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Timber Negotiations Scrapped; Seized Wood to Be Divided Up
Cambodia Daily | 6 September 2016
In the latest setback to its attempt to sell off millions of dollars
worth of seized timber, the government canceled five days of
negotiations with potential buyers scheduled for this week, an official
said on Monday.
Valued at about $14 million, the wood was
confiscated from sawmills, plantations and other properties across the
country’s east by a military police-led task force established by Prime
Minister Hun Sen earlier this year.
After
scrapping a number of auctions for the wood over the past few
months—only one went ahead—the Finance Ministry resorted to direct
negotiations with businesspeople last month, selling 10,325 cubic meters
to four buyers for a total of $2.4 million.
But the interest from buyers was short-lived, according to Soung Mengkea, an undersecretary of state at the ministry.
Negotiations
planned for this week for the remaining timber—some seized on rubber
plantations in Mondolkiri province, the rest in forested areas of
Ratanakkiri, Kratie and Tbong [Tbaung] Khmum—ave also been canceled, Mr. Mengkea
said.
“We will now divide
the big piles of wood into many small piles and advertise them again to
let people and companies apply for price negotiations,” he said
Mr.
Hun Sen announced in April that wood seized by the task force would be
donated to the Education Ministry for use as building materials, but
changed his mind the following month, declaring that it should be
auctioned off and the proceeds used by the ministry as needed.
Most
of the timber was found on the properties of agribusiness firms, many
of which have been accused by locals and rights groups of illegal
logging. Provincial courts have opened investigations into several of
the companies in recent months, but have yet to lay any charges.
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