2006年VOA标准英语-Two Nigerian Journalists Charged Over Jet Story

By Gilbert da Costa
Abuja
28 June 2006

There's an angry backlash after Tuesday's arraignment¹ of two Nigerian journalists in a court in Abuja on sedition² charges. The trial is raising questions about tolerance³ for press freedom in Africa's most populous⁴ country.

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An Abuja court Thursday will consider a plea for bail⁵ by two journalists charged with sedition over reports critical of the president.

The journalists, who first appeared in court on Tuesday, have questioned the age and cost of an executive jet purchased for the president and delivered last month.

Olusegun Obasanjo (file photo)  
  
President Olusegun Obasanjo's first flight aboard the new jet was aborted⁶ midair due to technical problems prompting questions about the newness of the multi-million dollar jet.

Legal experts say the sedition law in Nigeria has been rendered obsolete⁷ and ineffective by an appeal court ruling in 1983.

"The court of appeal ruled that looking into the constitution of Nigeria, vis-à-vis the law on sedition, it cannot stand and they struck it down, saying that we are in a republic," said Maxi Okwu, a lawyer in Abuja. "Sedition is a colonial legacy⁸, just like the Public Order Act, so that you don't embarrass the queen. Obasanjo is not the queen. Obasanjo is a citizen elected to be our leader. Therefore, he must take the heat in being a citizens' president."

Several groups and individuals, in and outside Nigeria, have criticized the government's decision to prosecute⁹ the reporters. The World Association of Newspapers in a review of press freedom worldwide, said press freedom has deteriorated¹⁰ in Nigeria, citing attacks on journalists, legal harassment¹¹ of the private media as well as threats and censorship.

The National Human Rights Commission, an agency of the Nigerian government has also issued a strong denunciation of alleged¹² government's attacks on the media. The commission notes that there has been a consistent pattern by security agencies to silence the media, it said in a recent statement.

Okwu says the privately-owned press is being targeted for supporting the opposition¹³ to a proposed constitutional amendment¹⁴ that could have allowed Obasanjo run for a third term.

"I believe it is a backlash, a sort of resentment¹⁵ by the government on it being floored or worsted in the struggle for tenure¹⁶ elongation. So the level of intolerance will increase," said Okwu. "Where is our democracy going if we are so intolerant of other views?"

The senate rejected the amendment in May, after weeks of storm debates in the press and the national assembly.

Government opponents say the media and critics have come under pressure from security agents ahead of next year's elections.

1 arraignment   

n.提问，传讯，责难

参考例句：

• She was remanded to juvenile detention at her arraignment yesterday. 她昨天被送回了对少年拘留在她的传讯。 来自互联网
• Wyatt asks the desk clerk which courthouse he is being transferred to for arraignment. 他向接待警员询问了马宏将在哪个法庭接受传讯。 来自互联网

2 sedition   

n.煽动叛乱

参考例句：

• Government officials charged him with sedition.政府官员指控他煽动人们造反。
• His denial of sedition was a denial of violence.他对煽动叛乱的否定又是对暴力的否定。

3 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

4 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。

5 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

6 aborted   

adj.流产的，失败的v.（使）流产( abort的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）（某事物）中止；（因故障等而）（使）（飞机、宇宙飞船、导弹等）中断飞行；（使）（飞行任务等）中途失败

参考例句：

• The rocket flight had to be aborted because of difficulties with computer. 因电脑出故障，这次火箭飞行只好中辍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They aborted the space flight finally. 他们最后中止了这次宇航飞行。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 obsolete   

adj.已废弃的，过时的

参考例句：

• These goods are obsolete and will not fetch much on the market.这些货品过时了，在市场上卖不了高价。
• They tried to hammer obsolete ideas into the young people's heads.他们竭力把陈旧思想灌输给青年。

8 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

9 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

10 deteriorated   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her health deteriorated rapidly, and she died shortly afterwards. 她的健康状况急剧恶化，不久便去世了。
• His condition steadily deteriorated. 他的病情恶化，日甚一日。

11 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

12 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

13 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

14 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

15 resentment   

n.怨愤，忿恨

参考例句：

• All her feelings of resentment just came pouring out.她一股脑儿倾吐出所有的怨恨。
• She cherished a deep resentment under the rose towards her employer.她暗中对她的雇主怀恨在心。

16 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。