2006年VOA标准英语-East Timor Rebels Arrested

By Phil Mercer
Sydney
26 July 2006

Australian peacekeepers in East Timor have arrested a leader of rebel troops for illegal weapons possession, following the expiration¹ of a gun amnesty. Alfredo Reinado, a former army major, headed a group that includes renegade soldiers whose dismissal from the army in March sparked unrest in East Timor.

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Maj Alfredo Reinado (June 2006 file photo)  
  
Australian soldiers detained Alfredo Reinado and 21 of his supporters in the East Timorese capital, Dili, on Tuesday night, a day after the expiration of a gun amnesty designed to contain recent violence.

Australian army Brigadier Gus Gilmore confirmed the arrest to reporters in Canberra Wednesday.

"Major Reinado and the 21 that he was apprehended² with were apprehended in accordance with the status of forces agreement," he said.

Gilmore also said unauthorized handguns and ammunition³ were confiscated⁴. He said the rebels now will be dealt with by the East Timorese authorities.

Canberra is leading an international force of 2500 troops, which also includes troops from Malaysia, New Zealand and Portugal.

It was deployed⁶ in May to restore peace after fighting broke out between rival factions⁷ of the East Timorese military.

The troubled flared⁸ when former Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri dismissed 600 soldiers who had gone on strike complaining of discrimination.

Violence between rebel soldiers and government forces escalated⁹ into a complete collapse¹⁰ of law and order and eventually forced the resignation of Mr. Alkatiri. Fighting between rival ethnic¹¹ and regional gangs left more than 20 people dead and forced tens of thousands of terrified residents in Dili to flee their homes.

The arrest indicates that the government of new Prime Minister Jose Ramos Horta is slowly reclaiming¹² control of the troubled country.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said Wednesday that Australia expects to significantly reduce its troop level in East Timor - now at 1300 - by the end of the year.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said he hopes a U.N. force will eventually take over the peacekeeping operation in East Timor. Australia has yet to decide whether to deploy⁵ policemen under a U.N. mandate¹³ in East Timor.

1 expiration   

n.终结，期满，呼气，呼出物

参考例句：

• Can I have your credit card number followed by the expiration date?能告诉我你的信用卡号码和它的到期日吗?
• This contract shall be terminated on the expiration date.劳动合同期满，即行终止。

2 apprehended   

逮捕，拘押( apprehend的过去式和过去分词 )； 理解

参考例句：

• She apprehended the complicated law very quickly. 她很快理解了复杂的法律。
• The police apprehended the criminal. 警察逮捕了罪犯。

3 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

4 confiscated   

没收，充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Their land was confiscated after the war. 他们的土地在战后被没收。
• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。

5 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

6 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

7 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

8 Flared   

adj. 端部张开的, 爆发的, 加宽的, 漏斗式的 动词flare的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The match flared and went out. 火柴闪亮了一下就熄了。
• The fire flared up when we thought it was out. 我们以为火已经熄灭，但它突然又燃烧起来。

9 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。

10 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

11 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

12 reclaiming   

v.开拓( reclaim的现在分词 )；要求收回；从废料中回收（有用的材料）；挽救

参考例句：

• People here are reclaiming land from the sea. 这儿的人们正在填海拓地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• How could such a man need reclaiming? 这么一个了不起的人怎么还需要别人拯救呢？ 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

13 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。