18 June 2007By Lim Pisith
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata and Heng Soy
KI-media Note: The following report filed by Lim Pisith earned him a death threat. He is currently in hiding somewhere in Cambodia.
A number of forest observers and villagers’ communities in the Tumring area called the report issued by the Swiss company SGS a lie. The SGS report stated that the activities taking place in the Tumring area are not illegal logging activities.
Por Lay Hin, the representative of the Development Organization for Poor Rural Families – an organization which closely observes the forest activities in Tumring, reacted on Friday by saying: “I don’t know how they look at it to make them (SGS) say that there is no illegal logging, just look at the roads, you can see how worn out they are. If these roads were used by normal cars, it wouldn’t be in this (bad) shape. The activities taken by rubber plantation companies can be considered as development, it’s OK for them to cut off the trees and plant rubber trees instead. However, the other forest areas outside of the areas belonging to the rubber plantation companies, they are located in the Tumring commune, and these outside areas are covered by forest which are under assault by anarchic logging.”
Sao Kim, the former Tumring commune chief who retired a few months ago, said that the Tumring area is covered by 34,400-hectare of forest area, and the rubber plantations occupy 6,200-hectare only. He recognized that under his mandate as commune chief, logging activities did actually take place outside the rubber plantation (concession) area to harvest precious wood. But, Sao Kim said that the commune authority did not have the ability to prevent (these illegal loggings). Sao Kim said: “All the forest has been destroyed … the chief of the forestry administration is there already, we only heard (about the activities) and the top of (the logging activities) … is Seng Keang [Hun Chouch’s ex-wife and business partner].”
Mao Him, the president of the Tumring forest community, said, at the end of May, that illegal logging activities outside of the rubber plantation lands, are taking place daily starting since 2000 on. He also said that the Tumring forest located near villages have been anarchically logged for sale to businessmen and companies which received the government authorization to saw woods (for commercial sale) between 2003 and 2006. “Up to now, I heard the 60% (of the forest) has already been logged,” Mao Him said.
Suos Ven, a Tum Or villager, said that several thousands of resin trees, passed down between several generations in each family so that their offspring could collect tree resins for sale, have been logged and transported out between 2002 and 2006, and that the trees have almost all been logged already, and even wild animals such as deers, elephants, boars have fled from the area.
Lim Pisith (RFA): Your family is still collecting wood resin?
Suos Ven (SV): Before, we collected resin, but now there are no more resin trees. I am angry, but whatever I do, I cannot win over them, so there is no point of being angry, I just shut up.
RFA: During the logging, you did not go to tell them to stop?
SV: Before, we prevented them, but now they have the power, we cannot prevent them anymore.
RFA: Who did you say have the power?
SV: The people at the top are those who operate sawmills, they said that whatever they do, they paid the fees to Hun Sen already.
An anonymous forestry official in Tumring also recognized that logging activity outside of the rubber plantation does actually take place. “The activity still goes on, it does exist, but the activity is done in secret, this to tell you the truth because if I tell you that there is no (illegal logging) then you wouldn’t believe me.”
The Swiss company SGS published a report in the Koh Santepheap newspaper, a few days after Robert Thinin, the SGS company representative, gave his comments on TV about the Global Witness report titled “the family of the thieves of the nation” (Cambodia’s Family Ties in English). In its 3-1/2-page report bearing no clear date and published in the Cambodian newspaper Koh Santepheap on Friday morning, George Bottomlay, the deputy director of SGS in charge of service and institution, gave a clarification on the Global Witness report issued at the beginning of June 2007, titled Cambodia’s Family Trees (or Family of the thieves of the Nation in Khmer), based on SGS’ work between 2003 and 2005.
In this SGS report, it stated that the Tumring zone is not a protected forest, but it is a rubber plantation (concession area), and the activities taking place there cannot be construed as illegal logging. Furthermore, SGS discussed about the illegal logging involvements of a number of people reported by Global Witness, by saying that SGS does not have the mandate to investigate on the spot these illegal logging activities, and that it has to rely on evidence provided by the forestry department of the Ministry of Agriculture, reports provided to them (SGS) by the Ministry of Environment, and other reports from physical persons or various organizations. Furthermore, SGS said that it never received evidence from any organization bearing the names of the people named in Global Witness report.
In its 120-page report, Global Witness detailed about illegal logging, and the transport of woods by relatives and cronies of Prime Minister Hun Sen who are involved in the logging business in the Tumring area and the Prey Long forest, and that this group of people received millions of dollars in income each year from this illegal operation. One such company involved in the illegal logging is the Seng Kean company who is owned by Seng Keang – who is herself a friend of Bun Rany Hun Sen, Hun Sen’s wife – her ex-husband Dy Chouch – who is Hun Sen’s cousin – Dy Phen, the Military Police chief in Kompong Thom province – who is also a cousin of Hun Sen from his mother side – and Hing Bun Heang, the chief of Hun Sen’s bodyguards.
Global Witness also reported that bribe monies earned by army officers involved in the transportation of illegally logged woods were used to provide for Hun Sen’s 4,000 bodyguards brigade. Brigadier General Hak Mao, the commander of brigade 70 unit, is named by Global Witness for using his troop to transport wood out of the Tumring area to Phnom Penh. Agriculture minister Chan Sarun, and the forestry department director Ty Sokhun are accused of corruption for the sale of 555 forestry department positions, each position costing between $10,000 to $30,000, and Khun Thong, the brother-in-law of Chan Sarun and father-in-law of Ty Sokhun, was also colluding by using his family ties to obtain the privilege for the Seng Keang company – which he is also one of the partners – to perform logging in the Tumring rubber plantation.
