CAMPAIGN NEWS DIGEST
October 2006
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CAMPAIGN NEWS DIGEST
Pressure on Sudan
Diplomatic pressure on Sudan to allow 20,000 UN peacekeepers into the Darfur region mounted last month, with US President George Bush threatening to ignore Khartoum’s refusal to allow the force in.
The UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair, called for international action to bring a change of mind and actions from the government of Sudan.
For the past three years, the Sudanese military, along with the Arab militia, known as the Janjaweed, have tried to crush a rebellion in the Darfur region by systematically wiping out villages.
Some 13 UN resolutions have been passed condemning the killing, but none has stopped it.
China has major oil interests in Sudan and, with Russia, abstained from the latest Security Council vote on troop deployment.
Sudan’s President, Omar al-Bashir, has likened a UN peacekeeping force to Western colonisation and has declared that he would lead the struggle against it personally.
There are currently 7,000 under-resourced African Union peacekeepers in Darfur.
‘We lied day & night’
The Hungarian prime minister, Ferenc Gyurcsany, rejected opposition calls to quit after anti-government riots he called the country’s ‘longest and darkest night’ since the end of communism.
The riots followed the leak of a tape in which Mr Gyurcsany said he and his Socialist Party had lied for four years about budgets in order to win a general election in April.
Thousands of people took to the streets of Budapest, occupying and setting fire to the state television building and fighting with riot police.
Higher taxes and fees for healthcare and university tuition had provoked protests before the release of the tape prompted a violent reaction.
A defiant Mr Gyurcsany said that resigning was out of the question and he would continue with the tough reforms.
Investors who hold billions of dollars of Hungarian bonds are worried over the fate of the reforms, which most economists see as the only way to rescue the country’s weak finances and keep up hopes of joining the Euro zone.
Bloodless Thai coup
Thailand’s new military ruler won important royal backing for his bloodless coup and announced that elections would not be called for another year.
The United States and other Western nations expressed disapproval and urged a swift restoration of democracy.
Army commander General Sondhi Boonyaratkalin said he would serve as prime minister for two weeks until the junta chooses a civilian to replace him and writes an interim constitution.
Sondhi sealed the success of his coup by receiving royal endorsement as leader of the new junta, while the former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra thought about his future and the threat of possible prosecution at home.
Receiving the approval of King Bhumibol Adulyadej legitimises the takeover and should effectively defeat any efforts at resistance by Thaksin’s partisans.
Pope says ‘sorry’
Pope Benedict is sorry Muslims were offended by a speech on Islam that caused fury around the world and led to calls for the leader of the Catholic church to apologise, a Vatican statement said.
The worst crisis since Benedict was elected in April 2005 was sparked by a speech in his native Germany last month that appeared to endorse a Christian view, contested by most Muslims, that early Muslims spread their religion by violence.
The reaction has cast doubt on a planned visit to Turkey by the Pope in November. In an early reaction to the Vatican statement, Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood said it was not enough and they wanted ‘a personal apology’.
Chancellor Angela Merkel and other German politicians defended his comments, saying he had been misunderstood.
Bloomfield, Steve, ‘Bush hints at use of force in Darfur’, New Zealand Herald, 17 September 2006
Koranyi, Balazs, ‘“We lied morning, noon and night” – PM’s tape that left nation on brink’, The Scotsman, 20 September 2006
Wannabovorn, Sutin, ‘New military ruler is endorsed by king’, Mercury News, 21 September 2006
Brown, Stephen, ‘The Pope is sorry’, Hindustan Times, 21 September 2006
This page has been downloaded from www.campaignmilitaryenglish.com.
It is photocopiable, but all copies must be complete pages.
Ó Macmillan Publishers Limited 2006
CAMPAIGN NEWS DIGEST
October 2006
Student Worksheet
Task 1: pre-reading vocabulary
Before reading the articles, match the underlined words in the first column with their closest synonyms in the second column.
