VOA标准英语10月-Kenya Denies Ukrainian Ship Bound for Southern Su

Kenya's foreign minister has dismissed a BBC report suggesting that a consignment¹ of tanks and other military hardware aboard a hijacked² Ukrainian ship was bound for South Sudan when it was seized by Somali pirates last month. The Kenyan government maintains that the Russian-made arms were being delivered to Kenya to be used by its military. VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu has details from Nairobi.

BBC News on Tuesday revealed what it said was a copy of the freight manifest aboard the hijacked ship, MV Faina.

The alleged³ manifest shows contract numbers for 33 T-72 tanks, grenade launchers and anti-aircraft guns containing the initials GOSS, which is an abbreviation commonly used in the region to refer to the government of South Sudan. The manifest names Kenya's defense⁴ ministry⁵ as the consignee⁶.
　

Kenyan Foreign Minister, Moses Wetangula (file photo)

On Wednesday, Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula dismissed the BBC report, saying it failed to prove that the cargo⁷ aboard the hijacked freighter belongs to anyone other than the Kenyan military.

"I have been advised, and I stand properly advised, I believe, and I have no doubt that it is true, that GOSS means General Ordinance⁸ Supplies and Security, which is a code for our DoD [Department of Defense]," Wetangula said. "So, the BBC, I think, is engaged in unhelpful speculation⁹ on this matter."

Speaking on the condition of anonymity¹⁰, a senior Kenyan military official tells VOA that he has never heard of a code called General Ordinance Supplies and Security used in the armed forces.

Such contradictions are prompting rumors¹¹ among Kenyans as to whether high-level officials are receiving kick-backs for allowing Ukrainian arms shipments to pass through Kenya. At least one other shipment, bound for southern Sudan, was allegedly off-loaded in the port of Mombasa late last year.

Kenya helped sponsor talks that ended Sudan's brutal¹² 20-year civil war between the southern Sudan People's Liberation Army and the government in Khartoum. The warring parties signed a Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005, and are now distrustful partners in a unity¹³ government.

Although the peace accord requires South Sudan and Khartoum to consult each other about military purchases, regional arms experts say that stipulation¹⁴ is widely ignored by both sides.

Khartoum is believed to be buying aircraft and weapons from China, Russia and possibly Iran, and South Sudan has made no secret that it wants to build its guerrilla force into a professional army ahead of a referendum in 2011 that could see the oil-rich South split from the North.

Jane's Defense Weekly's military analyst¹⁵ Helmoed Heitman says, if the Kenyan government is secretly assisting South Sudan, he believes Nairobi is betting that there will be less chance for another regionally destabilizing war in Sudan, if the South were better armed.

"They see a greater likelihood of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement actually working post-2011, if the SPLA is militarily so strong that the Sudanese government feels it cannot just march in and take over," Heitman said. "Conceivably, if Khartoum's intelligence picked up early that the SPLA was creating a small-but-potent conventional force, they might have decided¹⁶, 'the hell with the peace agreement, let's move in again with major forces, secure all the towns and make sure they cannot deploy¹⁷ anything.'"
　

US Navy photo shows some of the Somali pirates and crew members on MV Faina off Somalia's coast, 5 Oct. 2008

Meanwhile, Reuters news agency says pirates holding the controversial cargo have lowered their ransom¹⁸ demand from $20 million to $8 million and are expecting the money to be paid in the next few days.

Pirates seized the freighter on September 26 as it sailed unescorted along the eastern coast of Somalia toward Mombasa.

1 consignment   

n.寄售；发货；委托；交运货物

参考例句：

• This last consignment of hosiery is quite up to standard.这批新到的针织品完全符合规格。
• We have to ask you to dispatch the consignment immediately.我们得要求你立即发送该批货物。

2 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。

3 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

4 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

5 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。

6 consignee   

n.受托者，收件人，代销人；承销人；收货人

参考例句：

• The consignee is decided according to the order of the shipper or the opening bank. 收货人是由托运人或开证行的指令决定。 来自辞典例句
• For Freight Collect shipments, the charge will be billed to the consignee. 若采取收件人付费方式，则费用由收件人支付。 来自互联网

7 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

8 ordinance   

n.法令；条令；条例

参考例句：

• The Ordinance of 1785 provided the first land grants for educational purposes.1785年法案为教育目的提供了第一批土地。
• The city passed an ordinance compelling all outdoor lighting to be switched off at 9.00 PM.该市通过一条法令强令晚上九点关闭一切室外照明。

9 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

10 anonymity   

n.the condition of being anonymous

参考例句：

• Names of people in the book were changed to preserve anonymity. 为了姓名保密，书中的人用的都是化名。
• Our company promises to preserve the anonymity of all its clients. 我们公司承诺不公开客户的姓名。

11 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

13 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

14 stipulation   

n.契约，规定，条文；条款说明

参考例句：

• There's no stipulation as to the amount you can invest. 没有关于投资额的规定。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The only stipulation the building society makes is that house must be insured. 建屋互助会作出的唯一规定是房屋必须保险。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 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。

16 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

17 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

18 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。