VOA标准英语2008年-US Ambassador Calls Kenyan Government Charges '

By Alisha Ryu
Nairobi
22 January 2008

The U.S. ambassador to Kenya has angrily denounced print and broadcast advertisements placed by the government of President Mwai Kibaki, which accuses the United States and other Western countries of contributing to post-election violence in the country. VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu reports from Nairobi that tension between the government and the opposition¹ is growing.

In an editorial in the local Daily Nation newspaper, U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger strongly protested what he called scurrilous² propaganda distributed in recent days by the Kenyan government's Office for Public Communications.

Calling President Mwai Kibaki a man of honor, the ambassador said the Kenyan leader may not have known about the advertisements, which he says irresponsibly claimed that speaking the truth about the country's disputed presidential election provided incitement³ to ethnic⁴ violence.

The editorial by the U.S. envoy⁵ follows another diplomatic dispute between Kenya and Britain. Monday, the Kibaki government summoned the British High Commissioner⁶ to voice its anger over remarks last week in the British House of Commons that the country does not recognize Mr. Kibaki as the winner of the December 27 vote.

The United States and Britain, which consider Kenya a key regional ally, are among a number of Western and African countries that have expressed concern about serious irregularities in the vote counting process that put Mr. Kibaki back in power by a narrow margin⁷ over his rival, Raila Odinga.

Kenya exploded in violence as opposition supporters, who allege⁸ that Mr. Kibaki stole the election, took to the streets in protest. The police have been accused of shooting dead scores of demonstrators, following what the opposition calls an unofficial shoot-to-kill policy.

The election result also unleashed⁹ horrific ethnic bloodletting in the capital and other parts of the country, which the government says was pre-planned by the opposition.

The unrest has severely¹⁰ damaged one of the continent's most-promising economies and Kenya's image as a stable, democratic nation in a turbulent region.

Western powers have urged both sides to resolve the crisis through dialogue.

Political analyst¹¹ Wafula Okumu, of the Institute for Security Studies in South Africa, says there are hardliners in the Kibaki government, who may view the West as an obstacle.

"There is a lot of frustration¹² on the part of the government," Okumu said. "By not being recognized by other countries, that leaves a big question mark on his (Kibaki's) legitimacy¹³. I think the summoning of the British high commissioner, the taking-on of the American ambassador - all these are acts of frustration and they see that there is nothing that is going to come from the international community other than pressure and the pressure, I think, is mounting."

The latest mediation¹⁴ effort to break the political deadlock¹⁵ is being led by former U.N. secretary general Kofi Annan.

The 69-year-old African statesman is also under enormous pressure to produce an agreement that eluded¹⁶ African Union chief, John Kufuor, during his two-day visit earlier this month.

The Kibaki government says it is willing to talk to the opposition, but has dismissed the need for mediators. The government insists all complaints about the election should be addressed through the courts, which is perceived by many Kenyans as being biased¹⁷ toward the government.

The opposition says it will not back down from its demand for the president's resignation and a rerun of the vote.

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 scurrilous   

adj.下流的，恶意诽谤的

参考例句：

• Scurrilous and untrue stories were being invented.有人正在捏造虚假诽谤的故事。
• She was often quite scurrilous in her references to me.她一提起我,常常骂骂咧咧的。

3 incitement   

激励； 刺激； 煽动； 激励物

参考例句：

• incitement to racial hatred 种族仇恨的挑起
• Interest is an incitement to study. 兴趣刺激学习。

4 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

5 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。

6 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

7 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

8 allege   

vt.宣称，申述，主张，断言

参考例句：

• The newspaper reporters allege that the man was murdered but they have given no proof.新闻记者们宣称这个男人是被谋杀的，但他们没提出证据。
• Students occasionally allege illness as the reason for absence.学生时不时会称病缺课。

9 unleashed   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The government's proposals unleashed a storm of protest in the press. 政府的提案引发了新闻界的抗议浪潮。
• The full force of his rage was unleashed against me. 他把所有的怒气都发泄在我身上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

11 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

12 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

13 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

14 mediation   

n.调解

参考例句：

• The dispute was settled by mediation of the third country. 这场争端通过第三国的斡旋而得以解决。
• The dispute was settled by mediation. 经调解使争端得以解决。

15 deadlock   

n.僵局，僵持

参考例句：

• The negotiations reached a deadlock after two hours.两小时后，谈判陷入了僵局。
• The employers and strikers are at a deadlock over the wage.雇主和罢工者在工资问题上相持不下。

16 eluded   

v.（尤指机敏地）避开( elude的过去式和过去分词 )；逃避；躲避；使达不到

参考例句：

• The sly fox nimbly eluded the dogs. 那只狡猾的狐狸灵活地躲避开那群狗。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The criminal eluded the police. 那个罪犯甩掉了警察的追捕。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

17 biased   

a.有偏见的

参考例句：

• a school biased towards music and art 一所偏重音乐和艺术的学校
• The Methods: They employed were heavily biased in the gentry's favour. 他们采用的方法严重偏袒中上阶级。