Susilo pledges stern action against illegal logging<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono reiterated his pledge on
\nThursday to fight illegal logging and crack down on officials,
\npolice and military personnel found to be supporting it.<\/p>\n
\"The government will deal seriously with this logging that has
\ndestroyed our forests... What loggers and smugglers have done so
\nhas caused huge losses to the nation and the state,\" he told a
\nmeeting of governors, mayors and regents in Kalimantan, as
\nreported by Antara.<\/p>\n
Police, military chiefs and community figures also attended
\nthe meeting held in Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
Earlier Susilo had flown by helicopter over the Tanjung Puting
\nNational Park where he saw how many hectares of the protected
\nforest had been destroyed by logging or illegal burn-offs for
\nland clearing.<\/p>\n
He was accompanied by his wife, Kristiani Herawati, National
\nPolice chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar and forestry minister Malam Sabat
\nKaban, chief security minister Widodo Adi Sucipto, justice
\nminister Hamid Awaludin, home affairs minister M. Ma'ruf and
\nindustry minister Andung Nitimihardja.<\/p>\n
Susilo said his visit to Pangkalan Bun was the government's
\nfirst step to stop widespread deforestation blamed on illegal
\nloggers.<\/p>\n
\"From this moment, I instruct all central and local
\nadministration heads, in particular law enforcers, not to
\ntolerate illegal loggers and smugglers,\" he said to applause from
\nthe audience.<\/p>\n
Susilo told local administrations to be more careful in
\ngranting forest concessions in order to prevent further misuse.<\/p>\n
\"For law enforcers, they should not hesitate to take firm
\naction against illegal loggers and their backers,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Susilo said he summoned Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh on
\nWednesday to provide him with reports about law enforcement in
\ncases that caused huge losses to the state, including illegal
\nlogging.<\/p>\n
Last Friday, Susilo made a similar pledge in Jakarta that his
\ngovernment would take \"tough action\" against illegal loggers.<\/p>\n
He described widespread deforestation -- much of it done with
\nthe complicity of corrupt government officials -- the hunting of
\nprotected wildlife and maritime pollution as \"serious\" problems.<\/p>\n
\"The government will get tough with the perpetrators and will
\ntake them to court where they will receive severe punishments,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
\"We will not allow this greed to continue,\" he told guests
\nattending a ceremony marking National Wildlife Day.<\/p>\n
Susilo, who took office on Oct. 20, has pledged broad reforms
\nto clean up government, also said the use of dynamite for fishing
\nin many remote provinces was damaging Indonesia's famed coral
\nreefs.<\/p>\n
Widespread deforestation has depleted Indonesia's once-rich
\nnatural heritage, while fires in illegal land clearing operations
\nhave caused hazy smog -- a problem to Indonesia and also to
\nneighboring Singapore and Malaysia.<\/p>\n
The deforestation is also thought to have increased deadly
\nfloods and landslides in the country.<\/p>\n
The involvement of military and police officials in illegal
\nlogging is common across much of the huge archipelago.<\/p>\n
A 2002 report by the World Resources Institute, Global Forest
\nWatch, and Forest Watch Indonesia Reports said Indonesia was
\nlosing nearly two million hectares of forest annually -- an area
\nhalf the size of Switzerland.<\/p>\n
Forest cover fell from 162 million hectares in 1950 to 98
\nmillion hectares in 2000, they said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/susilo-pledges-stern-action-against-illegal-logging-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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