VOA标准英语2010年-Kenya Denies Helping Arm Southern Suda

"We have clearly indicated that those are our tanks and they are. I do no know where they are getting those things."- Kenya's Defense¹ Ministry² Spokesman Bogita Ongeri

The Kenyan government has dismissed a report by a Swiss research institute that says it is secretly helping³ Southern Sudan stockpile weapons in violation⁴ of a U.S.-backed peace agreement.  The Small Arms Survey says Southern Sudan government forces have received tanks and weapons that had previously⁵ been held in Kenya.

In an interview with VOA, Kenya's Defense Ministry Spokesman Bogita Ongeri dismissed the Small Arms Survey report as speculation⁶.

The document, which contains satellite images allegedly showing T-72 Soviet⁷ tanks at the Southern Sudan military headquarters, claims the vehicles were the same tanks that arrived in Kenya in 2008.  The Swiss team that authored the report says the photos are credible⁸ proof the Kenyan government has helped South Sudan obtain weapons in violation of a peace deal backed by the United States.

But Ongeri told VOA there is no evidence to back the claims, and the tanks are still in the hands of the Kenyan military.

"We have clearly indicated that those are our tanks and they are.  I do no know where they are getting those things," he said.

The Ukrainian cargo⁹ ship MV Faina arrives at the Kenyan port of Mombasa, 23 Feb 2009, after Somali pirates released the vessel¹⁰ held for some 4 months

The Soviet tanks first arrived at the Kenyan port of Mombassa amid a blaze of publicity¹¹ in 2008, aboard the MV Faina cargo ship. The Ukrainian-owned vessel had recently been released by pirates after it was hijacked¹² off the coast of neighboring Somalia.

Media attention on the ship's military cargo had led to increasing speculation it had originally been headed for South Sudan.  The Small Arms Survey says the tanks were part of three shipments secretly under contract to the Southern Sudan government that were delivered to Kenya's Ministry of Defense.

The tanks were taken to barracks outside Nairobi, where the government said they would be used by the Kenyan military.  Since March last year, eyewitness¹³ reports and photographic evidence have placed the vehicles elsewhere.

In October last year, Kenyan police arrested the Seafarer's Assistance Program chief, Andrew Mwangura, after he claimed the MV Faina was originally destined¹⁴ for Southern Sudan.

The United States has warned that illicit¹⁵ weapons shipments are fueling insecurity and heightening tensions in South Sudan before a referendum that could result in the region's independence from Khartoum.

Kenya enjoys close military ties with the region, and between August and September last year the Kenyan army sent about 300 military experts to Juba to train soldiers who had once served as fighters in the guerrilla force, the SPLA.

Analysts¹⁶ are warning that north and south Sudan are entering into an arms race and are building up a heavy store of weapons.

Experts are worried the 2005 peace agreement could be under threat of breaking down.  A lapse¹⁷ in the ceasefire would mean a return to a war that has already killed an estimated two-million Sudanese people.

 

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

4 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

5 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

6 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

7 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

8 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

9 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

10 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

11 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

12 hijacked   

劫持( hijack的过去式和过去分词 )； 绑架； 拦路抢劫； 操纵（会议等，以推销自己的意图）

参考例句：

• The plane was hijacked by two armed men on a flight from London to Rome. 飞机在从伦敦飞往罗马途中遭到两名持械男子劫持。
• The plane was hijacked soon after it took off. 那架飞机起飞后不久被劫持了。

13 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。

14 destined   

adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的

参考例句：

• It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
• The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。

15 illicit   

adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He had an illicit association with Jane.他和简曾有过不正当关系。
• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year.今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。

16 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

17 lapse   

n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效

参考例句：

• The incident was being seen as a serious security lapse.这一事故被看作是一次严重的安全疏忽。
• I had a lapse of memory.我记错了。