VOA标准英语2009年-Yemen to Release About 170 al-Qaida Suspects

Yemeni officials say they are releasing about 170 detainees with suspected ties to al-Qaida, two weeks after al-Qaida said it would use Yemen as its base of operations for the Arabian peninsula.

One Yemeni official, who asked to remain anonymous¹, told the French Press Agency that "directives have been issued to us to free 176 people held for their links to the al-Qaida network or to activities of the network." The same official also said no individual actually convicted of terrorism charges would be released unless and until their sentences were completed.

Hala Mustafa, a Cairo-based expert on terrorism and fundamentalism says that she thinks that the Yemeni government is resorting to releasing prisoners to avoid any future attacks on its soil, due to the strength of al-Qaida inside the country.

"I think that maybe the Yemeni government resorted to this, in order to prevent any attack on the country," said Mustafa. "I think there are many people from Yemen who joined al-Qaida a long time ago, and Yemen itself is a tribal³ society and it is very easy for al-Qaida to use this country as a base of attack, or they could make some traditional coalition⁴ between the tribes themselves, so I think the Yemen society is very vulnerable."

Reports say that the men involved in the release have signed pledges not to resort to terrorism, a tactic⁵ that Yemeni President Ali Abdallah Saleh has previously⁶ vowed⁷ to use. Tribal leaders are also being asked to guarantee those released maintain good behavior.

Hala Mustafa suggests that President Abdallah Saleh has a multi-pronged approach to keeping the peace with Islamic militants⁸ and fundamentalists inside his country, including dialogue with them. This includes his recent initiative to talk with other militants and radicals¹⁰ in the region, such as Hamas.

"I think from another point of view, Yemen tried, today, to play a regional role, in particular with the radical⁹ groups in the region such as Hamas, and I think this step could have a dual² goal, like from one side prevent an attack inside Yemen, and from the other send a message to the radical groups such as Hamas, today, in order to play a role in containing Hamas."

Last month, Saudi al-Qaida fugitives¹¹ in Yemen issued a video on the internet to announce that they had joined forces with their Yemeni associates to form a single al-Qaida group for the Arabian peninsula.

Saudi Arabia issued a list of 85 wanted al-Qaida suspects, last week, and experts believe that many probably found refuge with sympathetic tribes inside Yemen.

1 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

2 dual   

adj.双的；二重的，二元的

参考例句：

• The people's Republic of China does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national.中华人民共和国不承认中国公民具有双重国籍。
• He has dual role as composer and conductor.他兼作曲家及指挥的双重身分。

3 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

4 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

5 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

6 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

7 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

8 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。

9 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

10 radicals   

n.激进分子( radical的名词复数 )；根基；基本原理；[数学]根数

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。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The worry is that the radicals will grow more intransigent. 现在人们担忧激进分子会变得更加不妥协。 来自辞典例句

11 fugitives   

n.亡命者，逃命者( fugitive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Three fugitives from the prison are still at large. 三名逃犯仍然未被抓获。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Members of the provisional government were prisoners or fugitives. 临时政府的成员或被捕或逃亡。 来自演讲部分