VOA常速英语2014--Turkey’s Fading Economy Fuels Corruption Scandal 土耳其经济衰退引爆腐败丑闻

Turkey’s Fading Economy Fuels Corruption 1 Scandal 土耳其经济衰退引爆腐败丑闻

LONDON — Turkey’s prime minister is battling corruption allegations amid a power struggle that goes to the heart of the political elite 2. Analysts 4 say the feud 5, which has seen three Cabinet ministers lose their jobs, was triggered by slowdown in a country long seen as a rising economic power in the region.  

伦敦 — 在牵动政治精英的权力争斗中，土耳其总理正在穷于应对腐败指控。分析人士说，土耳其长期以来被认为是该地区一支不断上升的经济力量，而经济下滑触发了这次权力之争，并且已经导致三名内阁部长丢掉了工作。

Rival lawmakers started a brawl 6 in Turkey’s parliament Sunday as the political feud intensified 7.

土耳其的政治争斗这星期演变成了一场议会争吵。

They clashed over a draft bill that will give the government a bigger role in appointing judges and prosecutors 8. The opposition 9 claims it is an effort to stifle 10 a corruption scandal.

观点对立的议员们就一项议案发生冲突，这个议案将使政府在任命法官和检察官时起到更大的作用。

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has cast the corruption allegations as an attempted "judicial 11 coup 12" - and blames foreign powers. Speaking last month, he said propaganda has been launched against the government. There is a gang, a cabal 13 plotting against the state, he said.

反对派声称这是要阻止一个腐败丑闻曝光。

总理埃尔多安称所谓的腐败指控是外国力量试图发动的一场“司法政变”。他说： “他们发动了针对我们的宣传攻势。在国内有一个团伙正在策划一个阴谋。”

Far-reaching allegations

More than 10,000 anti-corruption protesters took to the streets of Ankara last week.

1万多名反腐抗议者上周走上安卡拉街头。

Gul Berna Ozcan of Royal Holloway University of London said the allegations extend to the top of Turkish business and politics.

“Corruption has actually been increasing as the economy got bigger and more affluent," said Ozcan. "The most critical part of the current government’s corruption index so to speak has to do with public procurements, municipal services, land planning, urban planning and privatization, in particular of former state assets.”

伦敦皇家霍洛威大学的奥兹坎说，腐败指控涉及到土耳其商业和政治的最高层。她说： “随着经济壮大和更加富裕，腐败实际上在增加。现政府的腐败指数中最重要的部分涉及政府采购、市政服务、土地规划、城市规划和私有化，特别是前国有资产的私有化。”

The scandal has seen three Cabinet ministers resign. Several police chiefs and 350 police officers have been fired. Dozens have been arrested.

已经有三名内阁部长因为丑闻辞职。几名警察局长和350名警官被开除。数十人被逮捕。

Observers say the purge 14 is targeting followers 15 of a powerful conservative movement known as Hizmet, founded by a U.S.-based Islamic scholar, Fethullah Gulen.

观察人士说，这场清洗的目标是一个强大的保守运动的追随者。这个运动由旅美伊斯兰学者葛兰创立。

“The Gulen movement, which is a form of solidarity 16 platform, has also been part of this economic reallocation. Reallocation through privatization, municipal real estate arrangements… And they perhaps have been increasingly squeezed out of these big fortunes,” said Ozcan.

奥兹坎说： “葛兰运动是一个坚实的平台，也是这场经济再分配的一部分。经济再分配通过私有化、都市房地产安排等等来实现。这些人可能越来越被排挤到这些巨大财富之外了。”

Faltering 18 economy

An average economic growth rate of 5.2% per year during the last decade has helped Erdogan win three terms in office. But since 2011, that growth has begun to falter 17, said Fadi Hakura, Turkey analyst 3 at policy institute Chatham House.

过去十年平均每年5.2%的经济增长率帮助埃尔多安连任三届总理。但是，查塔姆政策研究所的土耳其分析人士哈库拉说，2011年以来，增长开始减缓。

“Now that the pie is shrinking, each side wants to have a bigger slice of a shrinking pie, and that’s generating an enormous amount of feuding 19 and disagreement between conservative forces in Turkey,” said Hakura.

他说：“现在饼正在变小，而每方却都希望得到更大的一块，这就在土耳其保守势力间造成了大量的对抗和分歧。”

Hakura said Turkey has become stuck in what economists 20 call a middle-income trap. “What is important is productivity growth, the quality of human capital, robust 21 state institutions, transparency and the rule of law. And on all these criteria 22, Turkey is seriously lacking."

哈库拉说土耳其正陷入经济学家所说的中等收入陷阱。他说：“重要的是生产力增长、人力资本的质量、健全的国家机构、透明度和法治。而按照所有这些标准衡量，土耳其都远远落后。”

And the latest corruption allegations spell further economic trouble, said Ozcan. “The rule of law is definitely in serious danger. No one would like to invest in a country where the judiciary is controlled by the government.”

奥兹坎说，最新的腐败指控预示着更深层的经济困难。他说： “法治肯定正面临严重危险。没有人愿意在一个司法由政府操控的国家投资。”

Erdogan claims the allegations are false and aimed at derailing his bid to become president in elections scheduled for September.

总理埃尔多安称，腐败指控是假的，目的是削弱他在今年9月总统选举中的竞争力。