埃塞爾比亞總理梅萊斯因病休假



This week, Ethiopians were closely following any news about the condition of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. A spokesman said in Addis Ababa on Thursday that the prime minister was taking sick leave on doctors' orders. Spokesman Bereket Simon said Mr. Meles' health was good, but he needed time to recover from an illness caused in part by an overload of work.

本週，埃塞俄比亞人密切關注着任何有關總理梅萊斯·澤納維（Meles Zenawi）健康狀況的新聞。發言人貝雷克特·西蒙（Bereket Simon）週四在亞的斯亞貝巴（該國首都）稱，總理根據醫囑請了病假。貝雷克特表示，梅萊斯的健康狀況良好，但他需要時間從部分由超負荷工作導致的疾病中恢復。

BEREKET SIMON: "Regarding his illness, I think I have told you that he is in good condition. He has got very good treatment for the ailment, and definitely he's in good condition."

貝雷克特：“關於梅萊斯的病情，我想我已經說過他很健康。他的小病得到了很好的治療，毫無疑問他很健康。”

Mr. Bereket did not give any details of what the fifty-seven-year-old prime minister was being treated for or where. But he denied reports on Ethiopian dissident websites that Mr. Meles had brain cancer.

貝雷克特先生沒有給出這位57歲總理治療情況的任何細節。但他否認了埃塞爾比亞持不同意見的網站上稱梅萊斯先生患有腦癌的報道。

The spokesman said the government was operating as normal and that Mr. Meles was still in power.

這位發言人表示，政府運作一如往常，梅萊斯先生仍然掌權。

BEREKET SIMON: "The only thing that I can say is, although he's in charge, he has to take some rest - a week, ten days, five days, whatever. A leave of absence does not mean there's nobody in charge."

貝雷克特：“唯一我可以說的是，雖然由他執政，他需要休息十天八天，但他休病假不意味着就沒人負責了。”

His comments followed media reports that the Ethiopian leader was in critical condition at a hospital in Belgium.

在貝雷克特發表評論之前，媒體報道梅萊斯在比利時一家醫院病危。

David Shinn, formerly American ambassador to Ethiopia, told VOA that he had no information about the prime minister's health. But he said the spokesman's comments suggested a serious health issue.

前美國駐埃塞爾比亞大使戴維·希恩（David Shinn）對美國之音表示，他對梅萊斯總理的健康狀況一無所知。但他表示，發言人貝雷克特的說辭表明梅萊斯健康問題很嚴重。

DAVID SHINN: "You wouldn't make a statement like that - that is so open-ended - unless the problem is significant."

希恩：“你不會做這種模凌兩可的聲明，除非問題很明顯。”

He also described Mr. Meles as the kind of leader who plans ahead.

他還稱梅萊斯是一位會提前規劃的領導人。

DAVID SHINN: "Whatever his health problem is, he probably has known about it for some time. This was not some sort of a surprise issue, at least, that would be my guess. And if I am correct in that assumption then I would be willing to bet very good money that he has been planning for some way to deal with this issue in order to ensure some kind of reasonable succession of government in Ethiopia."

希恩：“不管他的健康問題如何，他可能早就已經察覺。這不是某種意外的問題，至少我這麼認爲。如果我的假設是正確的，那麼我打賭，他一直計劃着如何處理這個問題，以確保埃塞爾比亞政府的某種合理繼承。”

Mr. Meles became president after he led rebels to power in nineteen ninety-one, overthrowing Ethiopia's former military government. He was elected prime minister in nineteen ninety-five.

1991年，梅萊斯先生率領叛軍推翻了埃塞爾比亞前軍政府，隨後就任總統。1995年他當選總理。

Mr. Meles has served as the African Union's spokesman on climate change. He has been praised for helping lift Ethiopia out of poverty after civil war. But he has been criticized for silencing all forms of dissent.

梅萊斯先生曾擔任非盟關於氣候變化的發言人。他因爲幫助埃塞俄比亞在內戰後擺脫貧困，一直備受稱讚。但也因爲壓制異議而一直受到批評。

Ethiopia has been seen as a close American ally in its support of anti-terrorism efforts in Somalia and East Africa. But the State Department has been critical of the government's human rights record and use of new anti-terrorism laws to suppress free speech. American officials have also criticized the way in which the government held recent national elections.

埃塞爾比亞因爲在索馬里和東非反恐措施上的支持被視爲美國的親密盟友。但美國國務院一直對埃塞爾比亞的人權記錄以及使用新反恐法壓制言論自由頗有微辭。美國官員還批評了埃塞俄比亞政府最近舉行的全國大選。

Mr. Meles was last seen in public more than two weeks ago. He did not attend a meeting of AU leaders in the Ethiopian capital last Saturday and Sunday. At that meeting, South Africa's home affairs minister became the first woman to lead the African Union Commission.

梅萊斯先生最後一次在公開場合露面是兩個多星期以前。他沒有出席上週六和週日在埃塞俄比亞首都舉行的非盟領導人會議。在那次會議上，南非內政部長成爲首位領導非盟委員會的女性。

NKOSOZANA DLAMINI-ZUMA: "I, Nkosozana Dlamini-Zuma, solemnly undertake to exercise in all loyalty, discretion and conscience, the function and responsibility entrusted to me as chairperson of the Commission of the African Union."

德拉米尼·祖馬：“我，德拉米尼·祖馬，莊嚴承諾，忠實履行非盟委員會主席的職責。”

Ms. Dlamini-Zuma is the former wife of South African President Jacob Zuma. She was elected Sunday on the fourth ballot, defeating Chairman Jean Ping of Gabon.

德拉米尼·祖馬是南非總統雅各布·祖馬的前妻。她在週日的第四輪投票中，擊敗了來自加蓬的現任主席讓·平（成爲非盟委員會新任主席）。