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THE NATION: Part of Salween timbe
- Subject: THE NATION: Part of Salween timbe
- From: suriya@xxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 04 Mar 1998 18:31:00
Politics
Part of Salween timber
haul goes missing
ABOUT 1,000 logs out of 13,000
confiscated in the Salween logging scandal
and stored in Tak province by the Forest
Industry Organisation (FIO) have been
moved to an unknown location.
Pol Gen Salang Bunnag, from the Task
Force set up to investigate illegal logging
operations, and Pol Gen Pracha Promnok,
director-general of the Royal Thai Police
Department, flew to the holding site
immediately they learnt of the
disappearance.
Boonyean Yaibuatet, another task force
member, confirmed that the logs are
supposed to be monitored by the FIO. ''I
don't understand why they have been lost,''
he said.
Meanwhile two parliamentary committees
yesterday continued their investigation into
the Salween scandal.
The House Committee on Human Rights
and Justice invited three officials -- the
forestry department's Deputy
Director-General Prawat Thanadkha and
two advisers to the prime minister,
Nopphadol Phruksawan and Gen Kittisak
Ratthaprasert -- to give information about
the case.
The House Committee on the Military also
invited the National Security Council's
Secretary-General Gen Boonsak
Kamhaengrittirong and the Third Region
Army Commander to do the same.
''Gen Boonsak told the committee that all
log permits for timber seized from the
Salween forest since May 7 last year have
proven to be illegal,'' Sermsak Karoon,
president of the House Military Committee,
said.
He said more than 20,000 logs from
Salween have been seized since May 7
last year.
''The NSC's secretary-general promised to
send us further details about the illegal
documents later,'' he said.
Interior Minister Sanan Kachornprasart said
yesterday the ministry has already banned
the import of logs at all Thai-Burmese
border checkpoints.
The fact-finding panel chaired by the Interior
Permanent Secretary Chanasak Yuwaboon
on Tuesday suggested that Karen refugees
should be removed from the forests and
that the opening of temporary border
checkpoints should be halted.
He said log imports are banned unless a
court orders a temporary opening of
checkpoints. Imports of other goods are still
allowed.
The Nation