VOA常速英语2007年-Debate Continues Over Fate of Ugandan Rebel

By Derek Kilner
Nairobi
09 November 2007

A senior northern Ugandan official says the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army rebel group has detained his own deputy, Vincent Otti. Derek Kilner reports from VOA's East Africa bureau in Nairobi that a rebel spokesman has denied claims that Otti is dead.

The Chairman of Gulu District in northern Uganda, Norbert Mau, says Lord's Resistance Army leader Joseph Kony has detained his deputy, Vincent Otti, on suspicion of being a spy.  Mau says that he has spoken with Kony by phone.

Otti speaks frequently to the media and others involved in the Ugandan peace process, but he has not been heard from in the past month. Speculation¹ has risen in recent days that Otti was killed.  

Rebel spokesman Godfrey Ayoo told reporters in Nairobi on Friday that Otti remains² on good terms with the rebels, known as the LRA.  He denied claims that Otti is dead.

"Lieutenant³ General Vincent Otti is alive, is in Ri-Kwangba, and is still a member of the Lords Resistance Movement and the Lords Resistance Movement military high command," he said.  "For that matter, I am requesting that we put this issue to rest. The focus and attention that has been given to the matter has very much had a detrimental⁴ effect on our consultation⁵ exercises in Uganda. Everywhere we have been going, people have been asking about the fate of Vincent Otti."

Ayoo also suggested that Otti has not been heard from, because he has been suffering from cholera⁶.

The director of the Nairobi office of the Institute for Security Studies, Peter Edopu, says it is likely that Otti has been detained.

"The most likely scenario⁷ is he is still alive but is under arrest. I think there has been some communication between the government of Southern Sudan and then the Ugandan government as well on that issue," he added.  "It seems they have put it to Kony not to harm the gentleman, so most likely I think he is not going to be killed."

An LRA delegation⁸ has been meeting this week with victims of the 20-year conflict in northern Uganda before beginning the next phase of peace negotiations⁹ in southern Sudan. The group's leaders have been staying in a northeastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Kony and three of his deputies, including Otti, are wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes including widespread amputations and forced recruitment of child soldiers. The delegation currently visiting Uganda has been advocating for the charges to be dropped.

Ugandan media reported on Friday that the International Criminal Court is investigating Otti's fate. The government of Southern Sudan, which is hosting peace negotiations between the Ugandan government and the LRA, has also appointed a delegation to visit the Democratic Republic of Congo and find out about Otti.

1 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。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

4 detrimental   

adj.损害的，造成伤害的

参考例句：

• We know that heat treatment is detrimental to milk.我们知道加热对牛奶是不利的。
• He wouldn't accept that smoking was detrimental to health.他不相信吸烟有害健康。

5 consultation   

n.咨询；商量；商议；会议

参考例句：

• The company has promised wide consultation on its expansion plans.该公司允诺就其扩展计划广泛征求意见。
• The scheme was developed in close consultation with the local community.该计划是在同当地社区密切磋商中逐渐形成的。

6 cholera   

n.霍乱

参考例句：

• The cholera outbreak has been contained.霍乱的发生已被控制住了。
• Cholera spread like wildfire through the camps.霍乱在营地里迅速传播。

7 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

8 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

9 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。