Indonesian police arrest 44 suspected of starting forest fires spreading toxic haze
Indonesian authorities have arrested 44 people accused of deliberately igniting forest and peatland fires that are blanketing parts of Southeast Asia with toxic haze, officials confirmed on Wednesday.
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said the fires—an annual crisis in Indonesia—are frequently started illegally by plantation owners or traditional farmers seeking to clear land for planting, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
“Forest fires are not caused only by drought, but also by humans,” said Suharyanto, head of BNPB. “Hopefully these arrests will serve as a deterrent to the public to stop setting fires to clear land.”
Police presented the suspects, including one woman, during a news conference in Pekanbaru, the capital of Riau province. Thick haze continues to blanket parts of Riau, with the worst-hit districts, Rokan Hilir and Rokan Hulu, suffering fires that have destroyed around five square kilometers of land, severely reducing visibility.
The suspects could face prosecution under Indonesia’s environmental protection law, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for deliberately setting land on fire.
Authorities are using cloud-seeding techniques—dispersing tons of salt into clouds to induce rain—to combat fires in Riau, a process expected to continue until July 25.
Indonesia has a long history of battling seasonal fires on Sumatra and Borneo islands, which often cause cross-border disputes when thick smoke drifts into neighboring Singapore, Malaysia, and southern Thailand.
In 2019, police arrested 230 people linked to similar blazes. While Jakarta often apologizes for the haze, in 2023 the government denied responsibility for air pollution affecting Malaysia.
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