1. systematically a) make legal or permit something to happen
2. colonise b) disagree or argue against something
3. provoke c) a council or group that seeks power
4. defiant d) take over a region or country
5. resign e) cause feelings or a reaction
6. junta f) give support or approve of something
7. interim g) in a careful, planned and methodical way
8. legitimise h) give up or retire from a position
9. endorse i) resisting authority or force
10. contest j) between one process or period and another
Task 2: comprehension check
Write short answers to the following questions:
1. Why has it been difficult to get the Security Council to agree on sending troops to Sudan?
2. What is the reason Omar al-Bashir gives not to allow UN troops in Sudan?
3. Why does Mr Gyurcsany feel he should continue in office even though he lied to the electorate?
4. What is the reason the US and other Western nations are worried about the coup in Thailand?
5. How long does the General say he will remain prime minister of Thailand?
6. Why does it seem so important to have the king of Thailand’s approval for the coup?
7. According to the passage, why did some Muslims take offence at the Pope’s speech?
Task 3: discussion
‘Is it ever right to lie?’
The text ‘We lied day & night’ describes the reaction of some people in Budapest to the news that the Hungarian prime minister admitted to lying to the electorate. Your teacher is going to ask you to discuss whether it is ever acceptable or justifiable to lie. Look at the following websites to help you before you are asked to speak:
http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/iie/v6n1/lying.html
http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~rbrokaw/lying.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lie#Morality_of_lying
Task 4: writing
‘Bloodless Thai coup’ tells the story of the world’s most recent coup. Write a short description and summary of what a coup is using about 300 words.
Look at the following websites to help you:
http://www.subliminal.org/news/coup.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coup_d'%C3%A9tat
October 2006
Teacher’s Notes
Task 1: pre-reading vocabulary
Before reading the articles, match the underlined words in the first column with their closest synonyms in the
second column.
1. systematically g) in a careful, planned and methodical way
2. colonise d) take over a region or country
3. provoke e) cause feelings or a reaction
4. defiant i) resisting authority or force
5. resign h) give up or retire from a position
6. junta c) a council or group that seeks power
7. interim j) between one process or period and another
8. legitimise a) make legal or permit something to happen
9. endorse f) give support or approve of something
10. contest b) disagree or argue against something
Task 2: comprehension check
Write short answers to the following questions:
1. China and Russia have not voted to send troops in (because they have oil interests in Sudan).
2. He implies that a UN force would come into Sudan and subdue the people like an invading country.
3. He feels that continuing his reform programme is more important than any lies he has told.
4. They are worried about an army takeover and the future of democracy.
5. He says he will remain prime minister for two weeks.
6. It is important because the king’s approval makes the takeover almost legal.
7. They feel that the Pope may have given his support to a controversial history of Islam.
Task 3: discussion
Whether it is ever right to lie is a complex question (and much more difficult to answer than at first appears). Therefore, it will be important to set clear parameters for this task. If you have a small class that you know well, you may feel that you can allow an open discussion (have a look at this website for help: http://www.onestopenglish.com/section.asp?catid=59452&docid=146611).
For larger classes, it may be better to divide into groups of four or five. Ask them to read the information on the websites. Tell each group to prepare an argument as to when it may (or may not) be acceptable to lie. Ask them to try and relate their discussion to real instances. Tell them that they will be judged by two criteria: the quality of their arguments, and their fluency and presentation skills (ask your students to look at this website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/work/workskills/wsu4.shtml, which will give them good general advice on giving presentations).
Use general errors of language and presentation as teaching points after all the presentations have been delivered. Reinforce good practice with praise.
Task 4: writing
Although the two websites that the students are referred to contain a great deal of information, remember that the purpose of this task is not to replicate it, but to structure a coherent piece of writing. A good answer will condense lengthy details and examples, but not omit information or examples that are necessary to a clear understanding of the topic.
This page has been downloaded from www.campaignmilitaryenglish.com.
It is photocopiable, but all copies must be complete pages.
Ó Macmillan Publishers Limited 2006