2007年VOA标准英语-Indonesian Police Arrest Leader of Southeast As

By Nancy-Amelia Collins
Hong Kong
15 June 2007

Indonesian police have arrested the head of the Southeast Asia terrorist network Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) along with its military leader in a major blow to an organization that has been blamed for a series of deadly bombings. VOA's Nancy-Amelia Collins in Jakarta has more.

 

Indonesia's anti-terrorist team announced the arrest of Zarkasih.

 

This reproduction picture taken in Jakarta, 15 June 2007 shows a photo of Zarkasih, also known as Mbah, believed to be the head of Southeast Asian extremist network Jemaah Islamiyah (JI)

In a videotape shown to reporters Friday, Zarkasih, who is known by at least six aliases¹, says he became head of the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah more than two years ago. He says he was appointed the head of JI to guide its followers² in jihad, or holy war.

 

Zarkasih says his appointment as JI leader was rushed because a crackdown by police, who have arrested at least 300 militants³, had crippled the group.

 

Earlier this week, police announced the capture of Abu Dujana who led JI's military wing.  In a separate videotape, Abu Dujana confessed his role in the terrorist organization. He says Zarkasih appointed him the head of the military wing in 2005.

 

Since 2002, JI has been blamed for bombings on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, an attack on the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta, and a bombing outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta. The attacks killed more than 240 people, many of them foreign tourists.

 

JI also is thought to be responsible for several bombings in the Philippines.

 

After the first Bali bombing in 2002, the government began to crackdown on the group, which wants to create a pan-Islamic state in Southeast Asia.

Among the top figures arrested several years ago were Abu Rusdan and Abu Bakar Bashir, both whom police say once headed JI.

 

Abu Rustan was jailed for only two and a half years after being convicted of shielding a known terrorist. Abu Bakar Bashir, who was found guilty for being part of a conspiracy⁴ behind the 2002 Bali bombings, had his conviction overturned upon appeal in 2006.

Sidney Jones is the Southeast Asia director of the International Crisis Group, which studies terrorism and political risk. She says Zarkarsih, who is commonly known as Nuaim, has been with JI since its inception⁵ in the late 1990's. She says the arrests of Zarkarsih and Abu Dujana are a significant blow to the organization but does not its spell end.

 

"I think it means that certainly the leadership is going to be in very serious disarray," Jones said. "I don't think it means the end of JI but it certainly is going to go through a period of pretty serious confusion."

 

Jones says the capture of the two leaders also increases the police's chances of capturing another most wanted JI figure, Noordin Top. He is a Malaysian citizen thought to be a key figure behind the bombings in Indonesia.

Noordin is believed to have formed a violent splinter group intent on launching more attacks after the group fractured following disagreement over the killings⁶ of civilians⁷.

1 aliases   

n.别名，化名( alias的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Can you allow the user to enter aliases for the longer entries? 可以允许用户为过长的文字选择别名吗？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• The criminal has several aliases. 该罪犯有数个化名。 来自辞典例句

2 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

3 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

4 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

5 inception   

n.开端，开始，取得学位

参考例句：

• The programme has been successful since its inception.这个方案自开始实施以来一直卓有成效。
• Julia's worked for that company from its inception.自从那家公司开办以来，朱莉娅一直在那儿工作。

6 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

7 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。