A Change of Guard

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Sunday 4 April 2010

Pailin Governor Ee Chhean accused forestry chiefs of forest destruction

A mountain, once a densely forest, look barren after it was heavily logged.

By Khmerization
Source: Koh Santepheap

Pailin Governor Ee Chhean has accused Pailin's forestry chiefs of conniving with dishonest timber traders and said he might lodge a lawsuit against those accused, reports Koh Santepheap.

In an interview with a local newspaper, Mr. Eee Chhean accused those forestry chiefs of conniving with rogue timber traders to destroy thousands hectares of forests and 800 hectares of regenerated young forests.

Mr. Chhang Phurin, chief of Pailin Forestry Department, said via telephone that his officials were not involved in forestry destruction in prohibited areas and they have never extorted money from timber traders. He admitted that the 800 hectares of regenerated forests had been destroyed and that he is investigating who is behind the destruction.

Mr. Ly Choup Beng, chief of Battambang Forestry department which also manages forests in Pailin, refused to respond to Mr. Ee Chhean's accusations when reached by phone.

Mr. Ee Chhean said those forestry officials never listened to provincial and local authority, but only listened to their departments. He said those forestry chiefs will face the full force of the laws when his authority collected enough evidences and witnesses. He accused forestry officials of cracking down on only small time timber traders, but let the big fish go free.

Mr. Ee Chhean said the crackdown on illegal production of sassafras oil [ingredient for ecstasy production] faced the same problems. He said police had seized a lot of sassafras oil in Battambang, but when the case was sent to court, the sassafras oil had turned into water and the court has no choice but the free the suspects because of the lack of evidences.

Mr. Ee Chhean also told the paper that recently, Battambang MilitaryPolice, accompanied by Mr. Koy Kanya, prosecutor of Battambang Court, siezed a number of trucks transporting a large amount of illegal timbers. After the seizures, Mr. Ly Chou Beng, chief of Battambang Forestry Department, came to intervene by saying that those timbers are illegal as they have proper permit. But after the Military Police and the prosecutor measure the loads they found that the timbers are illegal because the loads are much more than the quantity stated in the certificate.

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