Global Witness called for the sending of 9 individuals to face justice as stipulated in the laws dating from the UNTAC era, regarding jail and fine sentences that could be handed down to the criminals involved.
A number of forest observers and villagers’ communities in the Tumring area called the report issued by the Swiss company SGS a lie. The SGS report stated that the activities taking place in the Tumring area are not illegal logging activities.
Por Lay Hin, the representative of the Development Organization for Poor Rural Families – an organization which closely observes the forest activities in Tumring, reacted on Friday by saying: “I don’t know how they look at it to make them (SGS) say that there is no illegal logging, just look at the roads, you can see how worn out they are. If these roads were used by normal cars, it wouldn’t be in this (bad) shape. The activities taken by rubber plantation companies can be considered as development, it’s OK for them to cut off the trees and plant rubber trees instead. However, the other forest areas outside of the areas belonging to the rubber plantation companies, they are located in the Tumring commune, and these outside areas are covered by forest which are under assault by anarchic logging.”
Sao Kim, the former Tumring commune chief who retired a few months ago, said that the Tumring area is covered by 34,400-hectare of forest area, and the rubber plantations occupy 6,200-hectare only. He recognized that under his mandate as commune chief, logging activities did actually take place outside the rubber plantation (concession) area to harvest precious wood. But, Sao Kim said that the commune authority did not have the ability to prevent (these illegal loggings). Sao Kim said: “All the forest has been destroyed … the chief of the forestry administration is there already, we only heard (about the activities) and the top of (the logging activities) … is Seng Keang [Hun Chouch’s ex-wife and business partner].”
Mao Him, the president of the Tumring forest community, said, at the end of May, that illegal logging activities outside of the rubber plantation lands, are taking place daily starting since 2000 on. He also said that the Tumring forest located near villages have been anarchically logged for sale to businessmen and companies which received the government authorization to saw woods (for commercial sale) between 2003 and 2006. “Up to now, I heard the 60% (of the forest) has already been logged,” Mao Him said.
Suos Ven, a Tum Or villager, said that several thousands of resin trees, passed down between several generations in each family so that their offspring could collect tree resins for sale, have been logged and transported out between 2002 and 2006, and that the trees have almost all been logged already, and even wild animals such as deers, elephants, boars have fled from the area.
Lim Pisith (RFA): Your family is still collecting wood resin?
Suos Ven (SV): Before, we collected resin, but now there are no more resin trees. I am angry, but whatever I do, I cannot win over them, so there is no point of being angry, I just shut up.
RFA: During the logging, you did not go to tell them to stop?
SV: Before, we prevented them, but now they have the power, we cannot prevent them anymore.
RFA: Who did you say have the power?
SV: The people at the top are those who operate sawmills, they said that whatever they do, they paid the fees to Hun Sen already.
An anonymous forestry official in Tumring also recognized that logging activity outside of the rubber plantation does actually take place. “The activity still goes on, it does exist, but the activity is done in secret, this to tell you the truth because if I tell you that there is no (illegal logging) then you wouldn’t believe me.”
The Swiss company SGS published a report in the Koh Santepheap newspaper, a few days after Robert Thinin, the SGS company representative, gave his comments on TV about the Global Witness report titled “the family of the thieves of the nation” (Cambodia’s Family Ties in English). In its 3-1/2-page report bearing no clear date and published in the Cambodian newspaper Koh Santepheap on Friday morning, George Bottomlay, the deputy director of SGS in charge of service and institution, gave a clarification on the Global Witness report issued at the beginning of June 2007, titled Cambodia’s Family Trees (or Family of the thieves of the Nation in Khmer), based on SGS’ work between 2003 and 2005.
In this SGS report, it stated that the Tumring zone is not a protected forest, but it is a rubber plantation (concession area), and the activities taking place there cannot be construed as illegal logging. Furthermore, SGS discussed about the illegal logging involvements of a number of people reported by Global Witness, by saying that SGS does not have the mandate to investigate on the spot these illegal logging activities, and that it has to rely on evidence provided by the forestry department of the Ministry of Agriculture, reports provided to them (SGS) by the Ministry of Environment, and other reports from physical persons or various organizations. Furthermore, SGS said that it never received evidence from any organization bearing the names of the people named in Global Witness report.
In its 120-page report, Global Witness detailed about illegal logging, and the transport of woods by relatives and cronies of Prime Minister Hun Sen who are involved in the logging business in the Tumring area and the Prey Long forest, and that this group of people received millions of dollars in income each year from this illegal operation. One such company involved in the illegal logging is the Seng Kean company who is owned by Seng Keang – who is herself a friend of Bun Rany Hun Sen, Hun Sen’s wife – her ex-husband Dy Chouch – who is Hun Sen’s cousin – Dy Phen, the Military Police chief in Kompong Thom province – who is also a cousin of Hun Sen from his mother side – and Hing Bun Heang, the chief of Hun Sen’s bodyguards.
Global Witness also reported that bribe monies earned by army officers involved in the transportation of illegally logged woods were used to provide for Hun Sen’s 4,000 bodyguards brigade. Brigadier General Hak Mao, the commander of brigade 70 unit, is named by Global Witness for using his troop to transport wood out of the Tumring area to Phnom Penh. Agriculture minister Chan Sarun, and the forestry department director Ty Sokhun are accused of corruption for the sale of 555 forestry department positions, each position costing between $10,000 to $30,000, and Khun Thong, the brother-in-law of Chan Sarun and father-in-law of Ty Sokhun, was also colluding by using his family ties to obtain the privilege for the Seng Keang company – which he is also one of the partners – to perform logging in the Tumring rubber plantation.
Global Witness called for the sending of 9 individuals to face justice as stipulated in the laws dating from the UNTAC era, regarding jail and fine sentences that could be handed down to the criminals involved.
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