Illegal Viet loggers go free ... Illegal Cambodian loggers go to jail: Life in the CPP kingdoom?

Three illegal Vietnamese loggers arrested and released

Monday, 2 August 2010
By Khmerization
Source: Kong Yuthnea, Radio Free Asia

Three Vietnamese illegal loggers, along with 2 motorbikes and two electric saws, had been arrested on 29th July while illegally logging inside Cambodian territory in O'Thmor Da village of Keo Seima district in Mondulkiri province, but were immediately released, reports Radio Free Asia.

Officials from the Conservation Department denied that there were any arrests of the Vietnamese illegal loggers, but confirmed the confiscations of 2 motorbikes and 2 electric saws. However, villagers said everybody had seen with their own eyes that the trio were being handcuffed by the military police. "Three Vietnamese, 2 electric saws and 2 motorbikes. Officials from the Conservation Department went down to the area and arrested them on the spot. There were plenty of villagers along the road witnessing the arrests. They saw the trio being arrested and bundled into a police car and saw the military police transporting them on motorbikes with their hand cuffed, most people saw it. According to the information, conservation officials fined them $1,000 each", he said.

A local official had also confirmed the arrests of the three Vietnamese.

However, Mr. Peth Peaktra, Deputy Director of Conservation Department of Keo Seima district, denied that there were any arrests of any Vietnamese. But official who was sent to conduct investigation at Keo Seima district had confirmed that three Vietnamese were in fact arrested, but immediately released after they paid $3,000 in bribes for the release. "Officials from Keo Seima Conservation Department had arrested the three (Vietnamese) loggers and they were paid $3,000 in bribes by those Vietnamese for their release. This is very true. Why did the conservation officials did like this? But for our Khmer people who didn't even log any trees, but just used their tractors to transport some timbers for other people, they, along with their tractors, were arrested and detained without food until today?", he said.

Mr. Song Pheang, director of Mondulkiri Forestry Department, said he had received a report from conservation officials that no Vietnamese were arrested. Only 2 electric saws and 2 motorbikes were seized. "The report didn't say that any people were arrested, but according to laws, any people who were arrested must be sent to court for prosecutions", he said.

In the past, there were reports that many Vietnamese illegal loggers were arrested for illegally logging inside Cambodian territory, but were often released without charge.

Thai NGO activist calls on Thailand to open borders to migrant workers to avoid further tragedy

Let's open our borders to migrant workers

Friday April 18, 2008
JON UNGPHAKORN
Bangkok Post

The tragic deaths last week of 54 Burmese workers who suffocated in a cold storage container packed with 121 victims of human trafficking would most likely have been avoided if Thailand had a more lenient and practical policy towards registration of migrant workers from Laos, Cambodia and Burma.

Even though there are at present nearly one million registered migrant workers from these three countries, they are vastly outnumbered by undocumented (i.e. "illegal") workers.

High work permit fees combined with limited time periods for registration discourage employers from legally registering their employees.

Migrant workers are very badly regarded and very badly treated by Thai society; yet it is hard to imagine how our economy would survive without them. Major industries like fishing, agriculture, construction and even manufacturing and services are heavily dependent on their labour.

Upper and middle-class families frantically seek migrant workers as household employees.

There really doesn't seem to be any reliable published research data on the true contribution of migrant labour to the Thai economy.

Is this because such information might be too unacceptable for us to want to find out?

What would be wrong if we opened up our borders to migrant workers from neighbouring countries with very few restrictions? I wish this question were given fair consideration.

Already we are not doing a very good job at preventing unregistered migrant workers without work permits from entering Thailand and getting employment. As long as jobs are available, why don't we allow them to come?

So far there seems to be no indication that migrant workers are causing unemployment among Thai workers, as they are not generally competing for the same jobs. Maybe they are even helping to prevent unemployment among Thais by contributing to the expansion of the economy.

In my view, all potential migrant workers crossing into Thailand should be allowed to register and be given identity cards as long as they pass health checks. Registration would be year-round (unlike at present) and not dependent upon employment. The registration fee should be affordable and paid for by the workers themselves, not their employers.

Registered workers would then be required to report to authorities at certain intervals so that records on their whereabouts and their employment could be maintained. They would be free to change employment and their employers would be strictly prohibited from taking possession of their registration papers or identity cards.

Migrant workers and their employers should be required to join the social insurance programme like their Thai counterparts. Their contributions would then cover health insurance and other benefits. The workers should also be allowed to establish their own trade unions or to join existing Thai trade unions.

To prevent competition for jobs with Thai workers, upgrading of skills among Thai workers should be maintained as a priority national policy for the development of the Thai economy.

I believe that everyone would gain from a more enlightened policy on migrant workers. The workers themselves would have better working conditions and be less liable to exploitation as they would have legal status and be free to change employment. Employers would no longer face the risks and penalties of employing undocumented workers. The authorities would have much better records on the numbers, whereabouts and employment of migrant workers.

The only real losers would seem to be the human-trafficking mafia and the officials who at present benefit financially from blackmailing illegal migrant workers.

Unfortunately, within Thai society there are some widespread prejudices against migrant workers that make it difficult to reform our policies towards them. One common prejudice is the belief that migrant workers are more liable to resort to crime, such as killing or robbing their employers. Some prominent news stories have fuelled this prejudice.

As long as migrant workers are documented, treated with dignity and allowed reasonable wages and working conditions, there would seem to be no reason why they should be any more prone to crime than their Thai counterparts.

The other main objection to an open border policy towards migrant workers is the catch-all excuse about "national security", which can generally be used to oppose many different kinds of proposed reforms.

Those who raise this objection should explain how it is better for national security for around two million migrant workers to be undocumented rather than legally registered and accounted for?

An open border policy towards migrant workers would mainly be beneficial to all concerned, don't you agree?

Jon Ungphakorn is a former elected senator for Bangkok and a Thai NGO activist.