Georgian troop rebellion 'over'

Georgian troop rebellion 'over'

乔治亚军队叛乱结束

A mutiny（兵变，反抗） at a military base near Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, is over, the Georgian interior minister（内政部长） says.

Vano Merabishvili said the commander（司令官，指挥官） of the Mukhrovani base where a tank battalion¹（营，军队） mutinied had been arrested and others were being questioned.

Tbilisi said earlier it was part of a Russia-linked coup² attempt to kill President Mikhail Saakashvili.

Russia's envoy（外交使节）to Nato described the charges as "mad". The trouble comes a day before Nato exercises in Georgia.

Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev has condemned（被责难的，被宣告有罪的）Nato for planning military exercises in a country "where there was just a war".

Georgia and Russia have poisonous relations, and fought a war over Georgia's breakaway territory（领土，领域） of South Ossetia last August.

In a separate development, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he would not attend a planned meeting of the Nato-Russia Council later this month following the alliance's expulsion（开除，驱逐） of two Russian diplomats³ last week.

They were expelled reportedly in retaliation⁴ for a spy scandal（丑闻） involving an Estonian official.

Nato Secretary General Jaap de Hoop⁵ Scheffer expressed regret at Mr Lavrov's decision.

Saakashvili's address

In a statement, the Georgian interior ministry⁶ said that the attempted mutiny at the Mukhrovani base, some 30km (20 miles) from Tbilisi, had failed and the situation had been brought under control.

The statement came after negotiations⁷ between government officials and troops at the base.

It's over. Most of the people have surrendered（投降，屈服）, including the commander of the battalion. A few people have escaped," spokesman Shota Utiashvili told the AFP news agency.

"There was no violence," he said.

At the entrance to Mukhrovani, bus loads of soldiers and other official military vehicles（传播媒介，工具） were seen leaving, the BBC's Tom Esslemont reports from just outside the base.

Our correspondent says that Mr Saakashvili also left the base shortly after the alleged⁸ （被指称的）mutiny ended, though an interior ministry spokesman denied that the president had taken part in the negotiations to end the mutiny.

In a televised address later on Tuesday, Mr Saakashvili described the mutiny as a "serious threat", but added that it was an isolated（分离的，孤立的） incident.

"The plan was to stage a large-scale mutiny in Tbilisi and to take steps against the sovereignty of Georgia and the Georgian government's European and Euro-Atlantic integration⁹."

Mr Saakashvili also demanded that Russia "refrain（抑制，制止） from provocations（刺激，挑拨）".

It is still not clear how many officers may have been involved in the events at Mukhrovani.

The mutiny erupted （爆发）on Tuesday morning, when soldiers began disobeying orders, Georgian officials said.

The soldiers were aiming at "disrupting Nato exercises and overturning（倒转） the authorities militarily", Georgian Defence Minister David Sikharulidze told Georgian television.

The rebellion began as the government announced it had disrupted a coup（出乎意料的行动） plot.

The interior ministry told the BBC that the plotters（阴谋者，计划者） wanted to destabilise Georgia and assassinate¹⁰ President Saakashvili.

Mr Utiashvili said one of the suspected coup leaders - former special forces commander Georgy Gvaladze - was arrested. But the alleged co-plotter - former chief of special forces Koba Otanadze - was still at large.

The spokesman said the government had been aware of the plot for two months.

The rebellion appeared to be "co-ordinated with Russia", the interior ministry said.

'Distracting attention'

But Dmitry Rogozin, Moscow's ambassador at military alliance, said the mutiny in Georgia was the result of "crazy politics of President Saakashvili".

In a separate development, opposition¹¹ protests are continuing in Tbilisi.

The demonstrators（示威者） say they plan to block three main roads into the capital later on Tuesday.

Opposition parties say the alleged mutiny was a deliberate attempt by the government to distract（转移，分心）attention from a new phase of anti-government protests.

(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

 

1 battalion   

n.营；部队；大队(的人)

参考例句：

• The town was garrisoned by a battalion.该镇由一营士兵驻守。
• At the end of the drill parade,the battalion fell out.操练之后，队伍解散了。

2 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。

3 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 hoop   

n.（篮球）篮圈，篮

参考例句：

• The child was rolling a hoop.那个孩子在滚铁环。
• The wooden tub is fitted with the iron hoop.木盆都用铁箍箍紧。

6 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

7 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

8 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

9 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

10 assassinate   

vt.暗杀，行刺，中伤

参考例句：

• The police exposed a criminal plot to assassinate the president.警方侦破了一个行刺总统的阴谋。
• A plot to assassinate the banker has been uncovered by the police.暗杀银行家的密谋被警方侦破了。

11 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。