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Remarks by President Obama to Parliament in London
奥巴马在英国议会发表讲话 [视频]

U.S. President Barack Obama (L) and British Prime Minister David Cameron (R) play table tennis with students of the Globe Academy school in London. Queen Elizabeth II on Tuesday deployed British royalty's grandest pomp for Obama, on a state visit meant to prove a 'special relationship' remains 'essential' in a world of shifting power. [Xinhua/AFP Photo]
U.S. President Barack Obama (L) and British Prime Minister David Cameron (R) play table tennis with students of the Globe Academy school in London. Queen Elizabeth II on Tuesday deployed British royalty's grandest pomp for Obama, on a state visit meant to prove a "special relationship" remains "essential" in a world of shifting power. [Xinhua/AFP Photo]


And we share a common interest in development that advances dignity and security. To succeed, we must cast aside the impulse to look at impoverished parts of the globe as a place for charity. Instead, we should empower the same forces that have allowed our own people to thrive: We should help the hungry to feed themselves, the doctors who care for the sick. We should support countries that confront corruption, and allow their people to innovate. And we should advance the truth that nations prosper when they allow women and girls to reach their full potential. 我们在有助于促进尊严与安全的发展问题上拥有共同利益。为了取得成功,我们必须抛开冲动,不再视世界贫穷地区为从事慈善事业的场所。相反,我们应该发挥曾经帮助我们本国人民实现繁荣的同样的力量——我们应该帮助饥饿的人们养活自己,帮助照顾病人的医生们;我们应该支持反腐败的国家,欢迎本国人民的创新;我们应该传播这样一个真理,即只有让妇女和女孩充分发挥其潜力的国家才能繁荣。
We do these things because we believe not simply in the rights of nations; we believe in the rights of citizens. That is the beacon that guided us through our fight against fascism. And today, that idea is being put to the test in the Middle East and North Africa. In country after country, people are mobilizing to free themselves from the grip of an iron fist. And while these movements for change are just six months old, we have seen them play out before -- from Eastern Europe to the Americas, from South Africa to Southeast Asia. 我们从事这些工作,因为我们不仅仅相信国家的权利,而且相信公民的权利。这是一盏指路明灯,曾经指引我们打击法西斯主义。今天,这个信念正在中东和北非接受考验。在一个又一个的国家,人们动员起来,要求摆脱铁腕统治。虽然这些要求变革的运动只有六个月之久,但我们曾亲眼目睹他们的声势——从东欧到美洲;从南非到东南亚。
History tells us that democracy is not easy. It will be years before these revolutions reach their conclusion, and there will be difficult days along the way. Power rarely gives up without a fight -- particularly in places where there are divisions of tribe and divisions of sect. We also know that populism can take dangerous turns -- from the extremism of those who would use democracy to deny minority rights, to the nationalism that left so many scars on this continent in the 20th century. 历史告诉我们,民主并非易事。这些革命需要多年才能取得结果,过程中将会遇到艰辛险阻。权力的割舍极少不经过斗争,在具有部落和宗派分裂的地区更是如此。我们也知道,民粹主义可能发生危险的转化——从利用民主来否决少数族群权利的极端主义,到20世纪在这块大陆上留下许多伤痕的民族主义。
But make no mistake: What we saw, what we are seeing in Tehran, in Tunis, in Tahrir Square, is a longing for the same freedoms that we take for granted here at home. It was a rejection of the notion that people in certain parts of the world don't want to be free, or need to have democracy imposed upon them. It was a rebuke to the worldview of al Qaeda, which smothers the rights of individuals, and would thereby subject them to perpetual poverty and violence. 可是不要误解:我们过去和当前在德黑兰、突尼斯和解放广场看到的景象,是人民渴望我们在自己家园视为理所当然的同样自由。它反驳了认为世界上某些地区的人民不需要自由或者需要将民主强加于他们的观点,也驳斥了“基地”组织扼杀个人权利、使人们永远深陷贫穷和暴力的世界观。
