VOA标准英语2008年-Somali Pirates Issue Warning to Europeans

Somali pirates, who have been relentlessly¹ attacking ships this year off the coast of Somalia, say they will kill any European they capture if France fails to release six pirates seized by French commandos earlier this month. VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu has this exclusive report from our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi.
　
Canadian Navy sailor guards World Food Program ship into Mogadishu, 18 Sep 2008

In a telephone interview with VOA, a man identified as the spokesman of the pirate group based in the northern Puntland town of Eyl says the group wants the European Union to pressure France to release the six pirates immediately.

The spokesman, who calls himself Bileh, says if other European Union nations refuse to negotiate the release of his compatriots, his group will begin targeting all Europeans. He says every European hostage would be beheaded.

It is not clear whether the pirate group is in contact with European Union officials about the matter. The captured Somali pirates were transferred to Paris after French commandos mounted a raid last week to free a French couple kidnapped by pirates off the coast of Somalia on September 2.

The French military also seized another group of pirates during an operation in April. But Bileh, the pirate spokesman in Eyl, made no mention of them, suggesting that the pirates taken to Paris in April may have belonged to another group.

Last week, EU foreign ministers decided² to set up a special unit to coordinate³ warship⁴ patrols off the coast of Somalia to protect ships from piracy⁵.

In support of that mission, Spain deployed⁶ military aircraft to the Horn on Saturday to collect information on the movements of pirates. EU foreign ministers have not decided whether to create a special naval⁷ mission to pursue the pirates and capture them.

This year, well-armed pirates, using powerful speedboats, have attacked more than 55 ships and private vessels⁸ sailing through the Gulf⁹ of Aden and along Somalia's east coast. Piracy is threatening to disrupt global commerce and driving up costs because of soaring insurance premiums¹⁰.

The group in Eyl, Puntland is believed to be the largest of the various pirate groups operating in Somalia. Pirates in Eyl and the factional leaders and businessmen who control them are said to have earned about $30 million this year in ransom¹¹ payments. The group is currently holding about a dozen ships and their crew hostage.

Bileh insists the money ship owners are paying to free to their vessels and crew is not ransom, but fines and taxes being collected on behalf of the Somali people.

Bileh says the ships are being fined and taxed because they are trespassing¹² on Somali territorial¹³ waters. He says in the absence of a functioning central government in Somalia, his group is working hard to collect enough money to form a navy strong enough to protect the Somali coast from foreign exploitation.

Eyewitness¹⁴ reports from Eyl suggest that pirates are using their share of the money to build palatial¹⁵ homes and to buy expensive cars. They are also believed to be purchasing increasingly sophisticated weapons and boats.

Somalia descended¹⁶ into factional chaos¹⁷ after the government of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre fell in 1991. The country is one of the poorest in the world, with more than 40 percent of its population in critical need of food aid.

 

1 relentlessly   

adv.不屈不挠地；残酷地；不间断

参考例句：

• The African sun beat relentlessly down on his aching head. 非洲的太阳无情地照射在他那发痛的头上。
• He pursued her relentlessly, refusing to take 'no' for an answer. 他锲而不舍地追求她，拒不接受“不”的回答。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。

4 warship   

n.军舰，战舰

参考例句：

• He is serving on a warship in the Pacific.他在太平洋海域的一艘军舰上服役。
• The warship was making towards the pier.军舰正驶向码头。

5 piracy   

n.海盗行为，剽窃，著作权侵害

参考例句：

• The government has already adopted effective measures against piracy.政府已采取有效措施惩治盗版行为。
• They made the place a notorious centre of piracy.他们把这地方变成了臭名昭著的海盗中心。

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 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

8 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

10 premiums   

n.费用( premium的名词复数 )；保险费；额外费用；（商品定价、贷款利息等以外的）加价

参考例句：

• He paid premiums on his life insurance last year. 他去年付了人寿保险费。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Moves are afoot to increase car insurance premiums. 现正在酝酿提高汽车的保险费。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 ransom   

n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救

参考例句：

• We'd better arrange the ransom right away.我们最好马上把索取赎金的事安排好。
• The kidnappers exacted a ransom of 10000 from the family.绑架者向这家人家勒索10000英镑的赎金。

12 trespassing   

[法]非法入侵

参考例句：

• He told me I was trespassing on private land. 他说我在擅闯私人土地。
• Don't come trespassing on my land again. 别再闯入我的地界了。

13 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

14 eyewitness   

n.目击者，见证人

参考例句：

• The police questioned several eyewitness to the murder.警察询问了谋杀案的几位目击者。
• He was the only eyewitness of the robbery.他是那起抢劫案的唯一目击者。

15 palatial   

adj.宫殿般的，宏伟的

参考例句：

• Palatial office buildings are being constructed in the city.那个城市正在兴建一些宫殿式办公大楼。
• He bought a palatial house.他买了套富丽堂皇的大房子。

16 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

17 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。