VOA标准英语2014--Turkey's Authoritarian Moves Irk Western Allies

 

Turkey's Authoritarian¹ Moves Irk Western Allies

The Turkish government has been defiant² in the face of criticism at home and abroad for its raids targeting opposition³ media. The European Union on Monday expressed dismay after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lashed⁴ out at Brussels for criticizing his government's action. Turkey's bid to be considered for EU membership has been on hold while critics accuse the NATO ally of increasingly authoritarian rule.

Protesters denounce raids

Protesters gathered outside Istanbul's police headquarters Monday with signs condemning⁵ police raids on the Zaman newspaper and Samanyolu TV station, and the arrest of their senior journalists and editorial staff. The European Union condemned⁶ the raids as "incompatible⁷ with the freedom of media."

President Erdogan lashed out at the EU critics. In a televised speech from a western city, he said the 28-nation group should "mind its own business." "When we take these kinds of decisions, what the EU thinks about it, whether it accepts it or not, doesn't matter to us at all," he said. "We don't care."

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said she was surprised at Erdogan's reaction. Turkey is a NATO member, aspiring⁸ to become a candidate for EU membership. "I've seen the reactions from President Erdogan and I'm very surprised, because in the visit we had last week, we discussed in a very constructive⁹ way," she recalled.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Turkey's actions are "more than just worrying."

Journalist detained

More than 20 journalists remain in detention¹⁰ after the crackdown on Sunday, which comes almost a year after the opposition media accused the government of corruption¹¹. Turkey denies any political prosecution¹² and claims the arrests were made in connection with a plot to overthrow¹³ the government.

"This is a legal process. This process is not influenced by politics. This process has not started by an order from the government or any member of the Cabinet," said Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc. 

Press freedom

Last year, Turkey was criticized for using excessive force to disperse¹⁴ massive anti-government protests. Recent months have seen raids against suspected opponents in the police force. This is the first major operation against opposition media outlets¹⁵.

"These were the only anti-government media outlets. Maybe millions were expressing themselves through these media outlets. The autocratic regime controlled by one person is now trying to prevent this, too, but people have no intention of letting him," Mustafa Yesil, chairman of the Journalist and Writers Foundation.

Some analysts¹⁶ say Turkey has long had a poor record on media freedoms.

"Turkey occupies 154th place out of 180 worldwide in terms of freedom of the press, according to Reporters Without Borders," said Erol Onderoglu with Reporters Without borders, Turkey. "It's a worrying situation which has been going on for almost 10 years."

The United States has urged Turkey to keep from violating core democratic values enshrined in its own constitution.

1 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

2 defiant   

adj.无礼的，挑战的

参考例句：

• With a last defiant gesture,they sang a revolutionary song as they were led away to prison.他们被带走投入监狱时，仍以最后的反抗姿态唱起了一支革命歌曲。
• He assumed a defiant attitude toward his employer.他对雇主采取挑衅的态度。

3 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。

4 lashed   

adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• The rain lashed at the windows. 雨点猛烈地打在窗户上。
• The cleverly designed speech lashed the audience into a frenzy. 这篇精心设计的演说煽动听众使他们发狂。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

7 incompatible   

adj.不相容的，不协调的，不相配的

参考例句：

• His plan is incompatible with my intent.他的计划与我的意图不相符。
• Speed and safety are not necessarily incompatible.速度和安全未必不相容。

8 aspiring   

adj.有志气的；有抱负的；高耸的v.渴望；追求

参考例句：

• Aspiring musicians need hours of practice every day. 想当音乐家就要每天练许多小时。
• He came from an aspiring working-class background. 他出身于有抱负的工人阶级家庭。 来自辞典例句

9 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。

10 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

11 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

12 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

13 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

14 disperse   

vi.使分散；使消失；vt.分散；驱散

参考例句：

• The cattle were swinging their tails to disperse the flies.那些牛甩动着尾巴驱赶苍蝇。
• The children disperse for the holidays.孩子们放假了。

15 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

16 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。