VOA常速英语2014--Syria Sets Presidential Election Amid Reports of Chemical Weapons Use 叙利亚传出再度使用化武

Syria Sets Presidential Election Amid Reports of Chemical Weapons Use 叙利亚传出再度使用化武

WASHINGTON — Syria has announced that it will hold presidential elections June 3, despite an ongoing 1 civil war that has killed more than 150,000 people in the past three years and forced about 1.5 million to flee. The announcement comes as the West investigates rebel allegations that the government has been using chemical weapons against the opposition 2.

虽然叙利亚内战仍在继续，但叙利亚宣布将在今年6月3举行总统选举。过去三年里，叙利亚内战已经导致15万多人丧生，并迫使大约900万人逃离家园。叙利亚宣布举行大选的同时，西方正在调查叙利亚反政府武装称叙利亚政府针对反对派使用化武一事。

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad made a rare trip outside Damascus on Sunday to visit the ancient Christian 3 town of Maaloula, recaptured from rebels last week.  He told local residents they can count on his government's protection against "terrorists," the term his government often uses for rebels. On Monday, his government announced the date of the next presidential election.

叙利亚总统阿萨德星期天罕见地离开大马士革，访问上周从反政府武装手中夺回的基督教名镇马鲁拉。阿萨德告诉当地居民，他们能够得到政府保护，免受恐怖分子袭击。阿萨德政府经常称反叛武装为恐怖分子。星期一，阿萨德政府宣布了举行下次总统选举的日期。

The two events follow Syrian government's recent advances against Islamist insurgents 4. President Assad has not officially said if he will run, but he is widely expected to use his current advantage to win a third term.

在此之前，叙利亚政府打击伊斯兰反叛力量的行动取得进展。阿萨德还没有证实宣布他是否参选，但是人们广泛预计他会利用目前的优势来赢得第三个任期。

The United Nations warned against holding elections at this time.

联合国对叙利亚准备举行大选发出警告。

"I think both the secretary-general [Ban Ki-moon] and joint 5 special representative, Lakhdar Brahimi, have repeatedly warned that the holding of elections in the current circumstances amid the ongoing conflict and massive displacement 6 will damage the political process and hamper 7 the prospects 8 for a political solution that the country so urgently needs," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the U.N. Secretary-General.

联合国秘书长发言人迪雅里克说：“潘基文秘书长和叙利亚问题联合特使卜拉希米都一再警告，在目前冲突持续、大量人口迁移的情况下举行选举，将破坏政治进程，阻碍叙利亚所急需的政治解决方案的前景。”

International talks on Syria held earlier this year have produced no tangible 9 results. And the major players in the talks, Russia, the United States and the European Union, are dealing 10 with the conflict in Ukraine, so that puts the future of Syria talks in question.

今年早些时候就叙利亚问题举行的国际谈判没有取得实际结果。谈判主要方俄罗斯、美国和欧盟正忙于应对乌克兰危机，为叙利亚问题谈判增添了不确定因素。

In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki called the election a parody 11 of democracy.

美国国务院发言人莎琪在华盛顿表示，这种选举是拙劣的民主。

"The regime's violent suppression of the Syrian people's calls for freedom and dignity is what sparked this brutal 12 conflict. Staging elections under current conditions, including the effective disenfranchisement of millions of Syrians, neither addresses the aspirations 13 of the Syrian people nor moves the country any closer to a negotiated political solution," said Psaki.

“叙利亚政权暴力压制叙利亚人民对自由和尊严的要求，引发了目前这场野蛮的冲突。在目前条件下，包括数百万叙利亚人被实际上剥夺国籍的情况下举行选举，既不会满足叙利亚人民的期望，也不会使叙利亚更加接近一个谈判达成的政治解决方案。”

Psaki said the U.S. government is investigating reports that the Syrian government used toxic 14 chlorine gas against the opposition earlier this month.  Yehia Soulaiman, a military analyst 15 in Damascus, said the accusation 16 is fabricated.

莎琪说，美国政府正在调查有关叙利亚政府本月早些时候使用有毒气体氯气对付反对派的报告。

"They [the opposition] intend to win compassion 17 from the international community by the excuse of chemical weapons. They are hoping for foreign intervention 18. The opposition rebels intend for foreign military intervention in Syria just like what happened in Libya years ago," said Soulaiman.

大马士革的军事专家苏莱曼表示，这种指责是编造的：“反对派就是想利用化武这种话题来赢得国际社会的同情。他们希望外国干预，反对派武装希望外国对叙利亚进行军事干预，就像几年前利比亚发生的一样。”

The government agreed last year to ship its chemical weapons out of the country, following a sarin gas attack that killed hundreds of people. Chlorine was not covered by the agreement.

在发生沙林毒气袭击，导致数百人丧生之后，叙利亚政府去年同意把化学武器运出叙利亚。但氯气并不在协议范围之内。