THE NATION: Part of Salween timbe

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Politics 

      Part of Salween timber
      haul goes missing

      ABOUT 1,000 logs out of 13,000
      confiscated in the Salween logging scandal
      and stored in Tak province by the Forest
      Industry Organisation (FIO) have been
      moved to an unknown location. 

      Pol Gen Salang Bunnag, from the Task
      Force set up to investigate illegal logging
      operations, and Pol Gen Pracha Promnok,
      director-general of the Royal Thai Police
      Department, flew to the holding site
      immediately they learnt of the
      disappearance. 

      Boonyean Yaibuatet, another task force
      member, confirmed that the logs are
      supposed to be monitored by the FIO. ''I
      don't understand why they have been lost,''
      he said. 

      Meanwhile two parliamentary committees
      yesterday continued their investigation into
      the Salween scandal. 

      The House Committee on Human Rights
      and Justice invited three officials -- the
      forestry department's Deputy
      Director-General Prawat Thanadkha and
      two advisers to the prime minister,
      Nopphadol Phruksawan and Gen Kittisak
      Ratthaprasert -- to give information about
      the case. 

      The House Committee on the Military also
      invited the National Security Council's
      Secretary-General Gen Boonsak
      Kamhaengrittirong and the Third Region
      Army Commander to do the same. 

      ''Gen Boonsak told the committee that all
      log permits for timber seized from the
      Salween forest since May 7 last year have
      proven to be illegal,'' Sermsak Karoon,
      president of the House Military Committee,
      said. 

      He said more than 20,000 logs from
      Salween have been seized since May 7
      last year. 

      ''The NSC's secretary-general promised to
      send us further details about the illegal
      documents later,'' he said. 

      Interior Minister Sanan Kachornprasart said
      yesterday the ministry has already banned
      the import of logs at all Thai-Burmese
      border checkpoints. 

      The fact-finding panel chaired by the Interior
      Permanent Secretary Chanasak Yuwaboon
      on Tuesday suggested that Karen refugees
      should be removed from the forests and
      that the opening of temporary border
      checkpoints should be halted. 

      He said log imports are banned unless a
      court orders a temporary opening of
      checkpoints. Imports of other goods are still
      allowed. 

      The Nation