BKK POST: A B5m bribe sparked the h

[suriya@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

February 22, 1998


                                      



                  SALWEEN SCANDAL / FIASCO HEATS UP

              A B5m bribe
              sparked the hype 

              Efforts to wipe out loggers drowned out

              As the Salween logging fiasco heats up, calls for the
              government's sincere efforts to wipe out the loggers for good
              appears to be drowned out by the shouts over the slices of the
              logging interests.

              It was the five-million-baht bribe that sparked the hype. Prawat
              Thanadkha, the forestry department deputy chief, for whom the
              "hot cash" was intended, has put many officials including himself
              in the hot seat.

              Mr Prawat suspected the bribe was paid out by an illegal logger
              seeking his clearance so the logs could be hauled out of the
              national park. 

              He wanted to hand the bribe to Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai
              as a donation to the Thai-Help-Thai fund but the premier was
              not impressed. Mr Chuan immediately ordered an investigation
              to find out the source of the money.

              Mr Chuan has since declared an all-out battle against the
              Salween National Park loggers in a desperate attempt to
              preserve one of the country's few remaining teak wood forests.

              He called for a full-scale investigation to bring to justice any
              wrongdoers who include officials colluding with loggers. 

              So far, six Forestry Department officials have been transferred
              and many more are bracing for a similar fate. 

              Reports speculated that the governor of Mae Hong Son, the
              province in which the Salween National Park is situated, might
              be among the next casualties.

              It has been a common practice to transfer the governors at the
              climax of controversies to facilitate investigations. But this helped
              little in finding the culprits.

              Concerned agencies such as the Interior and Agriculture
              ministries have responded to Mr Chuan's move by setting up
              individual disciplinary probes to question their own officials
              whose responsibilities in the Salween forest supervision overlap.

              But critics doubted whether the "showdown" with the loggers
              was out of the authorities' geniune concern for the exploitation of
              national resources. They thought it might well be a ploy that
              enables the logging operation to change hands.

              There were fears the suppression drive against loggers might be
              short-lived with scapegoats being brought in to face the charges.

              While the culprits were still at large, the government has yet to
              figure out what to do with the more than 10,000 confiscated logs
              worth several billion baht. A lot of them were retrieved from
              Salween River, the natural borderline dividing Thailand and
              Burma.

              With unverified origin, they were grouped together with the
              illegally-cut logs on the river bank. For those with delivery
              certificates, the documents were found to be fake. 

              But even if the sources of the logs were determined, they may
              have been falsified. 

              It was discovered that trees felled in the Salween park were
              transported across into Burma where they are stamped with the
              Burmese seal of approval to "launder" their origin.

              They then re-enter Thailand as imported Burmese logs at the
              authorities' green light, ready to be sawn.

              Closing down the five border passes in Mae Hong Son was
              suggested to help stem the illegal logging trade. The passes at
              Ban Huay Pueng, Nam Piang Din, Huay Ton Noon, Ban Sao
              Hin and Ban Sam Lab were opened during the Banharn
              Silpa-archa government.

              A large volume of logs, legal or otherwise, passed through the
              channels, particularly those at Ban Sao Hin and Ban Sam Lab
              which are located within the Salween boundary.

              The passage of illegal logs prompted a protest from Rangoon
              which later decided to shut down its border opposite Mae Sai
              district for a year. 

              Pol Gen Salang Bunnag, the deputy police chief overseeing the
              nationwide deforestation suppression unit, recommended that the
              seized logs be left untouched, saying any attempts to put them up
              for auction would only allow the loggers to acquire them through
              legal means.

              This way, the government would play into the hands of the
              loggers by helping them complete the "laundering" cycle.

              Pol Gen Salang has shrugged off accusations that he allegedly
              turned a blind eye on the logging operation which constitutes a
              negligence of duty.

              He admitted his suppression drive was marred by the lack of
              cooperation from related agencies. 

              It was proposed that a legislative amendment be made to
              empower the Forestry Industry Organisation to move logs out of
              the Salween wildlife sanctuary.

              The amendment was required as the law does not permit the
              FIO to operate in the sanctuary which is beyond the national
              park.

              The idea, however, was strongly opposed as many were afraid it
              might open the leeway for corruption and abuse of power by
              some FIO officials.

              Six companies authorised to import Burmese logs are Sakabee,
              Thai Vinear Industry 999, SPA Richwood, Pol Panan, B&F
              Richwood, and the Korean War Allies Welfare.

              Last year, the companies imported a total of 1,336 cubic metres
              of processed teak wood and 2,596 logs, according to the
              Customs Department.

              Between 1979-1984, nine Thai companies won the concession
              to cut trees in Burma. They were assisted by 47 subcontractors
              which transported the logs into Thailand and processed the
              import formalities.

              Those allegedly implicated in the logging racket include Som
              Chankrachang, a major border logging proprietor, Sakabee
              company owner identified as Lt-Gen Kemchart Nitisiri and
              Boonchu Trithong, the Chart Thai Party deputy leader who was
              said to have accumulated much of his wealth through logging.

              Mr Boonchu earlier said in a television interview that he had
              washed his hands of logging which incurred more than 300
              million baht of investment losses.

              While running his logging company, his life hanged on a thread
              with 20 of his close aides being slain as a result of a conflict of
              interest.

              Border logging has been linked to prominent politicians and local
              mafias and is often blamed as the reason for the struggle of
              power between political rivalries. 

              A forest official who requested anonymity said the Salween logs
              were in great demand since they were cheaper than the Burmese
              imports. 

              The Burmese logs yield low returns as the operators must
              venture further afield to obtain them and have to pay a lot of
              bribes along the way.

              But with the local logs, a "clearance deal" with the local officials
              was all that was needed. 

              The official added it was difficult to narrow down the
              investigation on the loggers. 

              The Army has recently discussed the possibility of taking over
              the border logging-suppression duty from the Forestry
              Deparment. 

              The two agencies have vowed to drive out of the Salween park
              the Karen refugees many of whom were allegedly hired in
              hard-labour jobs by the loggers.




                                      




© The Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd. All rights reserved 1998
Contact the Bangkok Post
Web Comments: Webmaster 

Last Modified: Sun, Feb 22, 1998