Indonesian police arrest 72 people suspected of starting forest fires
Indonesian police have arrested 72 individuals suspected of starting forest and peatland fires to clear land for plantations. President Prabowo Subianto has pledged government resources to combat the resulting haze and vowed to hold corporate entities accountable for the environmental damage.
Why it matters
The fires contribute to severe regional air pollution and highlight ongoing tensions between agricultural land-clearing practices and environmental sustainability in Southeast Asia.
JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Indonesian police on Sunday arrested 72 people suspected of starting some of the recent forest and peatland fires as huge blazes in central and western parts of the country triggered a harmful cloud known as a choking haze.
Indonesia has been battling fires driven by an intensifying El Nino pattern and a prolonged dry season, generating dense smoke that crossed into Malaysia , according to Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency, or BNPB.
Fires are a regular problem in the country and often strain relations with neighbors.
Plantation owners and traditional farmers often start fires to clear land for farming, said Mohammad Irhamni, director of special crimes at the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Agency.
The arson suspects were being investigated in connection with 89 forest and land fire cases across five provinces on the island of Borneo and four on Sumatra, Irhamni said.
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