2006年VOA标准英语-Former East Timor PM Questioned About Hit Squad

By Nancy-Amelia Collins
Jakarta
27 June 2006

East Timor's former Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri  
  
The former East Timor prime minister, Mari Alkatiri, has been summoned by prosecutors¹ for questioning over allegations he formed a hit squad² to silence his political opponents.  Meanwhile the country's leaders are meeting to choose Mr. Alkatiri's successor.

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Mr. Alkatiri, who resigned Monday, was summoned to appear later this week at the prosecutor-general's office for questioning about allegations he formed a hit squad to kill his political opponents, a charge he denies.

The former interior minister and close associate of Mr. Alkatiri, Rogerio Lobato, is also facing charges of allegedly arming civilians⁴ at the prime minister's request.

The minister of agriculture and spokesman for the ruling Fretilin Party, Stanislau da Silva, says anyone implicated⁵ in the alleged³ plot should be tried.

"Fretilin will follow very close with the investigation⁶.  And then, whoever is implicated in this should be put before the court ... should be tried according to the existing law," Da Silva said.

The investigation is being carried out with the help of U.N.-funded prosecutors.

Many East Timorese blame Mr. Alkitiri for the violence that swept the tiny nation following his dismissal of 600 disgruntled soldiers in March.

The firings led to fighting within the military, which escalated⁷ last month into anarchy⁸ on the streets of the capital, Dili.  Armed gangs fought pitched street battles, burning buildings and looting shops.

Order was restored after a 2500 member Australian-led peacekeeping force landed in the country at the request of the government.

On Tuesday, the popular president, Xanana Gusmao, was meeting with the Council of State, an advisory⁹ board of 12 ministers, to decide who the next prime minister will be.

Oppositon leader Angela Freitas, says her Labor¹⁰ Party and the Fretilin Party can work together to resolve the political crisis.

"Fretilin is open to negotiation¹¹ and dialogue with everyone, so we hope through the dialogue we can find a peaceful, long-lasting resolution for the country," Freitas said.

The current crisis is the worst to hit the nation since it voted overwhelmingly in 1999 for independence from Indonesia, which ruled the territory for 24 years.

1 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

2 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

3 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

4 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

5 implicated   

adj.密切关联的；牵涉其中的

参考例句：

• These groups are very strongly implicated in the violence. 这些组织与这起暴力事件有着极大的关联。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Having the stolen goods in his possession implicated him in the robbery. 因藏有赃物使他涉有偷盗的嫌疑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

7 escalated   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The fighting escalated into a full-scale war. 这场交战逐步扩大为全面战争。
• The demonstration escalated into a pitched battle with the police. 示威逐步升级，演变成了一场同警察的混战。

8 anarchy   

n.无政府状态；社会秩序混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• There would be anarchy if we had no police.要是没有警察，社会就会无法无天。
• The country was thrown into a state of anarchy.这国家那时一下子陷入无政府状态。

9 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

10 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

11 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。