From: kamol@ipied.tu.ac.TH (Kamol Hengkietisak)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.thai
Subject: Bangkok Post Jan 9: Khmer Rouge still gets supply
Date: 11 Jan 1993 00:04:42 +1100
Organization: Mail/News gateway
NNTP-Posting-Host: munnari.oz.au

 
WHILE the United Nations in Phnom Penh says the ban on exporting 
logs from Cambodia appears to be working petroleum products are 
still being supplied to Khmer Rouge-held areas, apparently with 
the help of Thai soldiers, according to a business source.
 
The business source, who is familiar with the Khmer trade, said 
that the petroleum products have been seen being transported into 
Cambodia at Ban Pakkard, Bo Rai District, Chanthaburi Province, 
and at Bo Rai, Trat, further south.
 
"I saw petroleum products being bought at a downtown petrol 
station on Thursday, with mobile tanks brought in tow to transport 
it," he said, implying the purchase of a large quantity.
 
"I myself have not seen oil being carried across the border but my 
people have," he added.
 
The shipments have been seen after 2 a.m., with soldiers 
apparently helping, he said.
 
He did not give the frequency and dates of the shipments. He 
refused to be named but said he had been involved in border 
business for about two years.
 
The report, which was not corroborated by independent sources, 
came in response to a high-ranking official's disclosure to 
journalists that Thai authorities had stopped shipments of oil 
products to Khmer Rouge-held areas.
 
The shipments were halted by a UN resolution aimed at making the 
Khmer Rouge, who have refused to have their forces disarmed or to 
go into UN -specified cantonment sites, comply with the Paris 
peace agreement.
 
Since the resolution, adopted in New York on November 30, set no 
date for enforcement of the oil embargo, oil shipments from 
Thailand to Khmer Rouge areas of Cambodia do not contravene the UN 
sanctions, observers said.
 
On December 8, the Thai Cabinet instructed the Commerce Ministry 
to draw up measures to support the UN resolution.
 
The high-ranking official said the ban had begun ahead of a 
Commerce Ministry order, the draft of which is reportedly being 
sent to the Cabinet for approval.
 
The measure could be enforced by provincial governors, another 
official said.
 
Although the high-ranking official gave no details on the 
implementation of the oil embargo, it could have been enforced at 
checkpoints that are less busy or lucrative than Ban Pakkard and 
Bo Rai, observers noted.
 
Both these temporary border points are gateways to precious gem 
mines and logging areas in Khmer Rouge-held territory.
 
The business source added that he saw with his own eyes defiance 
by some Thais of the UN-endorsed ban on log exports from Cambodia.
 
"Logs are still coming in at Bo Rai. I saw this when I was there 
on Thursday," he said.
 
The moratorium on log exports was initiated by the Supreme 
National Council (SNC) of Combodia and came into effect on January 
1.
 
The SNC ruling was endorsed by the UN Security Council as part of 
stepped-up pressure on the Khmer Rouge who are resisting a 
procedure that began in mid-June.
 
Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai on Tuesday said there had been no 
defiance of the ban on log exports, contrary to published 
photographs purporting to show such violations.
 
The moratorium also forced the pull-out of gem miners. Although 
gem mining in Khmer Rouge-held territory has not been prohibited, 
the companies use mining machines that require oil.
 
The business source said all seven gem-mining companies using Ban 
Pakkard checkpoint were still working in the Khmer Rouge's Pailin 
area.
 
Another 10 companies -- out of the original 30 -- continue to use 
Bo Rai checkpoint, he added.
 
But in Phnom Penh UN peacekeeping spokesman Eric Falt was full of 
praise for Thai cooperation. Thai authorities have closed the 
border as tightly as they could, he said.
 
Some 5,783 cubic metres (202,405 cubic feet) of logs and 968 
individual logs were seen crossing the border into Thailand 
between January 1 and 3, he said. Also, 132 logging trucks were 
seen waiting to cross.
 
But no logs have been seen crossing since, he said, adding that it 
appeared private Thai companies had pulled out all their heavy 
equipment and were abiding by the moratorium.
 
A much smaller quantity of logs was also spotted crossing into 
Vietnam and Laos during the first days of the ban, Falt told 
reporters.
 
In contrast, the Khmer Rouge has failed to cooperate with UN 
attempts to enforce the week-old sanctions, said the spokesman for 
the UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC).
 
"The (Khmer Rouge) has not granted UNTAC access to their area and 
we are continuing negotiations with Thai authorities to open 
border checkpoints," he said.
 
"We have received excellent cooperation from Thailand for the  
moratorium," he said.
 
"During the first three days we observed a number of (timber)  
companies still engaged in illegal crossings of the border," said  
Falt.
 
The majority of the log trucks went through CV-1, a checkpoint in 
Preah Vihear Province near the Lao border, from a 
government-controlled area, the spokesman said.
 
"Our observers noted most of this traffic was wood felled some 
time ago and had been waiting for export. A warning was given.
 
"Since January 3 it appears all movements across the border 
through CV-1 have stopped completely," Falt said.
 
Thai logging companies reportedly stand to lose up to $100 million 
as a result of the UN sanctions, which could affect the 
livelihoods of some 100,000 Thais involved in trading with the 
Khmer Rouge.
 
The Security Council resolution also warned of embargoes on the 
exploitation of gems and minerals in Khmer Rouge-held zones in 
southwestern Cambodia bordering Thailand.
 
Thailand earlier received international criticism over its 
perceived reluctance to comply with the sanctions.