2007年VOA标准英语-Former Coup Leader Says Ivorian Arrests Are Unj

Dakar
30 September 2007

Former 1999 Ivory Coast coup¹ leader Ibrahim Coulibaly has recently said that several of his supporters in the rebel-held north have been unjustly arrested. Coulibaly was close to rebel leaders when the rebellion began in late 2002, but has had repeated public disputes with northern authorities since then. Phillip Wellman reports from VOA's West Africa bureau in Dakar.

Coulibaly, currently living in exile in Paris, says that about 10 of his supporters have been arrested since September 19. He says that some of the arrests occurred in Danane, a city under New Forces rebel control, while the others took place in neighboring Burkina Faso.

Coulibaly has remained popular among northerners since staging the country's first coup in 1999, in a move seen by many in the north as an attempt to stop southern domination.

A spokesman for Coulibaly, Ismael Doumboya, says the supporters were arrested because they disagree with the latest peace plan mediated² in Burkina Faso, which they say leaves fundamental problems unsolved.

One of them is a stipulation³ in the constitution saying both parents of a presidential candidate must be Ivorian. In successive peace deals, though, parties have agreed that all major Ivorian politicians, including those with questionable⁴ nationalities, will be allowed to contend in the next election.

But Doumboya says Coulibaly wants long-lasting solutions.

"We are not satisfied with this peace agreement because it does not resolve our problems," said Doumboya.  "We have problems of our resources being stolen by people, and we have problems with our constitution which is not good. So what we want is to solve these problems deeply."

Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo and New Forces rebel leader Guillaume Soro signed the peace deal in March resulting in a coalition⁵ government in which Mr. Soro was named prime minister.

The new government says its aim is to reunite Ivory Coast and organize free and fair elections.

  But Doumboya says the coalition government does not represent all Ivorians.

"This is a [peace] deal between Mr. Soro and Mr. Gbagbo, and we do not want this deal," he added.  "We are waiting for our real solution, which will involve all Ivorians. If this problem is not solved, I think that people will use any means to solve the problem."

A spokesman for Mr. Soro's New Forces Sidiki Konate says he believes Coulibaly is currently trying to destabilize Ivory Coast from abroad.

Konate also says that those arrested in September were planning subversive⁶ actions against the government. He says Coulibaly must understand that Ivory Coast is tired of violence and is ready for peace.

"This guy [Coulibaly] has accepted to want to see some progress in a coup against Ivory Coast rather than engage in a peace process, which is really irreversible," said Konate. "We can not go back every time to a coup in Ivory Coast because we need peace."

Konate says that it is important for Ivorians not to become discouraged by the pace of the peace process, which at times may seem slow.

"We are working to unify⁷ the country. Everyone knows that the Ivory Coast has been split in two since 2002 and now we are trying to work to unify it," added Konate. "We are still working on that."

Presidential elections in Ivory Coast have been postponed⁸ through U.N. resolutions since October 2005. The Ivorian independent electoral commission says elections could take place around October 2008.

1 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

2 mediated   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的过去式和过去分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• He mediated in the quarrel between the two boys. 他调解两个孩子之间的争吵。
• The government mediated between the workers and the employers. 政府在工人与雇主间搞调和。

3 stipulation   

n.契约，规定，条文；条款说明

参考例句：

• There's no stipulation as to the amount you can invest. 没有关于投资额的规定。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The only stipulation the building society makes is that house must be insured. 建屋互助会作出的唯一规定是房屋必须保险。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 questionable   

adj.可疑的，有问题的

参考例句：

• There are still a few questionable points in the case.这个案件还有几个疑点。
• Your argument is based on a set of questionable assumptions.你的论证建立在一套有问题的假设上。

5 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。

6 subversive   

adj.颠覆性的，破坏性的；n.破坏份子，危险份子

参考例句：

• She was seen as a potentially subversive within the party.她被看成党内潜在的颠覆分子。
• The police is investigating subversive group in the student organization.警方正调查学生组织中的搞颠覆阴谋的集团。

7 unify   

vt.使联合，统一；使相同，使一致

参考例句：

• How can we unify such scattered islands into a nation?我们怎么才能把如此分散的岛屿统一成一个国家呢？
• It is difficult to imagine how the North and South could ever agree on a formula to unify the divided peninsula.很难想象南北双方在统一半岛的方案上究竟怎样才能达成一致。

8 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。