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The Nation: Editorial/Logging mafia



Editorial & Opinion 

      Editorial/Logging mafia
      rules in Mae Hong Son

      For several years now, Thailand has
      suffered from a collective blindness to the
      rampant illegal logging in the Salween
      conservation areas. Suddenly, the
      exposure of an attempted Bt5 million bribe
      seems to have opened the public's eyes. 

      It is about time. At least 13,000 logs have
      been confiscated from the area, and who
      knows how many thousands more were
      ferried across the Salween, stamped by
      Burmese authorities and then ''exported'' to
      Thailand, where they were allowed to pass
      through customs and be picked up by Thai
      logging firms. 

      Everyone knew what was going on -- the
      scheme has been well-documented in the
      press -- and everyone knew who was
      behind it. But it was allowed to continue
      because the authorities who had the power
      to stop it either did not care or were
      reaping the benefits of such illegal
      activities. Meanwhile, lesser officials who
      might have blown the whistle were either
      murdered or threatened into remaining
      silent. 

      The destruction of Thai forests is only part
      of the story here. For far too long now, the
      logging mafia has ruled Mae Hong Son with
      a brutal hand, bribing all manner of officials
      to look the other way and gunning down
      anyone who stands in its way. 

      What is more, several years ago, the
      godfather behind the Salween scheme
      essentially instigated a war between the
      Slorc and the Karenni National Progressive
      Party, a minority group which had signed a
      ceasefire with Burma's ruling military junta,
      by illicitly importing logs from Burma's
      Kayah State. 

      Hopefully, the political storm brewing over
      the attempted bribe will not prevent this
      logging tycoon -- one of the most vicious
      thugs in Thailand -- from finally being
      brought to justice, along with his political
      and military backers. 

      But that should not be the end of the story.
      Even if the Salween log poaching scheme
      is finally shut down, a new one will simply
      take its place unless there is serious
      institutional reform. 

      This illegal logging scheme could not have
      occurred without the complicity of law
      enforcers and all the Interior Ministry
      officials who allowed the logs to be
      ''imported''. The Interior Ministry repeatedly
      refused calls to close the checkpoints and
      even increased the number of licences for
      log importing companies last year. 

      The Salween scandal also demonstrates
      once again that the Royal Forestry
      Department (RFD) is hopelessly corrupt. 

      If Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai is serious
      about wanting to protect Thailand's forests,
      then he must finally see to it that the
      conservation agencies are moved out of
      the RFD once and for all. Our forests will
      never be protected so long as they remain
      in the clutches of a bureaucracy which
      produces leaders like deputy director
      general Prawat Thanadka, the man caught
      holding the bribe money. 

      It is also time to take a close look at the
      Forest Industry Organisation (FIO). Senate
      Speaker Meechai Ruchupan was
      absolutely correct in his accusation that this
      state enterprise essentially launders
      illegally cut logs, thereby providing an
      insidious incentive for yet more log
      poaching. 

      Ideally, trees cut down in conservation
      areas -- either illegally or to make way for
      development projects -- should be allowed
      to degrade in the forest, where they will be
      naturally ''recycled'', but they would probably
      just be stolen. If the logs are to be sold,
      however, then the money should be used to
      support forest conservation, not the FIO. 

      The state enterprise should instead be
      privatised. Of course, it stands little chance
      of surviving on its own, but so be it. Our
      economy and our forests can no longer
      afford to serve as a welfare fund for a bunch
      of ageing bureaucrats. 

      With every logging scandal, there come
      loud calls to protect the forest. But once the
      usual political points are scored, the calls
      go unanswered, and the logging continues.
      Will this time be any different?