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Plaintiffs accuse companies of dragging out South Sumatra forest fire lawsuit
The panel of judges handling the lawsuit in the Palembang District Court granted a request from lawyers of the companies to postpone the hearing until early January.
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Seeking compensation: Judges preside over a hearing at the Palembang District Court in South Sumatra on Dec. 12 for a lawsuit filed by 11 villagers from across the Ogan Komering Ilir regency who were affected by forest and land fires in 2015, 2019 and 2023. (Courtesy of Greenpeace/Mushaful Imam)
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illagers filing a forest and land fire lawsuit against three pulp and paper companies in South Sumatra have accused the defendants of “delaying” the ongoing legal process by not immediately responding to the plaintiffs’ demands which were read out at a recent hearing.
A panel of judges at the Palembang District Court heard the plaintiffs’ demands for compensation for both material and immaterial losses resulting from wildfires during a hearing in the provincial capital on Dec. 12.
During the hearing, the plaintiffs’ lawyers listed the tangible losses suffered by villagers across Ogan Komering Ilir regency, ranging from Rp 200,000 (US$12.41) to Rp 200 million for each household.
The plaintiffs also demanded the defendants to pay each plaintiff Rp 10 billion in compensation for intangible losses they have suffered, including the violation of their rights to health and clean air.
The defendants in the lawsuit are three subsidiaries of giant paper producer Asia Pulp and Paper (APP): PT Bumi Mekar Hijau, PT Bumi Andalas Permai and PT Sebangun Bumi Andalas Wood Industries. They are accused of being responsible for the wildfires that triggered haze in South Sumatra and other surrounding areas in 2015, 2019 and 2023.
Lawyers representing the firms attended the hearing, but gave no response to the demands made by the plaintiffs. They instead requested that the judges postpone the next hearing, which was scheduled for Dec. 19, in order to give them more time to prepare their response to the defendants’ demands.
The bench granted the request and adjourned the hearing until Jan. 2.
