POLICE STRENGTHEN LAW ENFORCEMENT AGAINST SUSPECTS IN FOREST FIRE CASES by Fardah

Jakarta, Oct 18, 2015 (Antara) - The Indonesian government has intensified its efforts to extinguish forest and plantation fires, following the pressure from neighboring countries affected by haze from the fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan.       In fact, forest fires and the consequent haze that spread as far as Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand have affected Indonesia's reputation at the international level, according to the founder of the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI) and former Indonesian ambassador to the US, Dino Patti Djalal.         The haze was no longer just an Indonesian problem, and had rather become a regional concern, Djalal stated recently.         He said this has led to a negative effect politically, economically, socially, and psychologically, as it polluted the air, affected the transportation and disrupted flights, in Indonesia as well as in neighboring countries.         "It is reported that the forest fires could end up raising the rate of global emission by two percent," Djalal, former deputy foreign minister, noted.         The Indonesian government must deal with the problem by formulating short, mid and long term plans, he remarked.         He said the Law No. 32 year 2009 on the Environmental Protection and Management has a clause that states, "Community living surrounding a forest area could set afire covering a farming area of maximum two hectares."    "This clause is used as an excuse for land clearing by resorting to fire. In fact, forest fire could not be kept confined within two hectares," he stated.         Moreover, because of the ongoing drought, any fire could spread rapidly and become a forest fire, he remarked.         He suggested that the government and the parliament (DPR) should revise the Law No. 32 Year 2009, particularly to omit this clause, in anticipation of forest fires in every dry season.         Resorting to setting land afire for land clearing must be banned completely and any violator must be made to face heavy sanctions, Djalal said.     Under President Joko Widodo (Jokowi)'s instruction, the National Police have strengthened law enforcement against individual as well as companies suspected of having setting the fires deliberately.         National Police Chief General Badrodin Haiti said recently the police had received 244 reports on forest and plantation fires. Of the 244 reports, 218 are being investigated, and 26 are in the pre-investigation stage.         Of the total number of cases registered, 113 are individual cases, and 48 involve companies.         He also revealed that the police have names 240 suspects comprising individuals and 12 companies in forest and land fire cases in Sumatra and Kalimantan, until October 12.       They will be charged under the law on Protection and Management of the Environment that directs a minimum punishment of three years in jail, and a maximum sentence of 10 years, with a fine ranging from Rp3 billion to Rp10 billion.       The 12 companies are suspected of having acted as the mastermind behind the fires.         Of the companies named suspects, two are foreign companies. "One of the two foreign companies comes from Malaysia, the other one being from China," Haiti told a press conference recently.         He said his office would conduct intensive investigation into the activities of the two foreign companies.         The Police chief said the police were also investigating possible involvement of a Singaporean firm in forest and land fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan.         "We are still examining the involvement of the Singaporean company. I could not yet ascertain its involvement," the Police chief said.         Haiti said his side had not yet coordinated with the authorities of the countries of origin of the two companies named as suspects.         "We have not involved foreign police in this case because it took place in Indonesia," Haiti said.         Minister of Environmental Affairs and Forestry Siti Nurbaya on Oct. 9 said that 1.7 million hectares of forests and land has been burnt in the fires this year so far.         Besides, the forest fires have resulted in millions of people, including those from Malaysia and Singapore, to become victims of the haze.         At least 307,360 people in six Indonesian provinces, from June 29 to October 5, 2015, sought medical treatment for respiratory problems and other diseases caused by smoke or haze from the forest fires.     In order to extinguish the fires, the Indonesian government has deployed 26 helicopters to conduct water bombing and a special aircraft to conduct weather modification to create artificial rains.         Thousands of military officers have been deployed to help put out the fires. So far, the Indonesian military (TNI) has managed to put out 3,163 out of 3,289 hotspots from land and forest fires in the four provinces of South Sumatra, Riau, Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan.         In the meantime, House Speaker Setya Novanto has lauded the government's efforts in tackling land and forest fires in several provinces across Sumatra and Kalimantan.         The statement was delivered after a meeting with Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Luhut Pandjaitan, Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya, and Health Minister Nila F. Moeloek, on Oct. 16.         The meeting was held to discuss the handling of forest fires in Indonesia, and also attended by the chairmen of commission I, II, III, IV, and VII of the House of Representatives (DPR).         Earlier, the House Speaker proposed to assign Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Luhut Binsar Panjaitan the role of a coordinator in the efforts to fight forest and plantation fires.         "I have conveyed this proposal to the president to name a coordinator to tackle the haze problem. The right person is indeed Mr Luhut. But, we leave the decision on the president," Novanto noted.         He said the government should be serious in dealing with forest fires that have affected several people, inflicted material losses, and claimed lives.         Spraying water alone would not solve the problem, he emphasized, adding that heavy rains would be immensely beneficial.         "Indeed there are some ideas, for instance, from Mr Prabowo (chairman of Gerindra Party) who suggested that the haze problem should be declared a national disaster," he affirmed.         Meanwhile, as most of the fire fighting efforts have been focused on Sumatra Island, inhabitants of Central Kalimantan Province were still chocked by the haze, according to a report on Oct. 15.         The haze drastically reduced visibility to below 50 meters, while the air pollution standard index reached 1889.06 pm in Palangka Raya, the province's capital.         The air quality of Palangka Raya has reached a hazardous level and can impact the health of the public, Anton of the local meteorology office stated in Palangka Raya on Oct. 16.         A total of 1,042 hotspots were recorded in the province in the morning of October 15 and decreased to 45 in the afternoon.         "Now, on Friday morning (Oct. 16), some 59 hotspots were detected," he reported.         Of the 59 hotspots, 19 were detected in Seruyan, nine in Sukamara, eight in Pulang Pisau, five in East Kotawaringin, three in West Kotawaringin, and two in Palangka Raya.     ***4*** (T.F001/A/F. Assegaf/Bustanuddin) 18-10-2015 21:54:09