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