The NAtion: Burma's help sought ove

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Politics 

      Burma's help sought over
      log scandal

      Thailand will seek Rangoon's cooperation
      in putting a quick end to a probe into the
      Salween logging scandal, Deputy Foreign
      Minister Sukhumbhand Paribatra said
      yesterday. 

      Sukhumbhand will today chair a special
      meeting of senior officials to coordinate
      and gather information on the case before
      going to Burma next month. 

      The minister said although the
      deforestation of the Salween National Park
      is Thailand's problem and Thai authorities
      must solve it, the logs were sent into Burma
      through the Salween river and then brought
      back. 

      ''Logs are among 28 items which the
      Burmese government prohibits from being
      exported out of the country,'' he said. 

      Burma allows the export of processed
      wood and furniture but not cut logs. Most
      logging concession areas, with or without
      Rangoon's consent, are in the hands of an
      ethnic minority near the Thai border. 

      Sukhumbhand said the Salween scandal
      will be dealt with immediately since Prime
      Minister Chuan Leekpai has indicated the
      urgency and importance of the issue. 

      ''In the past, the Thai government may not
      have paid much attention to the problem,''
      he said, adding that the area is difficult to
      control. 

      The plunder of Salween, which has been
      described as the biggest deforestation
      scandal since commercial logging was
      banned in 1989, came into the spotlight last
      week when deputy forestry director general
      Prawat Thanadka tried, but failed, to
      donate Bt5 million in cash believed to have
      been given as a bribe to the Thai-help-Thai
      fund. 

      Chuan said that he would set up a
      committee to investigate the illegal logging
      in the Salween National Park after six
      forestry officials in charge of the park were
      transferred. 

      According to the National Security Council,
      illegal logging has been carried out since
      the middle of 1996 when Thai logging firms
      were allowed to import logs to Burma on a
      case-by-case basis. 

      The police report also claimed that the
      illegal business has created an uneasy
      situation along the Thai-Burmese border. 

      Sukhumbhand said that his trip to Rangoon
      next month was also aimed at
      ''confidence-building'' and will include
      discussion on bilateral issues, including
      border trade. But consultation with the
      Burmese authorities for cooperation on the
      logging scandal will top the list, he added. 

      BY RITA PATIYASEVI 

      The Nation