VOA标准英语2008年-Kenya's President Accuses Opposition of Fomenti

By Nick Wadhams
Nairobi
03 January 2008

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki, who was declared the winner of last week's disputed elections, is accusing opposition¹ leaders of fomenting² post-election violence that has claimed more than 300 lives. Nick Wadhams reports from VOA's Nairobi bureau, the president appealed for calm.

Mr. Kibaki appeared before reporters at his State House residence, as violence continued across Kenya. Both government and opposition leaders are struggling to come to grips with the fallout from an election that the European Union and several others have said was seriously flawed.

South African Archbishop and Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu arrived in Kenya Thursday to try to mediate³ between supporters of Mr. Kibaki and supporters of opposition leader Raila Odinga, but neither side appeared willing to compromise.

The United States has also appealed for calm and announced it is sending an envoy⁴ to the country to discuss the crisis.

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Kibaki accused the opposition of having instigated⁵ the violence. He said that anyone who breaks the law will be punished, and called on Kenyans to remain calm.

"In particular, I am appealing to all young people to reject any attempts to use them to harm their fellow Kenyans," he said. "This is your country, too, and to harm your fellow citizens and willfully destroy property is to destroy your own future."

Violence continued through the day, and some areas of the Nairobi slums where the worst of the violence has occurred are essentially⁶ lawless, prowled by gangs of young men terrorizing people.

Odinga insists he will only negotiate with Mr. Kibaki after he steps down as president.

Odinga visited a city mortuary on Thursday afternoon where he was shown the bodies of several dozen people said to have been killed in the violence.

Some bodies were laid out on slabs⁷ of stone. Others had been stacked in racks in the back of the facility. Several bore what appeared to have been wounds from machetes.

Afterward⁸, Odinga remained defiant⁹. He rejected an offer to conduct a re-count of the vote, saying that would be rigged just as he believes the original vote was. He insisted that he is the rightful leader of Kenya and that his hands are tied.

"I cannot do anything, because I have been denied the opportunity to do so by one Mwai Kibaki, who is right now still sitting in State House," he said. "This is something that this country does not deserve. This country wants change, and it voted for change. Instead, in order to perpetuate¹⁰ themselves, they are doing this kind of thing to the people of Kenya."

Meanwhile, in the slums, Kenya's poorest people have begun to say that they have tired of the political wrangling¹¹ and want peace more than anything else. Many say that both Odinga and Mr. Kibaki will only lose popularity if they continue their confrontation¹².

1 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。

2 fomenting   

v.激起，煽动（麻烦等）( foment的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They accused him of fomenting political unrest. 他们指控他煽动政治动乱。
• Three sailors were fomenting a mutiny on the ship. 三个水手正在船上煽动叛变。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 mediate   

vi.调解，斡旋；vt.经调解解决；经斡旋促成

参考例句：

• The state must mediate the struggle for water resources.政府必须通过调解来解决对水资源的争夺。
• They may be able to mediate between parties with different interests.他们也许能在不同利益政党之间进行斡旋。

4 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

5 instigated   

v.使（某事物）开始或发生，鼓动( instigate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The government has instigated a programme of economic reform. 政府已实施了经济改革方案。
• He instigated the revolt. 他策动了这次叛乱。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

7 slabs   

n.厚板，平板，厚片( slab的名词复数 )；厚胶片

参考例句：

• The patio was made of stone slabs. 这天井是用石板铺砌而成的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The slabs of standing stone point roughly toward the invisible notch. 这些矗立的石块，大致指向那个看不见的缺口。 来自辞典例句

8 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

9 defiant   

adj.无礼的，挑战的

参考例句：

• With a last defiant gesture,they sang a revolutionary song as they were led away to prison.他们被带走投入监狱时，仍以最后的反抗姿态唱起了一支革命歌曲。
• He assumed a defiant attitude toward his employer.他对雇主采取挑衅的态度。

10 perpetuate   

v.使永存，使永记不忘

参考例句：

• This monument was built to perpetuate the memory of the national hero.这个纪念碑建造的意义在于纪念民族英雄永垂不朽。
• We must perpetuate the system.我们必须将此制度永久保持。

11 wrangling   

v.争吵，争论，口角( wrangle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The two sides have spent most of their time wrangling over procedural problems. 双方大部分时间都在围绕程序问题争论不休。 来自辞典例句
• The children were wrangling (with each other) over the new toy. 孩子为新玩具（互相）争吵。 来自辞典例句

12 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。