The companies suspected of burning land and causing transboundary haze are Asia Agri, Golen Agri Resources, Wilmar, Sime Darby, and Asia Pulp and Paper.
Saifulbahri Ismail Channel NewsAsia 6 Oct 15;
JAKARTA: A group of Indonesian residents in Jambi, South Sumatra are in the final stages of preparing a class action lawsuit against five companies responsible for the forest fires that have caused massive air pollution in Indonesia and across the region.
They are expected to serve notice to these companies this month.
Mr Musri Nauli is one of 20 advocates representing the residents of Jambi in a lawsuit against companies suspected of burning land. These companies are Asia Agri, Golen Agri Resources, Wilmar, Sime Darby and Asia Pulp and Paper.
More than 50 locals of the Indonesian province of Sumatra have stepped forward to act, and to see justice served.
According to reports, thousands of people living in Jambi have developed respiratory infections after breathing the acrid air, while others have suffered lost income.
They are claiming a total of 51 trillion rupiah (US$3.5 billion) in losses.
"There are two kinds of losses: Firstly, losses that can be calculated to around 7 trillion rupiah, the companies have to compensate that. There is also the cost of recovering the land which has been destroyed, and we have calculated that to be 44 trillion rupiah," said Mr Musri.
The Indonesian Forum for the Environment or Walhi, is helping the plaintiffs with their lawsuit. Walhi has conducted its own legal battle against companies and acknowledges it faces a challenge ahead.
"Walhi won its claim during the forest fires which destroyed some 11.6 million hectares in 1998, and one more in 2000 in South Kalimantan,” said Mr Mukri Fatriani, an ecology disaster campaigner from Walhi. “From then on, 14 years have passed and we have not won any other claims."
Walhi said that even though there are clear laws, these have not been enforced.
Those taking the companies to court are confident of getting a positive result.
"The 2015 incident is different from earlier incidents. This year is extraordinary,” said Mr Musri. “Indonesia and our neighbours Malaysia and Singapore are directly affected. It wasn’t as bad before. So, this is what gives us energy to fight.
“Secondly, I’m confident that because this claim is from the desire of the community, we will try. If you ask what our chances are, the law has to improve to answer the haze problem objectively, and I'm confident we can win this legal battle."
It's not only in Indonesia that citizens are taking action. A volunteer group in Singapore is also helping those affected by the haze in the city state to sue companies responsible for the air pollution. The group called the Haze Elimination Action Team (HEAT) plans to take legal action against companies prosecuted by Singapore and Indonesian authorities.
- CNA/ek
Police names 240 people as suspects behind forest fires
Antara 6 Oct 15;
Sukabumi, W Java (ANTARA News) - Indonesian Police has named 240 people as suspects who allegedly set fire to forest and land, causing a haze disaster in Sumatra and Kalimantan regions.
"We have named 240 suspects, including corporations and individuals. We have also detained a businessman involved in the palm oil sector who was the alleged mastermind behind forest fires in Indonesia," the Indonesian Police Chief, General Badrodin Haiti, said here on Tuesday.
According to Badrodin, the catastrophic forest fires caused millions of people to become victims of the haze disaster.
He said justice must be served in case of forest fires and any future recurrence prevented by bringing arsonists to book, as it will act as a deterrent for other criminals who indulge in burning lands in Indonesia and causing haze. The haze this time had even hit some countries bordering Indonesia, such as Malaysia and Singapore.
The General said the disaster led to a very critical situation because it had a widespread impact on health, social and economic sectors in Sumatra and Kalimantan.
"We will continue investigating the case to unveil the masterminds behind forest fires in Indonesia," Badrodin said.
Police also issued guidelines to local people and corporations to help them avoid burning anything in the fields and forests that could potentially lead to forest fires.
"The Police, together with Indonesian Military soldiers and volunteers as well as officers of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, are trying to extinguish the fires. We hope the fires can be managed and land fire incidents can be reduced," Badrodin said.
Earlier, on Sunday, the Terra Aqua satellite of NASA had detected 1,820 hotspots of land and forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan islands.
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency said of the total, 1,563 hotspots were found in Sumatra and 257 in Kalimantan.
Additionally, 1,340 of the 1,563 hotspots in Sumatra were found among others in South Sumatra, nine in Riau, 131 in Jambi, 22 in Bangka Belitung, 57 in Lampung and one in Riau Islands.
The agency noted that 51 of 257 hotspots in Kalimantan were found in West Kalimantan, 108 in Central Kalimantan, 71 in South Kalimantan and 27 in East Kalimantan.
The haze from the ongoing forest and plantation fires also led to 68 flights being cancelled at the Sultan Syarif Kasim II Airport of Pekanbaru, Riau Province on Tuesday.(*)
