被控煽动民众起来叛乱。

2 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

3 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

4 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

5 lure   

n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• Life in big cities is a lure for many country boys.大城市的生活吸引着许多乡下小伙子。
• He couldn't resist the lure of money.他不能抵制金钱的诱惑。

6 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

7 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。

8 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

9 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

10 prospective   

adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的

参考例句：

• The story should act as a warning to other prospective buyers.这篇报道应该对其他潜在的购买者起到警示作用。
• They have all these great activities for prospective freshmen.这会举办各种各样的活动来招待未来的新人。

11 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

12 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

13 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

14 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。

15 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

16 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。