{"id":28709,"date":"2015-07-23T16:03:12","date_gmt":"2015-07-23T14:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.w-t-w.org\/en\/?p=28709"},"modified":"2015-07-23T18:56:21","modified_gmt":"2015-07-23T16:56:21","slug":"illegal-logging-in-myanmar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.w-t-w.org\/en\/illegal-logging-in-myanmar\/","title":{"rendered":"Illegal Logging in Myanmar"},"content":{"rendered":"

China on Thursday criticized long prison sentences in Myanmar given to more than 150 Chinese nationals convicted of illegal logging.<\/p>\n

The Chinese foreign ministry, in a statement is calling for Myanmar to deal with its jailed nationals in a \u201clawful, reasonable and justified manner,\u201d asking for all those convicted of illegal logging to be returned to China \u201cas soon as possible.<\/p>\n

A total of 156 Chinese were arrested in January for illegal activity in forests in Kachin state, along Myanmar\u2019s border with China.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, all but three of the defendants were given what were termed as \u201clife\u201d sentences. Observers in Myanmar, also known as Burma, said prisoners typically serve 20 years for such sentences.<\/p>\n

A judge, Myint Swe, justified the unusually long sentences in one of the largest known such crackdowns by Myanmar on the illicit timber trade.<\/p>\n

The justice said the prison terms were decided because of the extent of potential destruction to the environment and the loss of forests based on the number of people involved and machinery used.<\/p>\n

Authorities, at the time of the arrests, said they had seized 436 logging trucks, 14 pickup trucks loaded with timber logs, stimulant drugs, raw opium and Chinese currency.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Environmentalists have long accused both Myanmar and China of ignoring lucrative smuggling networks of gems, drugs and numerous endangered natural resources along their shared border.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously we welcome enforcement of the law. And we think that these sentences are quite excessive and the fact that most of the believe, who were captured, were very much the small players really,\u201d said Julian Newman,\u00a0 campaigns director for the non-profit British-based Environmental Intelligence Agency.<\/p>\n

Newman added the agreements with Chinese businesses for the illegal logging are brokered at very high levels of either the ethnic groups or the military in Myanmar.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo unless we get starting getting up the chain to those people who are actually the authors of these illegal logging activities, rather than the people at the bottom of the chain, the problem will continue because, often, people who are the loggers or truck drivers are dispensable,\u201d Newman stated.<\/p>\n

Exiled Myanmar activist Maung Zarni said the harsh sentences appear to be retaliation for China rolling out the red carpet for opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s recent visit to Beijing. \u201cThe Burmese military government has never lifted a finger against the Chinese traders, illegal or not. And, so, this is essentially tit-for-tat politics that the Burmese military leaders are well known for,\u201d Maung Zarni noted.<\/p>\n

The activist predicts Myanmar will eventually bow to Chinese pressure and those imprisoned will be released early and sent back home.<\/p>\n

\"Illegal<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

China on Thursday criticized long prison sentences in Myanmar given to more than 150 Chinese nationals convicted of illegal logging. The Chinese foreign ministry, in a statement is calling for Myanmar to deal with its jailed nationals in a \u201clawful, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-finance"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t