Lee Seok Hwai Straits Times 17 Aug 18;
A commander tasked with preventing fires in Riau said he has issued a shoot-on-sight order across the Indonesian province against those found clearing land by burning, as growing forest and peatland fires shroud several areas in smog ahead of the Asian Games.
The order came as satellites detected 121 hot spots in Riau on Thursday morning (Aug 16) - a big jump from the 22 spots detected on Wednesday afternoon, according to the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG).
"Ninety-nine per cent of the land and forest fires in Riau Province are related to the intentional acts of irresponsible people," Brigadier-General Sonny Aprianto, Commander of the Riau Land and Forest Fire Task Force, was quoted by Antara news agency as saying on Thursday.
He said he had ordered army personnel to shoot "arsonists" across Riau. The Indonesian military has previously issued similar orders, as was the case in Jambi, central Sumatra, last year, to deter fire culprits.
Land-clearing fires have been seen as a serious threat to the 18th Asian Games, which will be held in Palembang, South Sumatra Province, from Aug 18 to Sept 2.
President Joko Widodo and other senior leaders have ordered efforts to combat land fires be stepped up to ensure that the quadrennial games would not be affected.
Brig-Gen Sonny said on Thursday that he had discussed the shoot-on-sight policy with Riau Police Chief Inspector General Nandang, and soldiers would be deployed to every military district compound in Riau to enforce the order.
The authorities had asked locals not to clear land by burning but without much success, the one-star general noted, according to Antara. Indeed, he said the slash-and-burn method for clearing the land has become more widespread.
Several arsonists have been nabbed, he added, with at least three cases in Dumai city now ready for trial.
Meanwhile, the fires have blanketed several areas in Riau, including the provincial capital of Pekanbaru, in smog.
"At first I thought it was morning dew, but apparently the environment was dimmed by the haze," Pekanbaru resident Musfarin told the Jakarta Post on Thursday.
Similar conditions were also reported in Dumai city, where visibility dropped to 4km on Thursday morning on the back of the thick haze, the newspaper said.
The haze in Dumai originated from local forest and land fires as well as hot spots from the neighbouring area of Rokan Hilir regency, where the worst fires in Riau were burning.
The fires in Rokan Hilir have burned down hundreds of hectares of oil palm plantation and peatland as well as 20 houses and several vehicles in Tanjung Leban village in Kubu district, reported Jakarta Post.
The fires have also forced residents to evacuate, the report said, without giving a number.
"We have informed land owners not to clear their land for plantation during the dry season, but apparently they ignored it. We did not have the proper equipment to put out the fires and it was hard to find a water source so the fire spread quickly," Tanjung Leban village secretary Wandri was quoted as saying. He said thousands of residents needed surgical masks.
"Four villages near us are covered with smog from the land fires. All the villagers now breathe in haze. The government must take action to help the people."
Mr Edwar Sanger, deputy head of Riau forest and land fires task force who also heads the Riau Disaster Mitigation Agency, said his team had tried putting out fires in Rokan Hilir both from land and air.
"But the dry season has helped the fires spread. Strong winds have also complicated wildfire suppression efforts," he said. Residents should "pray for rain", he added.
Indonesia faces challenges in ensuring haze-free Asian Games
Rahmad Nasution Antara 17 Aug 18;
Bogor, W Java (ANTARA News) - Jakarta and Palembang are gearing up for the opening ceremony of the 18th Asian Games, due to be held at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in the Indonesian capital city on Saturday.
The two cities that will co-host the world`s second biggest multi-sport event after the Olympics from August 18 to September 2 are located on two different islands -- Java and Sumatra. However, Indonesia`s success mainly depends on the two cities` preparedness.
The Asian Games venues and facilities have been readied for use in both Jakarta and Palembang, but Indonesia`s success in convening the event will not just be measured by its excellent services to both athletes and officials of the 45 participating countries.
Its success will largely be measured by the related authorities` capability to ensure that the air quality of Jakarta and Palembang, the capital city of South Sumatra Province, is relatively healthy enough for the competing athletes.
