CAMBODIA A Phnom Penh media outlet accuses the prime minister’s son of illegal timber trafficking

Hun Manet, eldest son of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, criticized the Cambodia Daily for citing an investigation that implicates him in illegal trafficking in protected areas, bordering Laos. However, an independent investigation found that the clearing of primary forests is being driven by a government-linked tycoon known by the pseudonym “Oknha Chey.”

Phnom Penh () – General Hun Manet, eldest son of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, army commander and, according to commentators, the country’s future leader, has criticized the Cambodia Daily for accusing him of being linked to the illegal timber trade. His father today demanded the Khmer-language daily that he publish proof of such accusations “if he does not have malicious intent to publish false information.” Otherwise, “if there is no evidence, make the necessary changes immediately,” the prime minister wrote on Telegram, after closing last month. Voice of Cambodiaone of the few remaining independent media outlets in the country.

According to him Khmer Timesa newspaper linked to the currently ruling Cambodian People’s Party, the Cambodia Daily He cited research on deforestation in the Siem Pang and Sesan districts of Stung Treng province. The research had been published on Mongabay, a website that deals with environmental issues.

The study in question documents deforestation operations carried out by the company TSMW in areas of northern Cambodia. Not only are the company’s activities illegal, but they also involve “Oknha Chey” – this pseudonym, which means “victorious tycoon” in the Khmer language, identifies “a three-star military general who also serves as a senior official in the Ministry of the Interior.

The inhabitants who live on the banks of the Sekong River in the province of Stung Treng, on the border with Laos, denounced that after the construction of a road between March and April 2022, dozens of trucks began to cross the watercourse exclusively at night. . The vehicles transport timber from an area of ​​6,000 hectares of primary tropical forests that stretches between the districts of Siem Pang and Sesan. As read in the report of Mongabaythe area “was not protected when logging began.”

However, the area was classified as state land, making it an offense to cut down the forest without government permission. In addition, the region is part of an ecological corridor managed by the Ministry of the Environment, which in mid-February announced the creation of a protected area of ​​more than 110,000 hectares, which would also include the two districts of the province. It should be noted that the government has never revealed the boundaries of these areas, but satellite data confirms that logging activities go well beyond the limits of the concession granted to TSMW. In recent months, access to the area has been restricted following the creation of a series of checkpoints that prevent the local population from accessing the land.

Locals say Okhna Chey is involved in the new logging operations, a name they have heard from loggers and truckers who came to work on the Sekong River. According to locals, the new arrivals come mostly from Cambodian provinces where selling timber is a lucrative business, and they sell the timber in Vietnam, where the profits are higher.

No one knows for sure who is behind the pseudonym Okhna Chey, but according to several environmental activists, the name has already been circulated several times in investigations into illegal logging activities. Some local journalists have reportedly identified him as Meuk Saphannareth, a three-star general linked to Prime Minister Hun Sen and his son Hun Manet, as well as deputy head of the Penitentiary Department at the Interior Ministry.

Research Mongabay was able to confirm the identity of Meuk Saphannareth, after showing a photo of him to the representative of a mill that bought the timber from TSMW and confirming that he knew him as Okhna Chey. Later, links with the prime minister and his son arose, but after the publication of the investigation, Saphannareth removed from his social networks some photos in which he appeared in the company of Hun Sen and Hun Manet. It also removed family photos of him dating from 2019 that alluded to him as the sole administrator of TSMW.

Ouch Leng, a Goldman Environmental Prize-winning activist, says that with each passing year “the government tries to profit from logging.” elections in July.

Leng estimated that Saphannareth could earn about $3.75 million for each month of logging activities. According to him, the government’s signal to the tycoons is clear: take the wood, make money and support the Cambodian People’s Party.