To the forestry minister
To the forestry minister
From Koran Tempo
At the request of the forestry minister, a document on the
agreement between the forestry ministry's director general of
forest protection and conservation and the deputy chief of the
National Police in charge of operations on the execution of a
joint operation code-named Wanalaga Operation under No. 1342/J-
I/LH/2001 and No. Pol B/01/XII/2001, was signed on Dec. 21, 2001,
by the National Police chief and the forestry ministry.
On Nov. 8, 2001, the country's Western Fleet apprehended three
vessels carrying smuggled timber from illegal logging operations.
The three vessels were the MV Mandarin Sea, flying the Singapore
flag and carrying 12,300 cubic meters of timber; the MV Rong
Cheng, flying the Chinese flag and carrying 4,000 cubic meters of
timber; and the MV Fonwa Star, flying the Hong Kong flag and
carrying 9,000 cubic meters of timber.
Four months later, it has never been publicly announced
whether these three vessels have gone through the legal process
as stipulated in the joint agreement referred to earlier. In this
respect, the forestry ministry must tell the public how far the
legal process regarding these three vessels has gone. It won't be
enough for him simply to state that "the forestry ministry has
performed its duty and has done everything within its
responsibility as the case has now been handed over to the
police".
The question is whether the goal of the cooperation between
the forestry ministry and the National Police is only handing
over the case to the police.
It is true that the forestry ministry has done its job
according to the prevailing procedures, but obviously this is not
in keeping with the intellectual responsibilities of high-ranking
officials in the ministry.
For the sake of this responsibility, the forestry minister
must make a report to the President of the Republic of Indonesia.
Just let the domestic forestry business collapse by itself.
What about illegal logging and timber smuggling?
DEHEN BINTI
Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan