Jakarta, Indonesia – Officials said on Wednesday that Indonesian authorities suspected 44 people to start some forest and Peetrand fire, which are spreading health-haze in the region.
Forest and peat fire in Indonesia is an annual problem that stresses relations with neighboring countries. In recent years, fire smoke has given blankets to Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and parts of southern Thailand.
In a statement on Wednesday, Suharinto, head of the National Disaster Mitigen Agency, or BNPB, said that the fire is often illegally started by the owners or traditional farmers of the plantation to clean the land for planting.
“The fire of the forest is not only due to drought, but also by humans,” Suharinto said, which uses only one name like Indonesian people. “Hopefully, these arrests will serve as a preventive to the public to prevent the land from setting fire to clean the land.”
Police on Tuesday presented the suspects including a woman at the news conference in Peknbaru, the capital of Riyau province. He was handcuffed and wore orange jail uniforms.
Those arrested can be prosecuted under an Environmental Protection Act that provides for a maximum of 10 -year jail sentence to set fire to clean the land.
He urged the people to be active in a government campaign to prevent human-based blessings and report to anyone to set fire to clean the land.
Many areas of the Riau province were still covered with thick mist, where the Rankan Hilir and Rukan Hulu districts were the worst hit areas from the fire burning about 500 hectares (1,235 acres), resulting in a one kilometer (less than half of the mile) in heavy haze.
The government has carried forward its fire reactions by spreading tons of salt on the clouds to inspire artificial rain in RIAU from Tuesday, which will continue till July 25.
Tuesday’s arrest was not earlier. In 2019, Indonesian police arrested 230 people associated with wildfire.
Wildfire on Sumatra and Borneo islands often exits during dried mantras, which makes Singapore and parts of Malaysia in mist.
In 2023, Indonesia which often apologizes to its neighbors on haze denied that its fire was blaming Malaysia with pollution.
