Tay Za Logging in Karen State

By LAWI WENG

Burmese business tycoon Tay Za’s Htoo Trading Company has recently started logging timber in Karen rebel-held territory, according to a source close to a delegation of businessmen negotiating the deal in Three Pagodas Pass on the Thai- Burmese border.

According to the source, Tay Za got permission to begin logging in the Mae Kathr forest from the Karen National Union (KNU) by paying “taxes” in advance.

The Mae Kathr forest had, until recently, been undisturbed for more than 60 years. It lies in Dooplaya District, about nine kilometers (5.5 miles) from Three Pagodas Pass in an area under the control of KNU Brigade 6.

The source said that Htoo Trading Company has already cut down about 1,000 tons of timber in the forest.

According to KNU Forestry Department data, the KNU has preserved two main forests, Mae Kathr and Kyunchaung, which both lie in Dooplaya District. Mae Kathr forest covers an area of 50,000 acres while Kyunchaung covers 20,000 acres. Both forests are rich in virgin hardwoods, including teak and ironwoods.

A resident in Three Pagodas Pass told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that the company has begun construction of timber-processing factories across a football park and 10 acres of land in Three Pagodas Pass. He said the company has lined up more than 20 trucks to carry the logs.

According to the source close to Tay Za’s delegation, three trucks are currently being deployed to ferry in and out workers who are preparing the road on which the timber is being transported. He said that Htoo Trading cuts and processes the logs at the factories in Three Pagodas Pass before transporting them to Kyar Inn Seikgyi Township in Karen State.

However, Captain Htat Nay of KNU Brigade 6 denied that the rebel army had granted permission for Htoo Trading Company to log timber in the Mae Kathr forest. Speaking to The Irrawaddy by telephone on Tuesday he said that Tay Za’s delegation has requested a permit to log the forest in the past, but that the KNU had refused permission.

Previously, the KNU has only granted logging contracts to large timber companies like the Thailand-based Sia Hook firm. Revenue from logging contracts is reportedly the KNU’s major source of income, from which it subsidizes its war against the Burmese army by purchasing arms.

Meanwhile, a source at the New Mon State Party (NMSP) on Tuesday said that the Burmese junta and its main ally, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), are currently preparing for a dry season military offensive against the KNU in the Brigade 6 region.

He said this might have forced the KNU’s hand into accepting the quick cash from a logging contract with Tay Za in case they are forced to withdraw from the region and lose control over logging rights.

The KNU, one of the oldest surviving rebel groups in Southeast Asia, has been struggling for autonomy since 1949.