Indonesia Arrests 72

Indonesian police arrested 72 people suspected of starting forest and peatland fires on Sunday. The suspects could face charges that carry penalties ranging from hefty fines to prison terms of up to 15 years, according to a director at the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Agency.

Background

Fires are a regular problem in Indonesia, straining relations with neighbouring countries. Plantation owners and traditional farmers often start fires to clear land for farming, said Mohammad Irhamni, director of special crimes at the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Agency. The arson suspects were being investigated in connection with 89 forest and land fire cases across five provinces on the island of Borneo, and four on Sumatra.

Investigation

Investigators were still tracing financial records to determine whether companies financed or ordered the land clearing, signalling the probe could expand beyond those arrested. “We will not stop at the perpetrators on the ground,” Irhamni said in a news conference in the capital Jakarta. The suspects face charges that carry penalties ranging from hefty fines to prison terms of up to 15 years, he said.

Government Response

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto flew to Central Kalimantan province, where more than 7,600 hectares have burned, to encourage authorities to get the haze cloud under control. Prabowo promised the government resources required to contain the fires, including helicopters and water pumps, and vowed to hold accountable any companies found to have contributed to the fires. At least four companies in West Kalimantan province are under investigation for allegedly using fire to clear land, according to Prasetyo Hadi, the head of State Secretariat.

Regional Impact

Smoke from the fires blanketed parts of Borneo, with Indonesia administering about three-quarters of the island. The country’s Environment Ministry recorded more than 3,700 hot spots on Sunday. Malaysia has suffered severe smoke from the fires, with its eastern state of Sarawak among the hardest hit, prompting the closure of nearly 600 schools and affecting about 200,000 students. Cloud-seeding resumed over Kalimantan on Sunday, with 30 helicopters deployed for water-bombing and aerial patrol missions, and another 22 helicopters covering Sumatra. Fires that appear extinguished on the surface may still contain embers underneath, so sufficient rainfall is crucial to rewet the peat and fully suppress the fires, said BNPB chief Suharyanto.