Let there be no doubt: The United States and United Kingdom stand squarely on the side of those who long to be free. And now, we must show that we will back up those words with deeds. That means investing in the future of those nations that transition to democracy, starting with Tunisia and Egypt -- by deepening ties of trade and commerce; by helping them demonstrate that freedom brings prosperity. And that means standing up for universal rights -- by sanctioning those who pursue repression, strengthening civil society, supporting the rights of minorities. 这一点不容置疑:美国和英国坚定地站在渴望自由者的旁边。现在我们必须将言词化为行动。这意味着为正在转向民主的国家的未来做出投资,从突尼西斯和埃及开始——通过加深贸易与商业的纽带;通过帮助他们证明自由会带来繁荣。这也意味着支持普世权利——通过制裁实施压制的人、强化公民社会,以及支持少数族群的权利。
We do this knowing that the West must overcome suspicion and mistrust among many in the Middle East and North Africa -- a mistrust that is rooted in a difficult past. For years, we've faced charges of hypocrisy from those who do not enjoy the freedoms that they hear us espouse. And so to them, we must squarely acknowledge that, yes, we have enduring interests in the region -- to fight terror, sometimes with partners who may not be perfect; to protect against disruptions of the world's energy supply. But we must also insist that we reject as false the choice between our interests and our ideals; between stability and democracy. For our idealism is rooted in the realities of history -- that repression offers only the false promise of stability, that societies are more successful when their citizens are free, and that democracies are the closest allies we have. 我们这样做时深知,西方世界必须克服中东和北非许多人的怀疑和不信任──这种不信任源于艰难的历史。多年来,我们一再面临那些听到我们拥护自由但他们无法享受自由的人指责我们虚伪。因此,我们必须对他们坦然承认,我们对该地区具有持久的利益——与或许不总是十分理想的伙伴共同打击恐怖主义和防止世界能源供应受到干扰。但是我们也必须坚持表明,我们认为那种只能在自身的利益和理想之间,在稳定和民主之间作出选择的观点是谬误的。因为我们的理想主义是基于历史的真情——镇压只会提供稳定的假象;公民自由的社会更为成功;民主体制是我们最密切的同盟。
It is that truth that guides our action in Libya. It would have been easy at the outset of the crackdown in Libya to say that none of this was our business -- that a nation's sovereignty is more important than the slaughter of civilians within its borders. That argument carries weight with some. But we are different. We embrace a broader responsibility. And while we cannot stop every injustice, there are circumstances that cut through our caution -- when a leader is threatening to massacre his people, and the international community is calling for action. That's why we stopped a massacre in Libya. And we will not relent until the people of Libya are protected and the shadow of tyranny is lifted. 正是这种真理指引着我们在利比亚的行动。在利比亚实施镇压之初我们本可轻易地说,此事与我们无关,一国的主权比其境内公民遭到屠杀来得重要。一些人确实信从这种论点。可是我们不然。我们接受更广泛的责任。虽然我们无法制止每一种不义,但是有些情况要求我们不能谨小慎微——当一个领导人扬言屠杀自己的人民,国际社会在呼吁采取行动之时。那就是为什么我们制止了利比亚的大屠杀。在利比亚的人民受到保护、暴政的阴影消散之前,我们不会松懈。
We will proceed with humility, and the knowledge that we cannot dictate every outcome abroad. Ultimately, freedom must be won by the people themselves, not imposed from without. But we can and must stand with those who so struggle. Because we have always believed that the future of our children and grandchildren will be better if other people's children and grandchildren are more prosperous and more free -- from the beaches of Normandy to the Balkans to Benghazi. That is our interests and our ideals. And if we fail to meet that responsibility, who would take our place, and what kind of world would we pass on? 我们会以虚怀继续前进,并且知道我们不可能主导国外的每一种结局。最终,自由必须由人们自己来争取,而不是从外部强加。但是我们可以,也必须和那些如此奋斗的人站在一起。因为我们一贯相信──从诺曼底到巴尔干到班加西——如果其他人的子孙更富足自由,我们自己的子孙也会有更美好的未来。那就是我们的利益和理想。如果我们无法实现那份责任,谁能取而代之?我们将会传下什么样的世界?
Our action -- our leadership -- is essential to the cause of human dignity. And so we must act -- and lead -- with confidence in our ideals, and an abiding faith in the character of our people, who sent us all here today. 我们的行动——我们的领导作用——对于人类尊严的事业至关重要。因此我们必须采取行动——并且发挥领导作用——怀着对我们的理想的信心以及对今天让我们来到此地的我们人民的品格的信心。


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