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“THE THAI-CAMBODIAN TIMBER TRADE” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Senate section on pages S10489-S10490 on July 21, 1995.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
THE THAI-CAMBODIAN TIMBER TRADE
Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, this last Monday I chaired a hearing of the full Foreign Relations Committee to consider ambassadorial nominations for four countries within the jurisdiction of my Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs: Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. I was impressed by all of them, and am sure they--as well as the Ambassador-designate to APEC--will be confirmed by the full Senate soon. In speaking privately with all the nominees, however, there was one issue I brought up with both the Ambassador-
designate to Thailand and the Ambassador-designate to Cambodia that they were unable to address to my satisfaction and which I believe should be brought to the attention of my colleagues: the links between the Thai military and the Khmer Rouge and their involvement in the illegal timber trade across the Thai-Cambodia border.
Cambodia shares a lengthy and relatively uninhabited border with Thailand. The entire region is heavily forested; formerly, 76 percent of Cambodia's 176,520 square kilometers of land area was covered by forest. That amount, however, has declined dramatically over the last 15 years due to the increased commercial harvesting of timber. According to some sources, tree cover has been reduced by almost half since 1989. The loss has been especially dramatic in western Cambodia, where a handful of foreign firms are responsible for a majority of the deforestation.
These companies purchase concessions from the Cambodian Government, and theoretically make payments to the government based on the amount of cubic meters of timber felled. The timber is then exported over the Thai border, either by boat or overland on dirt roads built expressly for that purpose by the companies, where they are collected at places called rest areas before being sent further on into Thailand. According to both Thai and Cambodian regulations, the logger/exporter must secure a certificate of origin from the Cambodian Government, a permit from the Thai embassy in Cambodia, and permission from the Thai Interior Ministry to import the logs into Thailand.
There is one more party, however, that plays a major role in the logging: the Khmer Rouge [KR]. Led by the infamous Pol Pot, the KR controlled the government of Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. During that time, it was directly responsible for the genocide of more than one million Cambodians in the ``Killing Fields.'' Since the 1991 U.N. peace agreement established a democratic government in Cambodia, the KR has been relegated to the role of a rebel guerilla force. Although the government has made some inroads in combatting the KR, including implementing a somewhat successful amnesty program, the KR remains a strong force in the western khet of Batdambang, Pursat, Banteay Meanchey and Siem Reap. Despite the campaign being mounted against them, though, they still receive a steady flow of food, military supplies, and currency sufficient to pay their 10,000 to 20,000 man militia; and therein lies the connection to the timber trade and the Thai military.
Over the past several years, the press has consistently reported that the Thai military has been providing assistance and support to the Khmer Rouge. The links between the two are longstanding. Beginning in 1979, Thailand acted as a funnel for Chinese-supplied arms being transshipped to the KR--apparently in return for an end to Chinese support for rebel Thai Communists in northern Thailand. Since then, the evidence suggests that the Thai have regularly supplied the KR with logistical support and materiel. In return for this support, Thai business interests and certain government sectors have benefitted from access to timber and gem resources within that part of Cambodia along the Thai border controlled by the KR. Their interest is sizable; in 1993, the U.S. Embassy in Thailand estimated that Thai logging companies had some $40 million invested in timber concessions in KR-
held areas.
It is from the sale of these resources that the KR acquires funds sufficient to continue its reign of terror in Cambodia. The process is actually quite simple. Foreign companies interested in harvesting timber in western Cambodia purchase official lumber concessions from the government in Phnom Penh. Having dealt with the de jure government, however, the companies must then deal with the de facto government in western Cambodia: the KR. The companies pay the KR for the right of safe passage into KR-held territory, to fell the timber, and to transport it out to Thailand safely. The present going rate of payment to the KR per cubic meter is between 875 and 1,000 baht, or between $35 and $40. It is estimated that the weekly income to the KR from timber carried across just two of the many border points is around $270,000, with total monthly income to the KR estimated at between $10 and $20 million.
Once felled and placed on the back of trucks, the logs are driven across the Thai border. That crossing, however, is not without its costs. The Thai military--the Marines, actually--controls a 4-mile wide strip along the Thai side of the border, and in order to negotiate it the logging trucks must pass through guarded checkpoints where, it appears, payments in the form of tolls or bribes are made to Thai concerns.
The Thai have consistently, albeit often disingenuously, denied any ties to the KR or to the timber trade. Each round of denials, however, is soon followed by press reports and concrete evidence to the contrary. For example, in 1994 Thailand officially closed its border with Cambodia partly as a result of the murder of more than 20 Thai timber workers by the KR and partly as a result of international criticism. In a press statement made shortly thereafter, Maj. Gen. Niphon Parayanit, the Thai commander in the region, stated flatly that the border was closed, that the military had severed all links with the KR, and that ``there [was] no large-scale cross-border trade going on.'' The official denials have continued to this day, including one of the more recent by Prime Minister Chuan noted in the May 26 edition of the Bangkok Post.
Despite these denials though, and despite a Cambodian ban on logging, credible eyewitness reports from members of the London-based group Global Witness fully confirm, in my opinion, that the trucks are still rolling across the Thai border. If--as the Thai military alleges--it is not involved in the timber trade either directly or by turning a blind eye to the shipments, I can think of no other explanation than that the military personnel in the border zone are completely incompetent. One of the more heavily travelled timber roads in the border zone, one that according to my information is in daily use even as I speak, is within sight of one of the Thai Marine camps. Nor can the central Thai Government claim ignorance; Global Witness recently brought to light a current timber import permit signed by the Thai Interior Minister.
Mr. President, continued Thai support for the KR--in this or any manner--concerns me greatly for several reasons. First and foremost, the financial support the trade affords to the KR continues to allow it to survive thereby seriously endangering the growth and continued vitality of the nascent Cambodian democracy. That system is having enough trouble getting off the ground and running smoothly without having to deal with the KR insurgency. Secondly, Thailand's actions run counter to its obligations under the 1991 Peace Accord and serve to undermine it. Finally, the clandestine nature of the timber extraction has removed it from the control of the Cambodian central government. It is subsequently free to continue without regard to any regulations aimed at limiting the amount of timber taken, preventing serious ecological damage, ensuring sustained growth, or protecting the lives and livelihoods of the local populace.
I have made my concerns about this issue clear to both of our Ambassadors-designate and to the State Department. I hope that this statement will make my concerns equally clear to the Thai Government. If a significant effort not made as promised by the Thai Government to fully investigate and then stem the cross-border trade and their dealings with the KR, then I would find myself placed in the position of calling on our government to abide by that provision of Public Law 103-306 requiring that the President shall ``terminate assistance to any country or organization that he determines is cooperating, tactically or strategically, with the Khmer Rouge in their military operations.''
In closing, Mr. President, let me note that I greatly value the close relationship between us and the government and people of Thailand. However warm or important that relationship, though, we cannot allow it to obscure or interfere with what is our equally important dedication to the principles of democracy taking root in Cambodia. I, and I hope my colleagues, will be watching developments closely.
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