2007年VOA标准英语-New Mogadishu Mayor Tells VOA His Priority is M

By Alisha Ryu
Mogadishu
05 May 2007

The new mayor of Somalia's troubled capital says he has implemented¹ tough measures to help secure Mogadishu and is appealing for international help to restore badly-needed services. Mohamed Dheere spoke² to VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu in Mogadishu. It was Dheere's first interview with a western journalist since the former factional leader was named to the post four days ago.

Mohamed Omar Habeb, better known as Mohamed Dheere, says his first priority as mayor is making Mogadishu a safer place for residents. He says every effort is being made to crack down on what he calls terrorism and banditry in the capital.

Dheere says as part of tightened⁴ security, unregistered weapons are now strictly⁵ prohibited in the city and vehicles with tinted⁶ windows will be barred from the streets. He says 500 policemen are patrolling on foot and in vehicles throughout Mogadishu, enforcing the law.

The new mayor says he is also working with private businessmen to restore electricity and water service as quickly as possible.

Without a functioning government to provide basic services, much of Somalia has relied on private businesses for the past 16 years to keep the electricity on and water flowing in the capital.

hovers7 above the outskirts8 of Mogadishu, after heavy fighting, 21 Apr 2007" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070604/1105310.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

Smoke hovers above the outskirts of Mogadishu, after heavy fighting, 21 Apr 2007

When fierce fighting earlier this year between Ethiopian troops and anti-government, anti-Ethiopian insurgents⁹ dragged on for months, many businessmen shut their grids¹⁰ and pumps and fled.

Mohamed Dheere says he is trying to encourage businessmen to return and form a cooperative to provide electricity and water to everyone in Mogadishu, not just to certain paying neighborhoods.

There are other serious issues needing immediate¹¹ attention, such as the city's enormous sanitation¹² problem. But the mayor says Somalia's interim¹³ government cannot address them properly without financial help from the international community.

"We need the international community to help us rebuild our country," Dheere says. But he acknowledges that he first needs to convince international aid agencies that Mogadishu is a safe place to work.

 

As the ruler of Jowhar, the provincial¹⁴ capital of the middle Shabelle region in south-central Somalia during the first half of this decade, Mohamed Dheere has experience in running a major town. People in Jowhar credit Dheere with maintaining stability and peace during his tenure¹⁵ there as governor.

 

But others in Mogadishu are skeptical¹⁶ of Dheere's pledge to bring order. Critics of the security crackdown say arrests are likely to be arbitrary, and the accused may have little or no access to lawyers. Also, they say there are no functioning courts in Mogadishu to hold hearings and trials.

Dheere's appointment is seen as a dramatic turnaround for a man who is best known as a factional leader whose militia¹⁷ participated in the destruction of the city during 16 years of fighting between rival sub-clans.

Last year, he was one of several faction³ leaders, including Somalia's new police commissioner¹⁸ Abdi Qeybdid, who fought against Islamist forces as part of a U.S.-backed anti-terror alliance group.

Some residents accuse the interim government and its security forces of using the threat of terrorism as an excuse to silence critics and to confiscate¹⁹ private properties.

Mohamed Dheere says he has heard about the allegations and is looking into them.

1 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

4 tightened   

收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
• His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。

5 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

6 tinted   

adj. 带色彩的 动词tint的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• a pair of glasses with tinted lenses 一副有色镜片眼镜
• a rose-tinted vision of the world 对世界的理想化看法

7 hovers   

鸟( hover的第三人称单数 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• A hawk hovers in the sky. 一只老鹰在天空盘旋。
• A hen hovers her chicks. 一只母鸡在孵小鸡。

8 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

9 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

10 grids   

n.格子( grid的名词复数 )；地图上的坐标方格；（输电线路、天然气管道等的）系统网络；（汽车比赛）赛车起跑线

参考例句：

• Typical framed structures are beams, grids, plane and space frames or trusses. 典型构架结构为梁、格栅、平面的和空间的框架或桁架。 来自辞典例句
• The machines deliver trimmed grids for use or stock. 这种机器铸出修整过的板栅，以供使用或储存。 来自辞典例句

11 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

12 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

13 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。

14 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

15 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。

16 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

17 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

18 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

19 confiscate   

v.没收(私人财产)，把…充公

参考例句：

• The police have the right to confiscate any forbidden objects they find.如发现违禁货物，警方有权查扣。
• Did the teacher confiscate your toy?老师没收你的玩具了吗？