VOA常速英语2007年-EU, US Criticize Kenyan Pre-Election Violence

By Derek Kilner
Nairobi
21 December 2007

The European Commission and the United States are condemning¹ the political violence that has been reported in Kenya in the run-up to next week's presidential and legislative² elections.  President Mwai Kibaki is trailing challenger Raila Odinga in opinion polls, but many observers say the race is too close to call.  Derek Kilner reports for VOA from Nairobi.

The head of the European Union's election observation team in Kenya, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, condemned³ recent episodes of election-fueled tribal⁴ violence on a visit to some of the affected⁵ areas.

Clashes over land have displaced tens of thousands of people this year, particularly near Kuresoi and Mt. Elgon in Kenya's west.

A recently released report by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights says at least 70 people have been killed in election-related violence since July.   The report says responsibility for the attacks can be hard to determine.

Anthony Kuria, Principal Human Rights Officer with the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, acknowledges election violence is a problem.

"With the history of violence in this country how it has been used is to disenfranchise certain communities which are perceived as not being friendly to whichever party is fostering the violence, but right now it is a very, very confused situation," he said.

Kenya's electoral commission has called in several parliamentary candidates, including the assistant minister for east African affairs, for questioning about electoral violence.

U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger also called for peaceful elections on Friday, with special emphasis on the threat of violence to women.

"We've been concerned about violence against women candidates," he said.  "They have been particular targets and victims of horrendous⁶ unspeakable violence. We believe that those women candidates need extra protection given that they are particular targets of violence."

Ranneberger also announced that close to 200 U.S. Embassy employees will be serving as election observers. They will join other observer teams from the European Commission, the East African Community, the Commonwealth⁷ and the U.S.-funded International Republican Institute.

1 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》

2 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

3 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

4 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。

5 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

6 horrendous   

adj.可怕的，令人惊惧的

参考例句：

• He described it as the most horrendous experience of his life.他形容这是自己一生中最可怕的经历。
• The mining industry in China has a horrendous safety record.中国的煤矿工业具有令人不安的安全记录。

7 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。