VOA标准英语2012--Syrian Opposition Needs Unity But Continues to Splinter

Syrian Opposition¹ Needs Unity² But Continues to Splinter

Syrian forces continue to shell opposition strongholds. The opposition refuses to back down. And civilians³ continue to bear the brunt of the violence.

But in the far calmer surroundings of Paris, another Syrian opposition group was born last week, with plans to form a government-in-exile. It claims to have the support of opposition fighters and therefore to be "the legitimate⁴ representative of the Syrian people." 

That is a phrase much used in this conflict. At a meeting in Istanbul last month, the international organization the Friends of Syria declared a different group, the Syrian National Council, “a” legitimate representative of the Syrian people. The group’s leaders say that means they are “the” legitimate representative.

Syria-watcher Chris Doyle, who has hosted various Syrian opposition figures at his London-based Council for Arab-British Understanding, is concerned about such competing claims.

“I think it’s really important to emphasize that just as the regime has no legitimacy⁵ and never did, the only way a Syrian movement can have legitimacy should be by the endorsement⁶ of the Syrian people through a ballot⁷ box,” he said. 

Doyle says it is not realistic to expect the varied⁸ Syrian groups to unite under one political banner. Rather, he suggests a loose coalition⁹ sharing only the goal of ousting¹⁰ President Bashar al-Assad.

But the president continues to have considerable support among some groups in Syria. Former senior British and United Nations official Mark Malloch-Brown, now with FTI Consulting, says that makes it particularly important for the Syrian opposition to come together.

“The opposition doesn’t have the luxury, and shouldn’t allow itself to be irresponsible enough, to remain permanently¹¹ divided," he said. "There needs to be an opposition negotiating platform. And somehow or other these groups have to show the statesmanship to come together in some way to agree on terms.”

There are few signs of that so far. And that may make it more difficult for the international community to convince Assad supporters inside Syria to change their allegiance.

“If they want a stake in the future political arrangements of the country, Assad needs to be jettisoned," said Malloch-Brown. "And so I think you will see tensions develop between the broader regime establishment and the Assad family.”

Malloch-Brown says making that happen will require help from Assad’s key foreign supporters, particularly Russia - help he says may eventually come if efforts to start negotiations¹² fail - and as a last resort to avoid Western military intervention¹³.

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 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。

3 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。

4 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

5 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

6 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

7 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

8 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

9 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。

10 ousting   

驱逐( oust的现在分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• The resulting financial chaos led to the ousting of Bristol-Myers' s boss. 随后引发的财政混乱导致了百时美施贵宝的总裁下台。
• The ousting of the president has drawn widespread criticism across Latin America and the wider world. 洪都拉斯总统被驱逐时间引起拉丁美洲甚至全世界的广泛批评。

11 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。

12 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

13 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。