VOA标准英语10月-Kenyan Lawmakers Urge Probe of Weapons Seized by

Kenyan parliament members are calling for an investigation¹ into the ownership and destination of a shipment of Russian-made tanks and other weapons aboard a Ukrainian ship seized by pirates off the coast of Somalia. The call follows a recent report, which shows that the Kenyan government has not acknowledged a large amount of arms from Ukraine. VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu has details from Nairobi.

The chairman of Kenya's Parliamentary Select Committee on Security, Fred Kapondi, says his group will summon the country's defense² and internal security ministers next week to stem what he calls wild speculation³.
　

A US Navy photo shows some of the Somali pirates and crew members of MV Faina off Somalia's Indian Ocean coast, 5 Oct. 2008

Kapondi told the local media that the committee will seek to establish who owns the shipment of 33 Russian-built T-72 tanks, an assortment⁴ of heavy weapons and ammunition⁵ aboard the MV Faina freighter, which has been held by Somali pirates since September 26.

Government spokesman Alfred Mutua has repeatedly said the ship's cargo⁶ belongs to the Kenyan military and has flatly denied reports from U.S. officials and the head of the East Africa Seafarers' Association Program, Andrew Mwangura, that the final destination of the arms was to be southern Sudan.

Oil-rich South Sudan, which fought a 20-year-long civil war with the northern government in Khartoum, is believed by many in the region to be in an arms build-up before the territory's 2011 referendum on secession.

Last week, police in the port city of Mombasa arrested and jailed Andrew Mwangura for making what the police described as false and alarming statements.

But questions over the transparency of the Kenyan government about its arms purchases have been further raised by a report released Friday by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which tracks the international movement of arms.

The author of the report, Paul Holtom, tells VOA that in recent days, Ukraine filed with the U.N. Register of Conventional Arms as having exported 40,000 automatic rifles, sub-machine guns and over 400 grenade launchers to Kenya in 2007. China reported that it, too, had sent 32 armored vehicles to Kenya last year.

But Holtom says the Kenyan government has told the United Nations that it has not imported any arms at all in the past year.

"The problem with the register is the exporter may well ship in September or October, 2007 and those tanks may arrive in 2008. So, maybe Kenya will report next year. However, it has suggested that some of these weapons arrived in the autumn of 2007. So, I think it undermines Kenya's position as a sponsor of the arms trade treaty in the U.N. It was one of the seven original co-sponsors," says Holtom.

Kenya also has not reported the arms shipment being held in Somalia, which is believed to be a part of the 2007 deal with Ukraine. Holtom says if the consignment⁷ of arms really does belong to Kenya, the government should be far more open about the arms it has purchased.

"One of the things we could say is, 'Well, we know they have arrived, so please can you show us that you have those T-72 tanks?' It has been very difficult for us to find evidence that they are actually in Kenya or even in southern Sudan for that matter. He adds, "Last week, I was very willing to give Kenya the benefit of the doubt. But there are more and more questions being raised in subsequent actions in recent days and the jailing of Mwangura is certainly another red flag."

Holtom says it is also significant that Kenya told the United Nations that it was not importing arms on the same day that the Ukrainian freighter was hijacked⁸ as it sailed toward Mombasa.

1 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

2 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。

3 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。

4 assortment   

n.分类，各色俱备之物，聚集

参考例句：

• This shop has a good assortment of goods to choose from.该店各色货物俱全，任君选择。
• She was wearing an odd assortment of clothes.她穿着奇装异服。

5 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

6 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。

7 consignment   

n.寄售；发货；委托；交运货物

参考例句：

• This last consignment of hosiery is quite up to standard.这批新到的针织品完全符合规格。
• We have to ask you to dispatch the consignment immediately.我们得要求你立即发送该批货物。

8 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。