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Bangkokpost News (22-6-99)





<bold>Banharn insists Burma border passes must stay closed 

</bold>

Border passes must remain closed to timber imports as long as logging
remains a threat to our forests, Banharn Silpa-archa said yesterday.


The Chart Thai leader said he had reaffirmed his stance to Pongpol
Adireksarn, the agriculture minister, who was considering a petition
lodged by four logging companies.


Boonsawat Duangjai-ek, managing director of B&F Goodrich, quoted Burmese
authorities as saying they would not do business with Thai firms again.


The governor of Mae Hong Son has voiced support for the logging
companies, which have threatened to sue the government for 200 million
baht for losses caused by the closure.


Governor Samrueng Punyoprakorn said the firms had every right to seek
compensation for damage to their business. Authorities should be fair and
flexible, particularly after the Burmese had verified the origin of the
timber.


"We shouldn't think too much about damage that has not been done," said
Mr Samrueng. "We shouldn't let those thoughts ruin the business."


If the process is dragged out, a small company would be hurt most, he
said without elaborating.


However, the governor distanced himself from the planned lawsuit, saying
he had nothing to do with the delay.


A source said Burmese authorities had been paid to fabricate records and
make timber volume appear larger. An influential logger, he said, had
also paid forestry officials 20 million baht to stop digging up past
allegations.


The businessman was said to be confident the passes would re-open soon.


-----------------------------------------------------------


More cooperation planned


The Association of Southeast Asian Nations began work on a plan yesterday
for greater cooperation in fighting crime, ranging from terrorism to
trafficking in drugs and people.


The three-day meeting of senior officials, hosted by Burma's military
government, is expected to produce an action plan that would establish an
Asean centre on transnational crime.


"Over the past few years, the nefarious crime of smuggling in persons has
grown in such a proportion that it rivals arms and drug smuggling in
size, network and sophistication," Burma's Home Minister Colonel Tin
Hling said in his opening speech.


Cross-border crime is rampant in Southeast Asia, but trafficking in
people for use as prostitutes and labourers throughout the region has

markedly increased in recent years.