Cambodian officials suspended over logging scam for nytas@ursula; Fri, 4 Feb 2000 07:52:56 -0500 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit source - Mark Graffis CAMBODIA: January 25, 2000 PHNOM PENH - Cambodian authorities have suspended 21 officials, including a provincial governor, his deputy and senior police and military officers, over an illegal logging scandal in the northeast of the country. The head of a government committee on illegal logging said the officials could face prosecution - the first time such action has been taken in the fight against illegal cutting of timber. "The 21 officials have been suspended over the alleged cutting of trees and their illegal export to Vietnam," committee chairman Khun Hang told Reuters. "We're investigating and they will be charged with illegal logging if there is enough evidence. They will face court if it's true," he said. Deputy Prime Minister Sar Kheng said earlier this month that trees were being illegally cut in northeastern Mondolkiri province and smuggled out to neighbouring Vietnam and accused provincial leaders and police chiefs of involvement. Khun Hang said nearly 400 truck-oads of logs were smuggled from Mondolkiri to Vietnam between October and December last year. The suspended officials were from the military, agriculture, interior, environment, and justice ministries, he said. The government has been successful in stamping out rampant illegal logging in many parts of the country since launching a crack down one year ago. Cambodia's aid donors have long pressed the government to halt the out-of-control exploitation of its forests and introduce sustainable practices and ensure that all logging revenues make their contribution to public coffers. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) suspended operations in Cambodia in mid-1997, largely due to the government's failure to collect income from logging. The IMF returned to Cambodia with a new loan late last year after being assured of progress in the logging sector and with other economic reforms. REUTERS NEWS SERVICE ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytas-02.04.00-07:52:56-27305