VOA标准英语2009年-South Sudan says It 'Will Respect' Interna

An official of the South Sudanese government says despite its displeasure with the verdict, the semi-autonomous southern government will fully¹ honor Wednesday's ruling in The Hague that redrew the boundaries of the disputed Abyei area. The decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration² redrew the contested area's borders to place its oil field in northern Sudan territory.

The head of the South Sudanese government's mission in Kenya, John Andruga Duku, told VOA that although the ruling was a disappointment, the South would hold firm to its previous position that the court's decision must be respected.

"We would have wished the outcome was different, but given that this was the decision taken by the experts, we will respect it, even if we are not happy about it," he said.

Duku expressed frustration³ the arbitration court had decided⁴ to narrow the Abyei area. South Sudan largely expects Abyei to choose to become part of the South in a 2011 referendum.

"Our expectation was we were hoping the entire area would be given to the Abyei people to be part of Abyei [for] when they vote in the referendum to become part of South Sudan," he said. "But this has not been the case, and we will respect the decision."

The court's verdict effectively removed the issue of oil from the Abyei dispute, restricting the area's borders to exclude the oilfield, which now permanently⁵ becomes part of northern Sudan as part of the ruling.

With both sides pledging to uphold the ruling, the significance of the region's upcoming vote of self-determination is likely to become greatly diminished, now that the sticky question of the oil fields has been resolved.

Much speculation⁶ had built up during the past week as to whether the fragile North-South peace agreement would be able to withstand the court's verdict. The head of the U.N. mission in Sudan accused the South of illegally building up forces near the Abyei area, and an international policy group released a report cautioning of possible fallout from the ruling.

The Abyei dispute was only one of a number of outstanding disagreements under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed between the North and South in 2005.

The speculation about a possible clash between the two sides over the announcement was fueled by recent reports suggesting an escalation⁷ in tensions between the two parties. Both sides are alleged⁸ to be acquiring new military arms, and the South has rejected national census⁹ results that are to determine the balance of power in the upcoming national elections.

1 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

2 arbitration   

n.调停，仲裁

参考例句：

• The wage disagreement is under arbitration.工资纠纷正在仲裁中。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding.双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

3 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

6 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

7 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句

8 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

9 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。