TNI confesses involvement in rampant illegal logging<\/p>\n
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen. Endriartono Sutarto
\nadmitted on Wednesday the involvement of military personnel in
\nrampant illegal logging across the archipelago, and vowed to take
\nresolute action against them.<\/p>\n
He said the military would forge cooperation with the forestry
\nministry and local administrations to arrest military personnel
\ninvolved in the illegal logging.<\/p>\n
\"They must be severely punished. Their illicit activities have
\nnot only inflicted financial losses on the state, but they are
\nalso destroying the sustainability of out forests,\" he told a
\npress conference after a coordinating meeting with Minister of
\nForestry M. Prakosa.<\/p>\n
Therefore, he said, the Military Police would be included in
\noperations designed to help local authorities stamp out such
\nabuses.<\/p>\n
He said that a timetable for these operations would be
\ndiscussed later this week.<\/p>\n
In addition, Endriartono instructed to Navy to sink any
\nvessels carrying smuggled logs after the logs had been
\nconfiscated by the authorities.<\/p>\n
\"Such strict measures are needed to avoid any further
\ndeterioration in the environment and to show that military
\npersonnel are not above the law,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The joint operations mooted by Endriartono could well prove to
\nbe a last ditch effort by the government to assure foreign donors
\ngrouped under the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI), which
\nare scheduled to meet next week, that Indonesia is really serious
\nin tackling illegal logging.<\/p>\n
Similar joint operations would also be organized by the
\nforestry ministry and the police and Navy.<\/p>\n
Illegal logging in Indonesia has reached alarming proportions,
\nand has caused huge environmental destruction in the country's
\nforests, including national parks.<\/p>\n
Some 43 million hectares out of 120.35 million hectares of
\nforest have been devastated by the illicit activities, with a
\ndegradation rate of 2.1 million hectares per year.<\/p>\n
The illegal activities produce 50.7 million cubic meters of
\nlogs annually, and result in state financial losses of at least
\nRp 30.42 trillion (US$3.37 billion). A large number of tree
\nspecies are also vanishing fast.<\/p>\n
The illegal logs, mainly from Aceh, North Sumatra, Riau,
\nJambi, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, East Kalimantan,
\nCentral Sulawesi and Papua, are traded on both the domestic and
\ninternational markets.<\/p>\n
A majority of Indonesia's timber production comes from illegal
\nlogging, with the logs being exported to Malaysia, China, Vietnam
\nand India at rate of 10 million cubic meters per year, resulting in
\nRp 7.2 trillion in losses to the country.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Minister M. Prakosa promised that any vessels
\ntrying to smuggle logs would be brought to Jakarta and would not
\nbe released until final court verdicts had been issued.<\/p>\n
He also said that the government was planning to issue a
\ndecree to allow law enforcers to act firmly against illegal
\nloggers.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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