Weather-related issues, particularly the air quality and air pollution in Jakarta, have been brought into the spotlight by the local and foreign news media, including Al Jazeera, considering the importance of clean air for those competing in the event.
The Qatar-based news channel, Al Jazeera, has criticized Jakarta`s air pollution level because it has reached an "unhealthy level of 154 micrograms per cubic meter" (Bayani, 2018).
The air quality of Palembang is relatively similar to that of the country`s capital city, Jakarta.
Palembang has been continuously challenged and threatened by haze, caused by land and forest fires in certain areas of South Sumatra and several other provinces in Sumatra Island.
On August 14, the Riau Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency reported that some 169 hotspots were detected in seven provinces across Sumatra Island, including South Sumatra.
Referring to satellite images, the agency remarked that South Sumatra Province had 13 hotspots, while 90 others were detected in different parts of Riau, 27 in Bangka Belitung, 22 in North Sumatra, 10 in West Sumatra, four in Jambi, and three in Lampung. Instead of having a fewer number of hotspots, on August 15, Riau Province had 103 hotspots. The majority of the hotspots were detected in the province`s northern coastal areas.
Head of the Riau Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) Sukisno argued that the relatively low rainfall intensity makes Riau Province, whose area is just a few hundred kilometers away from Palembang, vulnerable to the spread of potential land and forest fires.
The BMKG has forecast that mild rain was likely to hit the areas of Rokan Hilir District early in the morning, while the maximum temperature at mid-day could reach 35 degrees Celsius, he said.
The Riau Land and Forest Fire Task Force will continue its ground and aerial firefighting operations through four water-bombing choppers.
However, the dry-bulb temperature and blowing wind have hampered the task force firefighters` efforts in extinguishing the land and forest fires on the wetland.
President Joko Widodo had earlier asked the related authorities to do their best to ensure that the 18th Asian Games are not disrupted by the land and forest fires.
"As the host of the Asian Games, we must be able to ensure that the land and forest fires do not occur during the multi-sport event, so that our image and flights are not disrupted by the haze," he said at a coordination meeting for the Forest and Land Fire Mitigation in Jakarta last February.
In response to the ongoing threats of land and forest fires in Riau, Commander of the Riau Land and Forest Fire Task Force Brig. Gen. Sonny Aprianto issued a shoot-on-sight policy.
He ordered army personnel across the province to implement it against arsonists found burning land.
The shoot-on-sight order was given because the land and forest fires along Riau`s coastal areas tend to spread fast.
The arsonists` acts have been seen as a serious threat that can disrupt the convening of the 18th Asian Games in Palembang, the capital city of South Sumatra Province, he said.
By enforcing the law, the local police have been conducting a thorough investigation into the cases of land and forest fires on 45 land areas across the province.
The investigators have set police lines and notice boards along the areas, prohibiting anyone from working on the land, Aprianto remarked.
The dossiers of several suspected arsonists had been completed so that their cases could immediately be tried at local courts. "In Dumai city, for instance, there are three cases with `P21` status. This means that the suspects in the cases are ready for trial."
Aprianto said the suspects, whose cases are being handled by the local police, were all individuals, and none of them represented a company.
"Ninety-nine percent of the land and forest fires in Riau Province are a result of intentional acts by irresponsible people," the one-star army general remarked.
Aprianto further added that he had observed the areas of Dumai city and Rokan Hilir District from a chopper and found massive hotspots there.
The preliminary results of the aerial firefighting patrols that the taskforce team members had conducted indicated that the land and forest fires in Rokan Hilir District areas were intentional acts by those wanting to extend palm oil plantation areas.
"In Teluk Nilam, Rokan Hilir District, alone, the land and forest fires are expected to reach around 17 kilometers. The fires engulfed empty pieces of land located next to a palm oil plantation. This is evidence that the land was intentionally set on fire."
As the host country, Indonesia has no choice but to make utmost efforts to ensure that the over 14,000 athletes competing in Jakarta and Palembang can breathe relatively healthy air.
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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