The Jakarta Post
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsIndigenous Kalimantan people sue govt over wildfire negligence
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Set as preferred source
A staff member of the Regional Disaster Agency (BPBD) sprays water on a fire in a peatland area burned by wildfires, on Tuesday in Kubu Raya, West Kalimantan province.
(Reuters/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana)
I
ndigenous and civil society groups in West Kalimantan have sued the central government and local administrations, accusing them of deliberate negligence for failing to prevent and properly handle the widespread wildfires paralyzing the province.
The class action lawsuit was filed on Sept. 17 at the Pontianak District Court by a coalition of civil groups under the banner of “Nafas Kalimantan Barat” (the breath of West Kalimantan). The plaintiffs include the West Kalimantan chapter of the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN), environmental group Laman Puyung Indonesia, a local Catholic youth group and activist Sisilius Rami.
According to Glorio Sanen, the lawyer representing the plaintiffs, the spillover effects of peatland and forest fires across the province have continued to threaten public health and damage the environment until today on a scale that should have been given a greater intervention.
“Meanwhile, our assessment concludes that there has been no sufficient coordination between the central government, ministries and even local administrations to prevent and respond to the disaster in West Kalimantan,” Glorio told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
The lawsuit was filed against President Prabowo Subianto, Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, West Kalimantan Governor Ria Norsan, several ministers and state agency heads, as well as 12 regents and two mayors across the province.
The lawsuit seeks a court order to force the government to declare a national disaster status, which will enable greater financial assistance, arguing that the ongoing fires have overwhelmed provincial capacity.
West Kalimantan has become the major fire hot spot in the country, with fires scorching nearly 40,000 hectares of forest and peatland between January and July, according to data from the Forestry Ministry.
