[04-20] 【Eco-亚非拉】Mountains to climb 关山难越

[font=Arial][color=Red][b][size=4]Nepal's election
尼泊尔选举[/size][/b][/color][size=5][b]
Mountains to climb
关山难越[/b][/size][color=DimGray]
Apr 10th 2008 | KATHMANDU
From [i]The Economist[/i] print edition
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[i]Translation captain21[/i]
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Nepalis vote; the peace process lives another day
总统大选一路畅通，和平进程长路漫漫
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[img]http://media.economist.com/images/20080412/CAS948.gif[/img]

[color=RoyalBlue][size=3]TO THE congratulatory whirring of millions of unseen insects, enlivened by the rising Himalayan sun, Nepali voters turned out early on April 10th. In the villages of the Kathmandu valley, long queues awaited the opening of polling stations. Within three hours, some had recorded a 50% turnout. As a preliminary endorsement of a troubled election, Nepal's first in almost a decade dominated by civil war and political strife, this was cheering. [/size][/color]
[color=DarkRed][size=3]在喜马拉雅山升起的太阳照耀下，成千上万只隐藏深处的昆虫唧唧吟唱。 4月10日，尼泊尔选民便早早起床。在加德满都河谷区域的乡村，选民在选票站的开场排起长龙等候。不到三个小时，投票率便已达到50%。这是一场经过初步授权的混乱选举，对饱受国内战乱和政治动乱将近十年的尼泊尔尚属首次。然而，这却令人欢呼不已。[/size][/color]

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Campaigning for the poll was violent, even by South Asia's grisly standards. Two candidates and a score of party workers were killed by rival party thugs. A dozen bomb blasts, including one at a mosque last month that killed two worshippers, further blighted the process. Diehard supporters of the soon-to-be-axed monarchy, as well as ethnic separatists in the southern Terai plain, were probably to blame.[/size][/color]
[color=DarkRed][size=3]即便是以南亚那种可怕的标准来加以衡量，尼泊尔拉拢选票的竞选活动仍是充满暴力。两名候选人和十来位党务工作者被敌对党派暴徒杀害。十几起爆炸事件进一步阻碍了选举进程，而其中在一所清真寺中发生的爆炸事件致使两名信徒死亡。支持尽快废除君主制的顽固分子，以及在德赖平原南部的民族分裂主义分子很可能是幕后元凶。[/size][/color]

[color=RoyalBlue][size=3]More worrying, most of the pre-election violence was carried out by one of the main contestants: the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), which in 2006 ended a decade-long armed struggle. Its 23,000-strong rebel army is corralled under UN eyes, but intact. On the stump, Maoist leaders argued that anything less than a sweeping victory for their party would be evidence of massive rigging.[/size][/color]
[color=DarkRed][size=3]令人更为忧虑的是，选举前夕的大部分暴力事件是由主要竞选党派之一——尼泊尔共产党（毛派）——策划。尼泊尔共产党在2006年结束了长达十年之久的武装斗争。尽管受到联合国的严加监督，但23000多毛派叛军仍在我行我素。毛派领导人在政治演说中声称，如果尼泊尔共产党未能大获全胜，那将说明选举存在大规模的舞弊行为。[/size][/color]

