VOA标准英语2011--Pakistan Announces Boycott of Afghanistan Conference

Pakistan Announces Boycott¹ of Afghanistan Conference

Pakistan says it will boycott a major Afghanistan reconciliation² conference next week in Germany to protest NATO's recent airstrike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's decision to boycott the Afghanistan conference in Bonn, Germany, comes despite an appeal by Afghan President Hamid Karzai to reconsider.

And because certain Afghan militant³ groups have ties to Pakistan's security forces, Pakistan's engagement is considered crucial to any future Afghan stability effort.

U.S.-led NATO combat forces are scheduled to depart in 2014, meaning the window of time to negotiate a secure peace framework is rapidly shrinking.

For many Pakistanis, the deaths of 24 soldiers killed in a friendly fire incident involving NATO warplanes and helicopter gunships are painful.

And popular anger is mounting with many Pakistanis calling on their government to sever⁴ its long-time alliance with the United States, despite billions of dollars in U.S. aid each year.

“If you are hitting your own friends, what would you expect from your enemies, like the Taliban? We are your allies - you should not strike us back,” said one man.

“Everybody in Pakistan is against it - in the tribal⁵ areas, especially, they are very unhappy. They are going against Americans, they are going against the Pakistan government if proper action is not taken,” said another man.

Besides boycotting⁶ the Afghanistan conference, Pakistan also has shut down two overland supply routes that NATO uses to provide nonlethal supplies to its forces in Afghanistan.

And it is seeking to disrupt the use of American drone aircraft in the Afghan war by ordering the U.S. to vacate an airbase in Pakistan. Drone attacks and civilian⁷ collateral⁸ damage are frequent irritants to the Pakistani government and citizens.

Simbal Khan, a researcher at Islamabad's Institute of Strategic Studies, said the Pakistani government had no choice but to take a firm stand toward the U.S. and NATO.

“What we are going to see is probably a change in the reaction as we move forward in dealing⁹ with this event. I think the future reactions and what you're going to see from government and from the people in the next two or three days is going to be dependent now on the response from the U.S. and from NATO,” said Khan.

Khan also said that NATO needs to better define the rules of engagement along the Pakistani border.

“We want to move forward with the U.S. and with our international partners in the future, providing safeguards are put in place to prevent certain incidents from happening in the future,” said Khan.

The United States is leading an investigation¹⁰ into how and why the NATO aircraft fired on the two Pakistani military outposts. A report of the investigation's findings is expected to be complete by the end of next December.

1 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

2 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

3 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

4 sever   

v.切开，割开；断绝，中断

参考例句：

• She wanted to sever all her connections with the firm.她想断绝和那家公司的所有联系。
• We must never sever the cultural vein of our nation.我们不能割断民族的文化血脉。

5 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

6 boycotting   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They're boycotting the shop because the people there are on strike. 他们抵制那家商店，因为那里的店员在罢工。
• The main opposition parties are boycotting the elections. 主要反对党都抵制此次选举。

7 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。

8 collateral   

adj.平行的；旁系的；n.担保品

参考例句：

• Many people use personal assets as collateral for small business loans.很多人把个人财产用作小额商业贷款的抵押品。
• Most people here cannot borrow from banks because they lack collateral.由于拿不出东西作为抵押，这里大部分人无法从银行贷款。

9 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

10 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。