VOA标准英语2010年-Global Rally for Peace in Sudan Kicks

Humanitarian¹ groups and wold renowned² musicians are calling on the British government and world leaders to prevent Sudan from slipping back into what has been Africa's longest running civil war.

Natasha Saini | London 09 January 2010

Protesters calling on the British Government intervention³ to prevent war in Sudan are pictured opposite 10 Downing St. in London, 09 Jan 2010

Humanitarian groups and world renowned musicians are teaming up in a year long campaign for peace in Sudan.  The global effort is meant to draw attention to continued human rights violations⁴ in Sudan and prevent the vast African nation from slipping back into full-scale war. Dozens of activists⁵ gathered in London to help kick off the campaign.

This is the global 'beat for peace' for Sudan and musicians and humanitarian activists around the world are part of it.

Temperatures in London are below freezing, but many braved the cold to gather opposite the prime minister's offices at Number 10 Downing Street.  

They're calling on the British government and world leaders to prevent Sudan from slipping back into what has been Africa's longest running civil war.

Rita Paulino is the head of Sudan Women's Association in Britain. She explains why this campaign is so important.

"Almost we have six generations of people living in the time of war and we want to experience peace and we want to be developed and we have suffered a lot from the war- losing everything," said Paulino. "And that is why we want to campaign and continue to campaign for peace because peace is the only solution for us."

Britain is one of 15 countries where a coalition⁶ of humanitarian groups is launching the year long campaign for peace.  They are calling it "Sudan 365" and timing⁷ it to next year's scheduled national referendum in Sudan, when voters decide whether southern Sudan breaks away from the north or whether the country remains⁸ united.

A significant step, says Paulino. "Since the independence we have not been asked for our choice and this is the time to exercise our democracy and our right to say that we want to vote for unity⁹ or separation," she said.

The long running civil war has pitted the predominantly Arab north of Sudan against the mostly Christian¹⁰ and animist south.

Violence spread to the eastern region of Darfur in 2003. The conflict has been marked by gross violations of human rights and left millions dead and millions more homeless.

Sudanese President Umar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashar was charged by the International Criminal Court for 'war crimes' in 2008, although the government has repeatedly denied these allegations.

A peace treaty was signed in January 2005, but violence flared¹¹ again just last year. Humanitarian groups say the peace remains fragile and they fear the country could easily slip back into full scale war ahead of next year's vote.
 
Khatir Kayabil is the President of Darfur Union in Britain and he says a lot is at stake.

"Two million people have been killed in South Sudan and more than 3,000 people have been killed by the government of South Sudan in Darfur," said Kayabil. "If the international community,  our world leaders [do] not take action, that is [going to] mean a lot of people is [are] going to die tomorrow."

The international campaign has enlisted¹² the support of world famous drummers, including from bands such as Pink Floyd, Radiohead, The Police and Snow Patrol alongside musicians from Sudan, Egypt and other countries.

British officials have said they will continue to bolster¹³ peace efforts. 

In Khartoum, the Sudanese government has dismissed dire¹⁴ predictions of a possible return to civil war.

1 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

2 renowned   

adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的

参考例句：

• He is one of the world's renowned writers.他是世界上知名的作家之一。
• She is renowned for her advocacy of human rights.她以提倡人权而闻名。

3 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

4 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

5 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。

7 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

9 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

10 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

11 Flared   

adj. 端部张开的, 爆发的, 加宽的, 漏斗式的 动词flare的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The match flared and went out. 火柴闪亮了一下就熄了。
• The fire flared up when we thought it was out. 我们以为火已经熄灭，但它突然又燃烧起来。

12 enlisted   

adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持）

参考例句：

• enlisted men and women 男兵和女兵
• He enlisted with the air force to fight against the enemy. 他应募加入空军对敌作战。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

14 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。