2007年VOA标准英语-Afghan Officials Reject Taleban Claim German Ho

By Benjamin Sand
Islamabad
21 July 2007

The Afghan Foreign Ministry¹ is denying claims by Taleban militants² that they have killed two German hostages. Earlier Saturday, a Taleban spokesman said the hostages were killed when a deadline passed for the German and Afghan governments to meet Taleban demands. The insurgents³ are demanding the release of all Taleban held in Afghan prisons and an end to Germany's military presence in the country. From Islamabad, Benjamin Sand reports Afghan officials say it looks like one of the hostages may have died, but from a heart attack, the other is still alive.

German soldiers, part of ISAF, stand guard during the opening ceremony of a German-funded medical center project in the Deh Sabz district of Kabul (file photo)

A purported⁴ Taleban spokesman told local reporters by phone that both men were shot and killed Saturday afternoon.

The news ricocheted across Kabul's fairly tight knit expatriate community. But within hours fresh reports suggested all had not been lost.

The Afghan Foreign Ministry said it still could still confirm the report.

German officials too said they had no independent verification of the Taleban's claims.

And then Foreign Ministry spokesman Sultan Ahmad Baheen, told reporters Saturday evening that it appeared the Taleban were lying.

He says the latest information they have is only one man died but he died naturally, from a heart attack. The second German is still alive.

Afghan officials insist it is still too soon give up hope.

Chancellor5 Angela Merkel delivers a speech at the Security Conference in Munich, southern Germany, 19 Feb 2007" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070723/0953401.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

German Chancellor Angela Merkel delivers a speech at the Security Conference in Munich, southern Germany, 19 Feb 2007

Earlier Saturday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel rejected the Taleban ultimatum⁶ to withdraw Germany's 3,000 troops from Afghanistan. Ms. Merkel said the troops would stay in place.

She is not the only international leader seeking the release of hostages in Afghanistan.

Thursday, Taleban militants kidnapped at least 18 South Koreans.

The evangelical Christians⁷ were traveling between Kabul and the southern city of Kandahar, territory considered a Taleban's stronghold.

The mass abduction is the largest single group of foreign hostages taken since U.S. led international forces ousted⁸ the Taleban regime in 2001.

The militants are threatening to kill all the Korean hostages unless South Korea agrees to withdraw its forces from Afghanistan.

Seoul currently has around 200 non-combat forces in the country and already has plans to redeploy them by the end of the year.

South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun issued a televised appeal for the hostages' safe return on Friday and insisted Seoul would conduct "sincere" negotiations⁹ for their release.

A high power delegations¹⁰ is scheduled to fly from Seoul to Afghanistan Sunday to meet with Afghan President Hamid Karzai to discuss efforts to free the South Korean Christians.

Afghan officials say kidnapping cases in general are on the rise as Taleban militants seek new ways to undermine support for Afghanistan's U.S.-backed central government.

1 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。

2 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。

3 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

4 purported   

adj.传说的，谣传的v.声称是…，（装得）像是…的样子( purport的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• the scene of the purported crime 传闻中的罪案发生地点
• The film purported to represent the lives of ordinary people. 这部影片声称旨在表现普通人的生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

6 ultimatum   

n.最后通牒

参考例句：

• This time the proposal was couched as an ultimatum.这一次该提议是以最后通牒的形式提出来的。
• The cabinet met today to discuss how to respond to the ultimatum.内阁今天开会商量如何应对这道最后通牒。

7 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

8 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。

9 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。

10 delegations   

n.代表团( delegation的名词复数 )；委托，委派

参考例句：

• In the past 15 years, China has sent 280 women delegations abroad. 十五年来，中国共派280批妇女代表团出访。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• The Sun Ray decision follows the federal pattern of tolerating broad delegations but insisting on safeguards. “阳光”案的判决仿效联邦容许广泛授权的做法，但又坚持保护措施。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法