VOA常速英语2008年-Journalists Still Barred from Kenya Military Op

By Derek Kilner
Nairobi
19 March 2008

A military and police operation targeting a militia¹ in western Kenya continues. As Derek Kilner reports from Nairobi, journalists are complaining that they are still being barred from the areas affected² by the operation.

The two-week-old operation is targeting the Sabaot Land Defense³ Force, a militia that has been implicated⁴ in land clashes in the Mount Elgon region of western Kenya that have killed several hundred people in the past two years.

The group was blamed for killing⁵ 13 people in an attack on two villages earlier this month. This week 150 people were charged in court with ties to the militia.

Throughout the operation, media outlets⁶ have complained that the military has blocked access to the Mount Elgon area and harassed⁷ journalists trying to cover the story.

Earlier this week, the international press freedom group Reporters Without Borders criticized the Kenyan army's conduct. Leonard Vincent is head of the organization's Africa desk.

"This behavior is a matter of concern for us because it has reached a level of brutality⁸ that we have not seen before," he said. "Especially on March 12 where a TV team and Nation Media Group journalist were arrested, forced to kneel down and were slapped several times. This is something that is absolutely not tolerable in a democratic country."

Defense Department spokesman Bogita Ongeri, meanwhile, denied wrongdoing on the part of the military.

"I really do not think that we have mishandled journalists," he said. "That military operation is an area where you need to get clearance⁹ because you never know what will happen. Journalists can cover what is happening but what we want is just coordination¹⁰."

But David Matende, Chairman of the Kenya Union of Journalists, says journalists are still being prevented from accessing the Mount Elgon area and that coverage¹¹ of the operation has suffered as a result.

"Our people cannot access that region," said Matende. "They have been stopped by the military to access the area of conflict. In Kenya, when there is a security operation they used that blanket excuse to stop the media and everybody else from accessing the place. The information now being published by reporters is the official information, the one given by officials."

Matende says journalists have been barred from other internal security operations in the past.

In addition to the Sabaot Land Defense Force, the current operation is targeting other smaller armed groups, including the Moorland Defense Force and the Political Revenge Movement.

As with other clashes over land in Kenya, the fighting around Mount Elgon is not new, but the level of post-election violence that followed December's disputed elections appears to have given renewed urgency to the need to tackle such disputes.

1 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

2 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。

3 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。

4 implicated   

adj.密切关联的；牵涉其中的

参考例句：

• These groups are very strongly implicated in the violence. 这些组织与这起暴力事件有着极大的关联。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Having the stolen goods in his possession implicated him in the robbery. 因藏有赃物使他涉有偷盗的嫌疑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

6 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 harassed   

adj. 疲倦的，厌烦的 动词harass的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He has complained of being harassed by the police. 他投诉受到警方侵扰。
• harassed mothers with their children 带着孩子的疲惫不堪的母亲们

8 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

9 clearance   

n.净空；许可(证)；清算；清除，清理

参考例句：

• There was a clearance of only ten centimetres between the two walls.两堵墙之间只有十厘米的空隙。
• The ship sailed as soon as it got clearance. 那艘船一办好离港手续立刻启航了。

10 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

11 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。