BKK POST: Karens to be forced out

[suriya@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

April 27, 1998


                                     



                            SALWEEN FOREST

              Karens to be
              forced out of
              national park

              To prevent further illegal logging

              Cheewin Sattha 
              Mae Hong Son

              Thai authorities will take tough action against Karen refugees
              who have refused to move out of the Salween National Park,
              according to Governor Samroeng Punyopakorn.

              Mr Samroeng said a plan to move some 12,000 Karen refugees
              out of the Salween forests to prevent further illegal logging has
              not yet been fully implemented as only about 7,000 of them have
              moved to temporary camps at Ban Mae Lama Luang in Sop
              Moei district and Ban Mae Kongkha in Mae Sariang district.

              About 2,000 have voluntarily returned to Burma.

              "The rest are still gathering at Ban Mae Ta Luang and Sob Ngae
              on the bank of the Salween river. Illegal log cutting and land
              encroachments are still rampant in the area," he said.

              Mr Samroeng said he will take tough action against authorities
              who allow forest destruction to continue.

              The Third Army's Salween Task Force which has been renamed
              "Coordination Centre for Prevention and Suppression of
              Destruction of Salween Forests" has been assigned to wipe out
              the remaining Karens, he said.

              "Since they don't want to go to places arranged for them by Thai
              authorities, they have to be pushed back to Burma," Mr
              Samroeng said.

              Narong Charoenchai, deputy chief of Salween National Park,
              said if the Karens are allowed to stay, the forests will continue to
              be destroyed.

              According to Mr Samroeng, over 2,000 illegally-cut logs have
              been left at different locations in Salween forests. Most of the
              logs are tied up into about 45 rafts, with 20-50 logs each,
              floating in the Salween river.

              The Salween National Park has proposed that a forest
              protection unit, comprising soldiers, border patrol police and
              rangers be specially set up to protect Salween forests, he said.

              A meeting will be held tomorrow to draw up a clear operational
              plan to prevent confusion as many units are involved, Mr
              Samroeng said.

              Meanwhile in Kanchanaburi, a report reaching a Thai military
              intelligence unit in Sangkhlaburi district said Burma has
              despatched its forces to the Thai border.

              Battalion 343 and Battalion 32, each about 250 strong, have
              been despatched to the Three-Pagoda Pass to wipe out Karen
              rebels and provide protection for businesses in the area.

              Battalion 282 has been deployed in Ban Hin Kong opposite Ban
              Itong in Tambon Pilok of Thong Pha Phum district to provide
              protection for the gas pipeline stretching from Yadana field.

              Another rapid deployment battalion, about 250 men, has been
              assigned to provide protection for construction of a road
              between Ban Bongti and Tavoy.




                                     




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Last Modified: Mon, Apr 27, 1998