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Roundup: Greenpeace urges tougher actions against protracted forest fires in Indonesia

Xinhua, September 6, 2016 Adjust font size:

Greenpeace lambasted Indonesia's legal enforcement process against perpetrators of forest fires in the country, urging President Joko Widodo to take firm actions to punish firms responsible for the blazes.

The nternational environmentalist organization said that an investigation into dozens of palm oil plantation firms responsible for forest fires has been stopped by police in Indonesia's Riau province.

Meanwhile, violence also occurred against investigators while probing forest fires in the plantation in Riau province over the weekend.

Mobs allegedly hired by a palm oil plantation firm detained an investigator team assigned by the environment and forestry ministry. The team was forced to delete documents and photos obtained in the investigation.

The ministry said in a statement that the plantation investigated by the ministry's team belongs to PT Andika Permata Sawit Lestari (APSL). Ground Investigation was conducted to follow up satellite images on suspected fires in the plantation.

Greenpeace asked the president to issue firm order for the police and related ministry in tackling perpetrators of forest fires in Indonesia.

"They have to make sure that violator firms must get the punishments and sanctions over the crimes they have committed, including compensation and administrative suspension," Greenpeace Indonesia Forest Campaigner Yuyun Indradi said on Monday.

Greenpeace also called on related legal agencies in Indonesia to ensure transparency and justice when handling forest fire cases so as to block intervention from the palm oil firms.

According to Indonesian law, companies found guilty of committing land clearing by burning the forest can be fined up to 10 billion rupiah (about 735,000 U.S. Dollars). The errant company's management staffs can also face up to 10-year imprisonment.

The law is also applied for firms identified of failing to control the spread of the fires in their concession land.

Indonesian authorities have arrested more than 450 individuals linked to forest fires this year, reports said. The blazes were triggered by land clearing in forests with an aim to expand the plantation areas simply by torching trees.

Indonesia's forest fires occur each year with haze jeopardizing public health and commercial flights in the country. The haze also drifts to neighboring countries of Singapore and Malaysia, deteriorating air quality there. Endit