[color=RoyalBlue][size=3]That was ominous: the Maoists are believed, in the absence of any reliable opinion poll, to be widely detested. But that they took part in the election—twice postponed, once on their account—was worth celebrating. Nepal, a country of 28m people, is a poor, lawless and fractious place. It faces worsening ethnic, caste-based and regional conflicts. The hoarding of power and riches in the capital, Kathmandu, causes huge resentment, which fed the Maoist insurgency. Indeed, under the terms of a shambling peace process, the basic shape of the Nepali state is an open question. The election has improved the odds the answer will be found peacefully.[/size][/color]
[color=DarkRed][size=3]乌云压顶，来势不妙：在没有获得可靠的民意调查的情况下，毛派被认为普遍不得人心。但是，毛派对曾两度（一次由毛派自己造成）被推迟的大选的积极参与倒是值得庆贺。尼泊尔拥有人口数量高达2800万，是一个贫困不堪，没有法纪，独断专行的国家。当前，尼泊尔还正面临日益严重的种族冲突，基于社会等级的冲突和区域冲突。在首都加德满都上演的垄断政权和搜刮财富等行为引发民众大加不满。民众的不满反而助长了毛派的反叛活动。确切地说，即便是依据一个蹒跚的和平进程协议中的条款，各方对尼泊尔国家基本的政体雏形仍尚不能达成共识。本次选举有助改善乱局，解决办法也可通过和平方式找到。[/size][/color]

[color=RoyalBlue][size=3]Assuming, that is, the Maoists accept the results. Winning at least 80 seats—out of a possible 601—is rumoured to be the bottom line for their continued commitment to democracy. But a convoluted electoral system, voter intimidation and the passage of time since Nepal's last serious election, in 1999, make the outcome hard to predict. The aggrieved southerners should also win at least 80 seats, though split between different parties. They are one of several marginalised ethnic or caste groups for whom a block of seats has been reserved.The Terai lot successfully agitated for improved terms in February through a two-week blockade of Kathmandu.[/size][/color]
[color=DarkRed][size=3]让我们假设毛派接受选票结果。据传毛派至少需要赢得80个席位——可能共有601席位——才是他们能够继续实现民主承诺的底线。自1999年的情况严重大选举行以来，尼泊尔复杂的选举体制，以及恐吓选民，和时间推移等问题致使选票结果难以预料。尽管不同党派在互闹分裂，合法权利受到侵害的南方党派至少也应该可赢得80个席位。作为被边缘化的几个种族或阶级团体之一，一排席位已被选民预留南方党派。Terai地区的民众通过在2月份对加德满都发起一场为期两周的封锁活动，成功地迫使对方修改协议。[/size][/color]

[color=RoyalBlue][size=3]Once convened, the next assembly's main task will be to draft a constitution that satisfies as many potential agitators as possible. It will be difficult. The peace process, which began with a popular movement against the dictatorial King Gyanendra in 2006, is based partly on a commitment by the parties to make Nepal a federal republic. But they disagree about what this should in practice entail. The Maoists want an executive president and provinces drawn on ethnic lines. The Nepali Congress party, which led the interim coalition government, wants a figurehead president. [/size][/color]
[color=DarkRed][size=3]一旦制宪会议召开，那么新一届大会的主要任务将是起草一部令众多潜在的鼓动者都为满意的宪法。这将会是困难重重。自2006年反对专制国王贾南德拉的民众运动开展以来，和平进程也只是赞成尼泊尔成为联邦共和国各方党派的部分承诺。然而，他们对于和平进程在实践中所涉及的问题却存有分歧。毛派希望设立具有行政权利的总统，各省应被划清种族界限。领导临时联合政府的尼泊尔大会党则希望设立一个傀儡总统。[/size][/color]

[color=RoyalBlue][size=3]Some Congress members might even hope to retain King Gyanendra as a constitutional monarch. That is probably impossible. As its first act, the new assembly is supposed to finalise a decision of its predecessor to scrap the 240-year monarchy. So it was strange, and faintly alarming to his subjects, when the king broke a long silence on April 9th to urge his “beloved countrymen” to turn out and vote. [/size][/color]
[color=DarkRed][size=3]一些国会议员甚至仍希望国王贾南德拉作为一个立宪君主。这或许不为可能。作为首个法案，新议会应该对前任放弃的具有240年历史的君主制度做出最终裁决。因此当国王在4月9日打破长期以来的沉默敦促自己"亲爱的同胞"出动投票时，人们便感觉到不可思议，臣民便感觉到大为惊慌。[/size][/color]


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