More financers of illegal logging put under arrest<\/p>\n
Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The National Police said on Monday they had arrested three more
\nsuspects allegedly financing the illegal log trade in Papua, only
\ntwo days after a joint team launched an operation to curb the
\ncrime in the province.<\/p>\n
National Police chief of detectives Comr. Gen. Suyitno Landung
\nsaid the three suspects, identified only by their initials as AS,
\nML and EH, were nabbed in Sorong, Papua, at the weekend.<\/p>\n
Police data shows that AS is a director of timber company PT
\nDjayanti Group and ML a field coordinator with PT Budi Jaya,
\nwhile EH is employed as a manager with PT Budi Nyata.<\/p>\n
"We have also confiscated 46,175 cubic meters of logs, four
\nbarges, 96 pieces of heavy machinery from the three suspects,"
\nSuyitno said after a hearing with the House of Representatives'
\nCommission III and Minister of Forestry M.S. Kaban.<\/p>\n
Suyitno said the three suspects were all Indonesian citizens,
\nalthough the police had earlier said that most of the financers
\nof illegal logging in the country were Malaysians.<\/p>\n
However, he declined to say whether any of the suspects were
\non the list of 32 names reported to the police by the Ministry of
\nForestry for their alleged key roles in illegal logging.<\/p>\n
Last week, the police captured one of those on the list,
\nidentified as Asoy, who has been accused of financing illegal
\nlogging in Sampit, Central Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
Asoy has been taken to Sampit for further questioning.
\nHowever, it remains unclear whether he is linked to illegal
\nlogging in Papua.<\/p>\n
Last month, Britain-based NGO, the Environmental Investigation
\nAgency (EIA), and its Indonesian partner, Telapak, revealed their
\nfindings that Malaysian businessmen along with Chinese and Hong
\nKong companies collaborated with the Indonesian Military and
\ngovernment officials to illegally ship 300,000 cubic meters of
\nMerbau timber to China every month.<\/p>\n
During Monday's hearing, National Police chief Gen. Da'i
\nBachtiar pledged to arrest both civilians and military and police
\npersonnel involved in illegal logging.<\/p>\n
He claimed, however, that the police faced difficulties in
\ncracking down on timber theft as most officers had little
\nknowledge on national timber legislation.<\/p>\n
They also lacked the courage to take action when high ranking
\ngovernment officials and military\/police officers were involved,
\nDa'i added.<\/p>\n
He said the absence of an established system on how to handle
\nillegal logging operators in the field was also part of the
\nproblem.<\/p>\n
He blamed a lack of commitment from 12 other state
\ninstitutions, including the forestry ministry, military, and the
\nAttorney General's Office, as well as local administrations, for
\nthe lack of progress in the fight against illegal logging to
\ndate.<\/p>\n
Commission III urged the government to draw up tighter
\nregulations on illegal logging so that it would be easier for the
\nauthorities to take action against those involved.<\/p>\n
It also asked the police to work together with the Financial
\nTransaction and Report Analysis Center (PPATK) to look into
\nsuspicious bank accounts belonging to the financial backers of
\nillegal logging in order to charge them also with money
\nlaundering and corruption.<\/p>\n
During a visit to East Kalimantan on Monday, President Susilo
\nBambang Yudhoyono pledged to wage war on illegal logging, which
\ncontinues to destroy massive areas of woodland annually.<\/p>\n
Both Indonesian and foreign perpetrators must be "severely
\npunished" as they caused millions of dollars in losses to the
\ncountry, he said.<\/p>\n
"Our patience has run out. Our environment has been destroyed,
\nour economy is suffering," Susilo added.<\/p>\n
His vow came less than a month after he formed a joint team
\naimed at halting illegal logging in Papua and to hunt down the
\nillicit timber barons believed to be running sawmills across
\nIndonesia.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/more-financers-of-illegal-logging-put-under-arrest-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}