2007年VOA标准英语-Watchdog Group Says Somalia Still Remains Hot S

By Cathy Majtenyi
Nairobi
22 January 2007

piracy1 stand in the dock under guard of Kenyan police officers in this 3 Feb 2006 file picture in the court in Mombasa" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070517/1351570.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

Some of the ten Somali men accused of piracy stand in the dock under guard of Kenyan police officers in the court in Mombasa (3 Feb 2006)

Piracy attacks are falling worldwide but hot spots remain, including in Somalia where the removal of the Islamic government set back efforts to curb² the problem, a watchdog said Monday. Cathy Majtenyi reports for VOA from Nairobi.

The director of the London-based International Maritime³ Bureau, Captain Pottengal Mukundan, tells VOA his organization is watching Somalia closely now that the Union of Islamic Courts, or UIC, has been ousted⁴.

"When the UIC were in control of the southern part of Somalia, the number of attacks had come right down," he said. "There was one case of a vessel⁵ which was hijacked⁶ in which the UIC acted very decisively and arrested the pirates and had the vessel returned to its rightful owners, which was a significant move of the kind we have not seen in Somalia for many years."

Mukundan says that, within days of the Islamists' removal, pirates tried to attack an American bulk carrier, but were unsuccessful.

He says he does not want to see a return to the days where the waters off the Somali coast were among the most dangerous in the world.

"Our hope is this time that the interim⁷ government will be able to exercise proper authority and stop these kind of attacks," said Mukundan. "I think they need to crack down very quickly the first time an attack takes places on a vessel. If they don't do that, then the militias⁸ may feel that this is an activity which is allowed, and they can get away with it."

Piracy has been a big problem in Somali waters, prompting the International Maritime Bureau to issue warnings to ships throughout the years.

By the end of November 2005, there had been at least 28 piracy incidents that have occurred off Somalia's coast.

Warlords and their militias had used piracy as a source of income. In a previous interview with VOA, Harjit Kelley, a retired⁹ commander with the Kenyan navy, estimated that pirates had collected well over $1 million in ransom¹⁰ over the last few months of 2005, and said factional leaders were coordinating¹¹ the effort.

The Somali government has argued that it lacks the resources and organization to crack down on piracy, and has called on the international community to do so.

1 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。

2 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

3 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

4 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

5 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

6 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。

7 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

8 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

9 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

10 ransom   

n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救

参考例句：

• We'd better arrange the ransom right away.我们最好马上把索取赎金的事安排好。
• The kidnappers exacted a ransom of 10000 from the family.绑架者向这家人家勒索10000英镑的赎金。

11 coordinating   

v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的现在分词 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• He abolished the Operations Coordinating Board and the Planning Board. 他废除了行动协调委员会和计划委员会。 来自辞典例句
• He's coordinating the wedding, and then we're not going to invite him? 他是来协调婚礼的，难道我们不去请他？ 来自电影对白