Bangkok Post News (19/10/98)

[mandalay@xxxxxxxxxx]

News Headlinds:


1)):ebels 'buying weapons with fake cash'

2): import request worries local people

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1)):ebels 'buying weapons with fake cash'

India separatist guerrillas have been flooding markets in neighbouring
Burma with counterfeit currency, a senior border official said
yesterday.

J.N. Pradhan, deputy inspector general of police of the far-eastern state
of Manipur, said the rebels were printing fake 100-rupee (85 baht) and
500-rubee notes and using them in a free-trade frontier zone.

"These militants could be using them to buy weapons from gun-runners," he
said, adding that Burmese businessmen had officially complained about the
fake money.

Trade between the two countries was opened in 1995. Under the treaty
traders from both sides can openly do business in selected border 
towns.

The Indian rupee is accepted by Burmese traders and the kyat is accepted
by Indian businessmen. The currencies are converted into local money by
banks.

An Indian trader said the phenomenon was affecting his business.

"The Burmese traders have begun to suspect all of us. They have stated
refusing to accept our notes," automobile parts merchant Gopi Chander
said.


2): import request worries local people

<italic>Villagers fear Thai trees may be felled


</italic>A recent request by four Thai firms to import logs from Burma
has renewed fears among local people and some forestry officials that a
number of Thai trees in Mae Hong Son forests may be felled and illegally
included in the imports.

The firms - Thai Korean Veterans' Welfare, B&F Goodrich, SA
Pharmaceutical, and Pho Phana -have entered into a deal with their
Burmese counterparts to have 120,000 cubic metres of logs transported
over the border.

Mae Hong Son Governor Samrerng Poonyapakorn, who is now considering the
request, has given an assurance that there would not be a recurrence of
the Salween logging scandal.

However, his assurance could not dispel fears of forest destruction in
the province.

A local forestry official said the request, if approved, would open a
chance for illegal logging groups to fell  trees along hauling routes of
logs, most of which pass through the Salween National Park and other
forests.

According to the request, the firms sought approval for the opening of
six border passes to facilitate the import of logs.

The six routes are Huay Pheung, Ban Doi Saeng (parts of hauling routes
will pass the Mae Pai National Forest Reserve in Tambon Phang Moo, Mae
Hong Son Muang district), Mae Surin, Huay Ton Nun, Mae Ngao and Mae Surin
national forest reserves in Khun Yuam district).

Sources said Burmese authorities have given the green light for the
firms' request to transport logs via the six routes. Normally, Burmese
wood will be delivered via the Rangoon route only. Burma agreed to the
request after the firms reasoned that the logs were piled up near the
border and that it would be more convenient if they were hauled out via
the border passes.

Forestry Department director-general Plodprasop Surawadi said the
department had no plan yet to approve the firms' request as it had to
consider hauling routes first to avoid affecting forest areas.

The National Security Council had earlier suggested that logs should not
be hauled past wildlife sanctuaries and national parks for fear that
unscrupulous logging firms might cut trees along the hauling routes and
mix them up with imported logs.

While the request to import logs was still being considered,
representatives of some of the four firms had tried to lobby provincial
authorities for approval.

An official attached to the 336th BPP Unit in Mae Hong Son said approval
for the log imports was not only good news for the four companies but
also for Burmese forces, particularly those responsible for the delivery
of logs.

"Approval from Thai authorities for the imports is welcome news for all
Burmese soldiers. Timber firms will pay them a huge sum of money as a
special fee for log hauling," said the official.

Illegal logging reports in the Salween Wildlife Sanctuary and National
Park, which broke out last year, implicated Prawat Thanadkha, then deputy
forestry department chidf, and several forestry officials.

However, Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai turned down his offer and called
for an investigation to find the source of the money after learning it
was meant as a bribe for illegal logging in the national park.

To improve the condition of the degraded Salween forest, the Mae Hong Son
provincial forestry office has proposed a six-year reforestation plan at
an estimated cost of 18 million baht. However, the scheme met with strong
protest from tribes-people living near the forest area. The protesters
claimed the right to cultivate the land and wanted the authorities to
scrap the scheme.

The provincial forestry office tried in vain to persuade the protesters
to stop their protest. As offer to hire them as workers in the
reforestation project with a daily wage of 100 baht each was rejected by
the protesting villagers.

Sources said the attempt to sabotage the reforestation scheme stemmed
from the fight for funds for the project between the Mae Sariang forestry
office and the Mae Hong Son provincial forestry office. The Salween
National Park is under the jurisdiction of the two agencies.

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