23 June 2007By Or Phearith
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
Villagers form Chhneng village, Sre Khtum commune, Keo Seima district, Mondulkiri province, said that Vietnamese people have crossed the border into Cambodia for small tree logging activities and transporting the logs back to Vietnam by motorcycles.
Chhneng villagers said the Vietnamese arrive in small groups through the border gate, each group comprising 2 to 3 members and up to 5 members, they came to Cambodia by motorcycles, and they bring along chainsaws to cut down trees in area 33 located in Chhneng commune. The Vietnamese people claim that they log the trees to harvest the tree center core exclusively.
Chhneng villagers said: “The Vietnamese came in to log the trees because (the Cambodian officials) take their (bribe) money, that’s why they come in large number, it’s a mess there. They only log the valuable (Ko-koh) trees to take back to their country. When they cut down the trees, they cut out the tree core which is the most valuable part, and they cut it into 3 wood logs measuring each 1-meter long. They transport the wood logs back by motorcycles, each motorcycle carrying 2 to 3 wood logs.”
A Cambodian villager who is involved in professional logging, said that when he went to the forest, he encountered groups of Vietnamese loggers, and he asked them to see their permits for wood logging: “In Chhneng, also called (area) 33, when I saw them logging trees, I asked them (for their permits), they said that they made payments at the border. They came in to log the trees, and they use motorcycles to transport back wood logs measuring between 1.2-meter to 1.5-meter long, depending on the ability of the motorcycle drivers. When I asked them, they said that they paid the fees at the border, and they even showed documents to me. They came in numerous groups, sometimes they go to one location, and then to another location the next time around”
The deputy forestry chief of Mondulkiri province said that area 33 in Chhneng village falls under the control of the environment department of Snuol, Kratie province.
Nop Chanthy, the director of the environment department of Kratie province, confirmed that the control of region 33 is planned to be transferred to Mondulkiri province, but that right now, the situation is still unclear. However, he said that based on the (illegal) logging report, the local authorities in Mondulkiri should arrest (the illegal Vietnamese loggers).
Sin Vannavuth, the Keo Seima district governor, said that the border gate allows free passage for people from both sides of the border, but some bad people are crossing over to Cambodia to conduct illegal activities.
Sin Vannavuth said: “In the past, we arrested Vietnamese people and we educated them, we even called the Vietnamese authority to come over to educate them and fine them and then we send them back across the border gate (to Vietnam). These (illegal logging) cases did actually take place, and we made the arrest, but now, they are taking advantage of this opportunity. We will not let it happen, there was nobody who authorize them (to conduct illegal logging).”
The arrival of groups of Vietnamese loggers cause a lot of concerns among the Chhneng villagers who are afraid that valuable woods in Cambodia will be logged and taken to Vietnam, and forcing the Cambodian villagers to buy back from Vietnam finished furniture built with lower quality woods, and at a higher price.
Chhneng villagers said the Vietnamese arrive in small groups through the border gate, each group comprising 2 to 3 members and up to 5 members, they came to Cambodia by motorcycles, and they bring along chainsaws to cut down trees in area 33 located in Chhneng commune. The Vietnamese people claim that they log the trees to harvest the tree center core exclusively.
Chhneng villagers said: “The Vietnamese came in to log the trees because (the Cambodian officials) take their (bribe) money, that’s why they come in large number, it’s a mess there. They only log the valuable (Ko-koh) trees to take back to their country. When they cut down the trees, they cut out the tree core which is the most valuable part, and they cut it into 3 wood logs measuring each 1-meter long. They transport the wood logs back by motorcycles, each motorcycle carrying 2 to 3 wood logs.”
A Cambodian villager who is involved in professional logging, said that when he went to the forest, he encountered groups of Vietnamese loggers, and he asked them to see their permits for wood logging: “In Chhneng, also called (area) 33, when I saw them logging trees, I asked them (for their permits), they said that they made payments at the border. They came in to log the trees, and they use motorcycles to transport back wood logs measuring between 1.2-meter to 1.5-meter long, depending on the ability of the motorcycle drivers. When I asked them, they said that they paid the fees at the border, and they even showed documents to me. They came in numerous groups, sometimes they go to one location, and then to another location the next time around”
The deputy forestry chief of Mondulkiri province said that area 33 in Chhneng village falls under the control of the environment department of Snuol, Kratie province.
Nop Chanthy, the director of the environment department of Kratie province, confirmed that the control of region 33 is planned to be transferred to Mondulkiri province, but that right now, the situation is still unclear. However, he said that based on the (illegal) logging report, the local authorities in Mondulkiri should arrest (the illegal Vietnamese loggers).
Sin Vannavuth, the Keo Seima district governor, said that the border gate allows free passage for people from both sides of the border, but some bad people are crossing over to Cambodia to conduct illegal activities.
Sin Vannavuth said: “In the past, we arrested Vietnamese people and we educated them, we even called the Vietnamese authority to come over to educate them and fine them and then we send them back across the border gate (to Vietnam). These (illegal logging) cases did actually take place, and we made the arrest, but now, they are taking advantage of this opportunity. We will not let it happen, there was nobody who authorize them (to conduct illegal logging).”
The arrival of groups of Vietnamese loggers cause a lot of concerns among the Chhneng villagers who are afraid that valuable woods in Cambodia will be logged and taken to Vietnam, and forcing the Cambodian villagers to buy back from Vietnam finished furniture built with lower quality woods, and at a higher price.
