VOA标准英语2009-US Congressman Criticizes Puntland For Abusi

The government of the semi-autonomous Somali region of Puntland has been sharply criticized by a U.S. lawmaker, who says Puntland authorities are routinely arresting, handing over men from neighboring Ogaden region to Ethiopian security

Alisha Ryu | Nairobi 23 November 2009

US Congressman¹ Donald Payne (D-New Jersey)

The government of the semi-autonomous Somali region of Puntland has been sharply criticized by a U.S. lawmaker, who says Puntland authorities are routinely arresting, harassing², torturing, and handing over men from the neighboring Ogaden region to Ethiopian security. 

Congressman Donald Payne, who chairs the U.S. House Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, issued a statement in which he denounces what he calls "abusive and dictatorial³ behavior" by authorities in Puntland.

The lawmaker says late last month, the Puntland government arrested five men, who had traveled to Puntland using Somali travel documents provided by Somali authorities in Yemen.  Payne says the men were interrogated⁴ by both Puntland and Ethiopian security personnel on the assumption that they were members of the Ogaden National Liberation Front.  The ONLF is a separatist rebel group that has been fighting the Ethiopian government for decades.

The congressman says he called Puntland President Abdirahman Mohamed Farole to urge him to release the prisoners without delay.  But he said one of the men had been handed over to Ethiopian security and that another had died in custody⁵.  In a meeting with President Farole and Puntland's interior minister a week ago in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, Payne says he was assured that the semi-autonomous Somali region would pardon the remaining prisoners. But the lawmaker says the men are still being detained.

In the statement, Congressman Payne called for their immediate⁶ release of the three men.  He urged President Farole to hold accountable those responsible for the death of the prisoner and senior officials who authorized⁷ the detention⁸ and rendition of ONLF suspects.  He warned that failure to act quickly would have unspecified consequences.

The Puntland government has not issued an official comment.  But in early October, Puntland's Security Minister Abdullahi Said Samatar complained to BBC's Somali Service that Ethiopia was carrying out covert⁹ raids inside Puntland.  He said Ethiopian forces had killed one man and abducted¹⁰ another in the Puntland-administered part of Galkayo in central Somalia.  The security minister's claim could not been independently verified. 

A Horn of Africa analyst¹¹ for the International Crisis Group, Rashid Abdi, says if Congressman Payne's charges against the Puntland government are true, it can only be benefit al-Shabab, a militant¹² home-grown Islamic group with ties to al-Qaida.  In recent months, a string of assassinations¹³ and bombings in Puntland, blamed on al-Shabab, has cast doubts on the government's ability to provide security in the region. 

"This conduct is a propaganda coup¹⁴ for the Islamist opposition¹⁵, which may actually be behind the current wave of violence in the region," Abdi said.  "A state of emergency has been declared in Garowe, Galkayo, and Bosasso is increasingly heading in the same direction.  The Islamists would love for this conduct to continue because this undermines the credibility of the government and [it] plays right into their hands."

The charges against Puntland come amid recent government efforts to secure financial aid packages from Washington and Europe to fight piracy¹⁶ and terrorism.  The Ethiopian government has long been an important counterterrorism ally for the West in the Horn of Africa and is a major recipient¹⁷ of American military and food aid.  But it, too, has come under increasing criticism and scrutiny¹⁸ for allegedly committing gross human rights abuses in the Ogaden and cracking down on political opponents.

1 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

2 harassing   

v.侵扰，骚扰( harass的现在分词 )；不断攻击（敌人）

参考例句：

• The court ordered him to stop harassing his ex-wife. 法庭命令他不得再骚扰前妻。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was too close to be merely harassing fire. 打得这么近，不能完全是扰乱射击。 来自辞典例句

3 dictatorial   

adj. 独裁的，专断的

参考例句：

• Her father is very dictatorial.她父亲很专横。
• For years the nation had been under the heel of a dictatorial regime.多年来这个国家一直在独裁政权的铁蹄下。

4 interrogated   

v.询问( interrogate的过去式和过去分词 )；审问；（在计算机或其他机器上）查询

参考例句：

• He was interrogated by the police for over 12 hours. 他被警察审问了12个多小时。
• Two suspects are now being interrogated in connection with the killing. 与杀人案有关的两名嫌疑犯正在接受审讯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

6 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。

7 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

8 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

9 covert   

adj.隐藏的；暗地里的

参考例句：

• We should learn to fight with enemy in an overt and covert way.我们应学会同敌人做公开和隐蔽的斗争。
• The army carried out covert surveillance of the building for several months.军队对这座建筑物进行了数月的秘密监视。

10 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

11 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

12 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

13 assassinations   

n.暗杀( assassination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Most anarchist assassinations were bungled because of haste or spontaneity, in his view. 在他看来，无政府主义者搞的许多刺杀都没成功就是因为匆忙和自发行动。 来自辞典例句
• Assassinations by Israelis of alleged terrorists habitually kill nearby women and children. 在以色列，自称恐怖分子的炸弹自杀者杀害靠近自己的以色列妇女和儿童。 来自互联网

14 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

15 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

16 piracy   

n.海盗行为，剽窃，著作权侵害

参考例句：

• The government has already adopted effective measures against piracy.政府已采取有效措施惩治盗版行为。
• They made the place a notorious centre of piracy.他们把这地方变成了臭名昭著的海盗中心。

17 recipient   

a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器

参考例句：

• Please check that you have a valid email certificate for each recipient. 请检查是否对每个接收者都有有效的电子邮件证书。
• Colombia is the biggest U . S aid recipient in Latin America. 哥伦比亚是美国在拉丁美洲最大的援助对象。

18 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。