Violence Escalates in the Netherlands in the

 

By Lauren Comiteau

A 15-hour stand-off between police and suspected terrorists ended in The Hague Wednesday evening with two arrests of people police say belonged to a "network of radical¹ Muslims." Five other suspects were arrested across the country on the same day in an ongoing² terrorism operation since last week's murder of the controversial filmmaker Theo van Gogh.

The latest violence was in the Dutch city, The Hague, where four police officers were wounded as suspects in a house they were raiding threw a hand grenade at them. Air space over the city was closed Wednesday and gunfire was exchanged, as hundreds of police and soldiers converged³ on a working-class neighborhood where half the population is immigrant.

In an unusually dramatic scene, police evacuated⁴ the neighborhood and snipers took up rooftop positions. Police called the raid terrorist-related, but they won't say if it is connected to the murder of controversial filmmaker Theo van Gogh. He was shot and stabbed last week by a suspected Islamic extremist, 26-year-old Mohammed Bouyeri, who remains⁵ in custody⁶ on charges of murder and terrorism. He will be brought before a judge Friday for a closed custody hearing.

There have been more than a dozen arson⁷ attacks - both against Islamic intuitions and a couple of churches -- since Mr. van Gogh's assassination⁸. The continuing spiral of violence and counter-violence has led to government in-fighting and public tension as authorities try to isolate⁹ Islamic extremists and moderate Muslims rally for unity¹⁰.

Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende told Parliament Wednesday that the country can't let itself be blinded by people seeking to drag it into a spiral of violence.

The prime minister appealed for an end to what he called this "un-Dutch" violence.

One opinion poll shows that some 40 percent of Dutch people say Muslims are no longer welcome in the Netherlands, while 90 percent say the Dutch are becoming less tolerant.

Meanwhile, Dutch Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk has met with Muslim groups issuing a joint¹¹ statement condemning¹² extremism on all sides. She says Mr. van Gogh's murder raises doubts about whether the Netherlands has been too lax, and she is looking into tougher measures concerning immigrants.

Lauren Comiteau, for VOA news, Amsterdam.
注释：
suspected 可疑的
Hague 海牙
ongoing 正在进行的
grenade 手榴弹
gunfire 炮火
working-class 工人阶级
evacuate 撤出
sniper 狙击兵
in custody 被拘留
arson 纵火
assassination 暗杀
rally 集会

1 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。

2 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

3 converged   

v.（线条、运动的物体等）会于一点( converge的过去式 )；（趋于）相似或相同；人或车辆汇集；聚集

参考例句：

• Thousands of supporters converged on London for the rally. 成千上万的支持者从四面八方汇聚伦敦举行集会。
• People converged on the political meeting from all parts of the city. 人们从城市的四面八方涌向这次政治集会。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 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。

7 arson   

n.纵火，放火

参考例句：

• He was serving a ten spot for arson.他因纵火罪在服十年徒刑。
• He was arraigned on a charge of arson.他因被指控犯纵火罪而被传讯。

8 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

9 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

10 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

11 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

12 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》