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Authorities in Vietnam’s Gia Lai province have recently stopped at
least nine overloaded timber trucks crossing into the country from the
Kingdom, despite the Cambodian government ostensibly banning wood
exports to its eastern neighbor, according to a Vietnamese news report.
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The report, published earlier this month by Baomoi.com, which is
described online as a government-owned news outlet, complains about the
danger of the overburdened timber trucks from Cambodia regularly
barrelling down Vietnam’s National Road 19, which connects to the border
crossing in Ratanakkiri province’s O’Yadav district, and refers to lax
enforcement by Vietnamese authorities of the vehicles exceeding their
weight limit.
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Chief traffic inspector for Gia Lai province Nguyen Dang Hung told
the outlet that his forces had stopped nine trucks carrying twice their
legal capacity. In those cases, Vietnamese authorities unloaded excess
wood, temporarily seized the trucks and fined the drivers about $28, it
stated.
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Not mentioned in the article is the fact that, since an export ban on
timber was announced in January last year, no timber trucks from
Cambodia should be present. Cambodian officials have repeatedly asserted
that the timber trade with Vietnam has stopped following the ban and
subsequent crackdown.
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The article presents figures attributed to the Gia Lai People’s
Committee from late last year stating that 16 companies in the province
had been permitted to import 300,000 cubic metres of timber from
Cambodia.
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The Post was unable to reach a representative at the Gia Lai People’s Committee to verify the figure or establish its timeframe.
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Recently released Vietnamese customs data collected by the US-based
NGO Forest Trends, however, revealed that last year, Vietnam imported
139,306 cubic metres of uncut logs and just over 171,000 cubic metres of
sawn wood from Cambodia.
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Ratanakkiri provincial border police chief Heng Ratana, however,
dismissed the report and figures. “Through my border there is no [timber
smuggling],” he said, in comments later echoed by O’Yadav district
police chief Mao Sann.
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“The report is not right. If there were cases of [wood smuggling]
journalists would report about it,” Sann said on the phone. “Each month
we have cracked down on many cases. This month we stopped about five or
six.”
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However, saying timber flows to Vietnam were increasing, long-time
anti-logging activist Marcus Hardtke called on the government to clarify
its export ban policy and its legal status. “The trade to Vietnam is
alive and well. If anything, it’s getting worse this dry season,” he
said.
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Source - PhnomPenhPost
