VOA标准英语2009年-Guinea Opponents Want Military Ruler's Res

By Scott Stearns
Dakar
07 October 2009

Political opponents in Guinea say the country's military ruler must resign before they take part in regional mediation¹ efforts following last week's killing² of at least 157 protesters. Guinea's military rulers are rejecting those demands.

Just one day after Burkinabe President Blaise Compaore reached agreement on talks between the two sides, civil society groups set preconditions that the military is rejecting.

 
Guinea's military leader Captain Moussa Dadis Camara speaks to the media, 2 Oct 2009
Civil society spokesman Aboubakar Sylla read a statement from the coalition³ of political parties, trade unions, and civil society groups saying they welcome President Compaore's mediation but will only take part in those talks following the resignation of military ruler Captain Moussa Dadis Camara and the dissolution of his ruling military council.

Guinea's military rulers reject those demands, saying none of the preconditions were part of the terms presented by President Compaore, who is working on behalf of the Economic Community of West African States.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner are also calling for Guinea's military rulers to step down.

Commandant Moussa Keita is a member of Conakry's ruling military council.

Keita says Guinea before independence is not the same as Guinea after independence. As the nation is no longer under French colonial rule, he says France will not impose its will on a sovereign, free, and independent country.

Human rights groups say at least 157 people died last Monday when security forces shot demonstrators protesting Captain Camara's expected run for the presidency⁴. The military government says 57 people died, most in the crush of protesters fleeing the stadium.

Captain Camara is blaming his political opponents for holding an illegal rally, saying they should have known that Guinea's military has what he calls "uncontrollable elements." Captain Camara says he is not responsible for the violence because he was not there.

"You have a number of people who are responsible," said Corinne Dufka, who heads West Africa operations for Human Rights Watch. "Being the head of state, he also bears responsibility."

The group is calling on Guinea's government to identify and prosecute⁵ those responsible for the violence.

"They need to be held accountable," said Dufka. "And this will begin to address what has been a longer-standing problem of impunity⁶ in Guinea in which the military forces and the security forces have been able to get away scott-free with abuses they have committed."

Civil society chief Mouctar Diallo says opposition⁷ leaders can not negotiate while opposition demonstrators remain in detention⁸.

Diallo says Guineans are still in prison under difficult conditions following last week's unrest. He says some of them are suffering as they are being detained in shipping⁹ containers. Diallo wants President Compaore to put pressure on the military government to free those people immediately and without conditions.

The opposition wants members of the ruling military council blocked from contesting next year's scheduled presidential and legislative¹⁰ elections. Dufka says regional mediation must address those issues.

"The parties have to go with good faith to talk, to look for a solution that would ensure that the rights of Guineans are respected, that free and fair and transparent¹¹ elections happen as soon as possible, that those elections are not characterized by intimidation¹² and manipulation and undue¹³ influence by the military government which is in power," Dufka said.

Since taking power in a coup¹⁴ last December, Captain Camara has replaced local government officials with military and security personnel.

"Which automatically, right there, especially given Guinea's history of the lack of separation between military and civilian¹⁵ life creates an uneven¹⁶, an unlevel playing field for the election," said Dufka.

Captain Camara has not announced his candidacy, but he has told supporters that he will not insult them by ignoring their demands that he run for president.

The African Union says it will sanction Captain Camara this month unless he makes clear that he will not be a candidate. 

1 mediation   

n.调解

参考例句：

• The dispute was settled by mediation of the third country. 这场争端通过第三国的斡旋而得以解决。
• The dispute was settled by mediation. 经调解使争端得以解决。

2 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

3 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。

4 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

5 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

6 impunity   

n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除

参考例句：

• You will not escape with impunity.你不可能逃脱惩罚。
• The impunity what compulsory insurance sets does not include escapement.交强险规定的免责范围不包括逃逸。

7 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。

8 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

9 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

10 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。

11 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

12 intimidation   

n.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
• The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。

13 undue   

adj.过分的；不适当的；未到期的

参考例句：

• Don't treat the matter with undue haste.不要过急地处理此事。
• It would be wise not to give undue importance to his criticisms.最好不要过分看重他的批评。

14 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。

15 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

16 uneven   

adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的

参考例句：

• The sidewalk is very uneven—be careful where you walk.这人行道凹凸不平—走路时请小心。
• The country was noted for its uneven distribution of land resources.这个国家以土地资源分布不均匀出名。