VOA标准英语2010年-Iran Opposition Leader Mousavi Not Afr

Photo: AP
Photo taken by an individual not employed by the Associated Press and obtained by the AP outside Iran shows a female Iranian protestor holding a poster of opposition¹ leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, during anti-government protest in Tehran, Iran, 27 Dec 2009

 

Top Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi says that he's not afraid to die for the cause of reform, and is offering the government a five-point plan for compromise.

The message from the top Iranian opposition leader was carried on the opposition Website Jaras Friday.

Mousavi called on government officials to recognize the rights of the people.  He said jailing or killing² opposition leaders will do little to calm tensions. He also proposed a five-point plan to help end the crisis.  It calls for freeing political prisoners and establishing new, transparent³ election laws.

The opposition leader's statement follows some of the worst violence to hit the country since June, when President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won a disputed election.

During Friday prayers at Tehran University, the deputy head of Iran's judiciary Ebrahim Raisi stressed that the law will be applied⁴ harshly to opposition demonstrators:

He says that (the judicial⁵ system) will not connive⁶ with these people whom he refers to as rioters, violators and law-breakers, insisting that they are endangering (ordinary) people's security.

The leader of the Tehran prayer service, Ayatollah Jannati, also accused the opposition demonstrators of colluding with the United States in a so-called combat against Islam and Iran's Islamic Republic:

The issue, he says, is that Islam is the basis of our regime. America, he complains, has been fighting us for 30 years (to topple our system) and it has failed. The Islamic Republic will not, he argues, tolerate any combat against (our Islamic system). (Such behavior) he says, is very, very pitiful. The people insist, he stresses, that the law is the law, and it must be respected.

Some Iranian hard-liners have been calling for the execution of opposition leader Mousavi, as well, for opposing the government.

Scott Lucas of the University of Birmingham in Britain, who is behind the popular Iran blog Enduring America thinks that both the opposition and the government are digging in their heels for a confrontation⁷:

"The five-point plan is not new. He said something similar in around October. That, therefore, is still a compromise within the system. The other thing that's important is that the language he uses before he gets to that about his possible martyrdom is striking, which is: 'my blood is no redder than those of others in the [opposition] movement, but I'm ready to die.' Therefore, it's a language of expected confrontation, as opposed to political compromise," he said.

Lucas also argues that Mousavi may be trying to re-establish himself as the clear leader of the opposition after complaints in recent months that he hadn't been showing up to lead public demonstrations⁸. Many in the opposition, he notes, have been saying that the "opposition is leading Mr. Mousavi and not the contrary."

1 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。

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 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。

4 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

5 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

6 connive   

v.纵容；密谋

参考例句：

• They connive children excessively which will bring a negative effect on theirs character.他们过分纵容孩子，这对孩子的性格有不良影响。
• Senior politicians connived to ensure that he was not released.几位资深政治家串通起来确保他不会获释。

7 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

8 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。