VOA标准英语2009年-Arrest of Southern Officials Upsets Po

 

Pagan Amum, Secretary general of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, and his northern deputy are among detained during a protest

Alan Boswell | Nairobi 07 December 2009

Pagan Amum, the secretary general of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, seen during an interview with The Associated Press, in his office in Juba, the capital of autonomous¹ southern Sudan (File)

"The SPLM is committed to peace and stability in the country and accepts such a procession as an expression of the free will of the people. We therefore call upon the National Congress Party leadership to unconditionally² release all the detainees," says President of the semi-autonomous Southern Sudan, Salva Kiir

A banned rally organized by Sudanese opposition³ parties has resulted in the detention⁴ of a number of senior officials in the South's ruling party.  The event's organizers allege⁵ key democratic reforms are being blocked by the Khartoum regime.  

The secretary general of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, Pagan Amum, and his northern deputy, Yasir Arman, were detained during a march outside the nation's parliament.  A Cabinet minister as well as SPLM parliamentarians were also reportedly detained.

The demonstration⁶ was called to protest what opposition leaders say is obstruction⁷ by the National Congress Party of efforts to reform security laws and pave the way for free and fair elections

Speaking from prison, Mr. Amum said the arrests would not deter⁸ the protests.

"The peaceful march is continuing by all the political parties," he said.  "We just heard some news now that there is a huge gathering⁹ in the Umma party headquarters and also in the SPLM headquarters in Khartoum."

The South' leadership called an emergency meeting in the South's capital city Juba.  Addressing the nation afterwards, The President of the semi-autonomous Southern Sudan and 1st Vice¹⁰ President of Sudan, Salva Kiir, said the detention of the party's members was "shocking" and "illegal" and demanded their immediate¹¹ release.

"The SPLM is committed to peace and stability in the country and accepts such a procession as an expression of the free will of the people," said Kiir.  "We therefore call upon the National Congress Party leadership to unconditionally release all the detainees."

Hundreds of protesters gathered in dispersed¹² pockets and chanted freedom slogans outside the parliament building.  Police used tear gas to try to break up the crowd and beat back demonstrators with batons¹³.

Protesters also gathered outside the police station holding the SPLM officials, demanding their release.

SPLM serves as the junior government partner under the ruling National Congress Party in a coalition¹⁴ administration agreed to in the 2005 peace agreement.  But relations between the two parties are growing increasingly tense as the final critical provisions of the peace implementation¹⁵ near.

National elections are scheduled for April this year and are to be the first real democratic vote held in the nation in decades.  Nine months after the elections, Southern Sudan is scheduled to hold an independence referendum with the option to secede¹⁶.

The demonstration was organized to protest what SPLM and opposition leaders say is the obstruction on the part of the NCP in reforming security laws to pave the way for free and fair elections.  SPLM is also calling for the urgent passage of the law finalizing¹⁷ the Southern referendum.

A last-minute ban on the rally was announced on Sunday, but SPLM insisted the rally was legal and vowed¹⁸ to go forward with the event. The NCP said that the demonstration had never received proper approval.

The protesters planned on submitting a petition to the national parliament, but government institutions remained closed Monday due to a hastily declared national holiday.  Authorities said the holiday was announced to encourage participation¹⁹ in the last day of voter registration²⁰.

The opposition groups and SPLM have confirmed that they are considering a united alliance to run against the President Bashir and his NCP party.  SPLM is not expected to front a national candidate of its own for the Sudanese presidency²¹.

The landmark²² 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement ended a two-decades long North-South civil war which killed nearly two million people, most of whom were civilians²³ in the South. 

 

1 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

2 unconditionally   

adv.无条件地

参考例句：

• All foreign troops must be withdrawn immediately and unconditionally. 所有外国军队必须立即无条件地撤出。
• It makes things very awkward to have your girls going back unconditionally just now! 你们现在是无条件上工，真糟糕！ 来自子夜部分

3 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。

4 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。

5 allege   

vt.宣称，申述，主张，断言

参考例句：

• The newspaper reporters allege that the man was murdered but they have given no proof.新闻记者们宣称这个男人是被谋杀的，但他们没提出证据。
• Students occasionally allege illness as the reason for absence.学生时不时会称病缺课。

6 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。

7 obstruction   

n.阻塞，堵塞；障碍物

参考例句：

• She was charged with obstruction of a police officer in the execution of his duty.她被指控妨碍警察执行任务。
• The road was cleared from obstruction.那条路已被清除了障碍。

8 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

9 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

10 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

11 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

12 dispersed   

adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的

参考例句：

• The clouds dispersed themselves. 云散了。
• After school the children dispersed to their homes. 放学后，孩子们四散回家了。

13 batons   

n.（警察武器）警棍( baton的名词复数 )；（乐队指挥用的）指挥棒；接力棒

参考例句：

• There were many riot policemen with batons. 有许多带警棍的防暴警察。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Chinese police fight? Number one is a person with batons to fight! 满街飘的中国国旗，是一个老华侨在事发时那出来分给大家的，很感动，真的，从来一向多一事不如少一事的中国人今天团结到一起站出来反抗。 来自互联网

14 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。

15 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

16 secede   

v.退出，脱离

参考例句：

• They plotted to make the whole Mississippi Valley secede from the United States.他们阴谋策划使整个密西西比流域脱离美国。
• We won't allow Tibet to secede from China and become an independent nation.我们决不允许西藏脱离中国独立。

17 finalizing   

vt.完成（finalize的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• You may edit registered information any time during the finalizing period. 您可以在规定期限内随时编辑修改注册资料。 来自互联网
• Natsun Trimming & Ironing, Finalizing the Perfection. 40南山整烫，完美在此定格。 来自互联网

18 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

19 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。

20 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

21 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。

22 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

23 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。