Students protest at forest conversion

Dozens of students grouped under the Anticorruption Youth Association rallied outside the West Java governor’s office in Bandung on Thursday to protest at the rampant conversion of the province’s forests for commercial purposes.

Coordinator of the group Syaiful Imam Syafei said the province had lost 300,000 hectares of its forest area, which the students blamed on high-ranking officials at the provincial forestry agency and state forestry company Perhutani II.

“The forest conversion was driven by economic motives and short-term interests for profit involving the officials,” Syaiful said as quoted by Antara news agency.

The students demanded that law enforcers take action against the officials for accelerating environmental degradation that resulted in frequent natural disasters, particularly floods.

During the rally, the protesters set fire to tire stacks and unfurled banners to express their anger at alleged corrupt practices within Perhutani.