2006年VOA标准英语-Somali Government Arrests, Questions Journalist

By Cathy Majtenyi
Nairobi
25 October 2006

Three journalists arrested by the transitional Somali government are being questioned for their work in an area under the control of the Islamic Courts Union.  The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders is calling for the journalists' release.

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The journalists were traveling to the government base of Baidoa from Burhakaba District, the scene of recent fighting between the government and the Islamic Courts Union, when they were arrested and detained Tuesday.

In condemning¹ the Somali action, the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders said the three had video of Ethiopian soldiers in Somalia, including footage of an Ethiopian soldier killed in Burhakaba.

The Secretary-General of the National Union of Somali Journalists, Omar Faruk Osman, tells VOA the three had their cell phones and cameras confiscated² and were being questioned by authorities in Baidoa.

"A group of counterterrorism officers are now questioning them," he said.  "They [the officers] want to know why they [the journalists] have taken these pictures.  They are now scrutinizing³ also their mobile phones to see whom they have been talking to and what they have been doing in Burhakaba District."

The presence of Ethiopian soldiers in Burhakaba and other areas of Somalia is a sensitive subject with Somalia's transitional government.

The Islamic Courts Union and others repeatedly accuse Ethiopia of sending troops into Somalia to fight along side Somali government soldiers, a charge the Ethiopian and Somali governments deny.

Recently, the Islamic Courts Union issued a fatwa, or Holy War, against Ethiopia for its alleged⁴ involvement.  The Reuters news agency quoted Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi as saying his country is "technically⁵ at war" with Somali Islamists.

Journalists are increasingly being caught in the middle of Somalia's warring government and Islamic Courts Union.  Osman says both sides view journalists with suspicion and treat them with hostility⁶.

"They attribute journalists as spies," he added.  "They do not see that [journalism] as a service of the public.  That is the greatest fear that we have: that journalists are not to be deemed as independent from the political crisis going between the transitional government and the Islamic Courts."

Adding to the pressure and danger faced by journalists are rules the Islamic Courts Union recently imposed on the media.  These include not publishing or disseminating⁷ information contrary to the Muslim religion, the public interest or the interest of the nation.

Somalia's interim⁸ government and the Union of Islamic Courts have been trying to negotiate a peace agreement that would see some sort of a power-sharing arrangement between them.  The two met in Sudan last month and are scheduled to finalize⁹ their agreement at the end of this month.

Since civil war broke out in 1991, militias¹⁰ loyal to clan¹¹ and sub-clan-based factions¹² have controlled different parts of the country, with no central authority to provide law and order and even basic services to the population.

The transitional Somali parliament was formed in Kenya more than a year ago following a peace process.

1 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 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。

3 scrutinizing   

v.仔细检查，详审( scrutinize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• His grandfather's stern eyes were scrutinizing him, and Chueh-hui felt his face reddening. 祖父的严厉的眼光射在他的脸上。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• The machine hushed, extraction and injection nozzles poised, scrutinizing its targets. 机器“嘘”地一声静了下来，输入输出管道各就各位，检查着它的目标。 来自互联网

4 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

5 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

6 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

7 disseminating   

散布，传播( disseminate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Our comrades in propaganda work have the task of disseminating Marxism. 我们作宣传工作的同志有一个宣传马克思主义的任务。
• Disseminating indecent photographs on the internet a distasteful act. 在因特网上发布不雅照片是卑劣的行径。

8 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

9 finalize   

v.落实，定下来

参考例句：

• Let us finalize tonight.让我们今天晚上干完
• 。At the same time,industrial designers work with engineers to finalize components and assembly.同时，工业设计师和工程师一道来完成部件和组装部分的工作。

10 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

11 clan   

n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派

参考例句：

• She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。
• The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以，中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。

12 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