2006年VOA标准英语-Al-Qaida 'Leader' in Sudan Claims Newspaper Edi

By Noel King
Khartoum
13 September 2006

A group calling itself al-Qaida in Africa has reportedly claimed responsibility for the death of a Sudanese editor in Khartoum. Mohamed Taha was found beheaded last Wednesday. In the days following Taha's death, Sudanese security has begun cracking down on newspapers in Khartoum.

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Mohammed Taha Mohammed Ahmed (Undated file picture)

The statement issued by a man calling himself Abu Hafs al-Sudani claims that three al-Qaida members beheaded editor Mohamed Taha, before leaving Sudan.

The statement has not been independently confirmed.

In April 2005, Editor Mohamed Taha printed an article that questioned the lineage of the Muslim prophet Mohamed.

Taha, an ally of Sudan's Islamist government, was arrested and his Al Wifaq newspaper closed down.

Thousands of demonstrators stood outside the courthouse where Taha was tried in June 2005, calling for his death; but he was acquitted¹ of the charges.

Taha's murder has cast a pall² over the press in Sudan, and raised questions about the presence of Islamist militants³ in Sudan.

Many Sudanese are skeptical⁴ of yesterday's statement issued by the group claiming to be al-Qaida.

Political Scientist Dr. Hassan Makki of Africa University in Khartoum says the statement does not bear the hallmarks of al-Qaida.

"I haven't heard the name of Abu Hafs al-Sudani. It is too late. After seven days they established this announcement. Al-Qaida usually announces its declarations on the same day," he said.

In the days after Taha's body was found, several local editors reported that their newspapers had been confiscated⁵ and that they had given instructions to stop printing articles about Taha's death.

Faisal El Bagir, the head of Information and Media with the Sudanese Organization Against Torture, a rights group based in the U.K., told VOA from Khartoum that editors have been given orders to stop writing about Taha's murder.

"I think what is happening nowadays is very serious and a very severe attack on freedom of expression," he said. "There is censorship by the security starting from the 6th of September, the day of the announcement of the death of Mohamed Taha. They have been coming into the newspapers, each and every day and reading them, giving instructions of what is to be published and what is not to be published. This censorship is continual now."

Alfred Taban of the independent Khartoum Monitor says Taha's death and the subsequent crackdown on the press are an attempt at intimidation⁶.

Taban told VOA that the recent crackdown by the Sudanese government violates the terms of the January 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which ended twenty one years of civil war between north and south Sudan.

"We will continue to print our newspapers. This is censorship and we will continue to fight it as we have done for all these years," said Taban. "We have been closed down ten times in five years and we have always come back. We are definitely going to continue as we have been doing without any hesitation⁷."

Al-Qaida leader Osama bin⁸ Laden⁹ lived in Sudan in the 1990s until Khartoum expelled him in 1996 under U.S. and Saudi pressure.

Last March, bin Laden called on al-Qaida members to fight against United Nations intervention¹⁰ in the war-torn Darfur region.

The Sudanese government immediately distanced itself from bin Laden, but has itself, continued to insist that the U.N. is not welcome in Darfur.

1 acquitted   

宣判…无罪( acquit的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（自己）作出某种表现

参考例句：

• The jury acquitted him of murder. 陪审团裁决他谋杀罪不成立。
• Five months ago she was acquitted on a shoplifting charge. 五个月前她被宣判未犯入店行窃罪。

2 pall   

v.覆盖，使平淡无味；n.柩衣，棺罩；棺材；帷幕

参考例句：

• Already the allure of meals in restaurants had begun to pall.饭店里的饭菜已经不像以前那样诱人。
• I find his books begin to pall on me after a while.我发觉他的书读过一阵子就开始对我失去吸引力。

3 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。

4 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

5 confiscated   

没收，充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Their land was confiscated after the war. 他们的土地在战后被没收。
• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。

6 intimidation   

n.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
• The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。

7 hesitation   

n.犹豫，踌躇

参考例句：

• After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
• There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

8 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

9 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

10 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。