Govt to suspend 12 firms for igniting forest fire

JAKARTA (JP): The government will suspend the operations of 12 plantation firms in North Sumatra and Riau which are alleged to have started forest fires which have caused smoke to engulf parts of the region, an official at the Ministry of Forestry and Plantations said.

"We will order these 12 plantation firms in the provinces of Riau and North Sumatra to suspend their business activities," the ministry's secretary-general, Soeripto, said on Tuesday.

Soeripto refused to name the firms, but said most operated oil palm plantations.

Citing the evidence of satellite photographs, head of Riau branch of the Environmental Impact Management Agency (Bapedal) T.M. Alamsyah identified last week several private companies which he accused of being involved in such land clearing activities: PT Inti Prona, PT Esa Indah Timber, PT Shorea Meranti Timber, PT Rokan Permai TBR, PT Mandau Abadi, PT Perkasa Baru, PT Triomas LT Forestry Indonesia, PT Expra Baru, PT Kulim Coy, PT Indowood and PT Dwi Marta.

Soeripto said on Tuesday his office would take legal action against errant companies. If found guilty of causing the fires, the owners of the firms could receive a maximum of five years in prison and a fine of Rp 5 billion (US$555,555), according to a forestry law enacted last year.

Soeripto added the government would intensify its air surveillance over Sumatra and Kalimantan by deploying more helicopters in the areas and setting up a task force to handle the problem of forest fires.

"We will do everything we can to prevent this issue from becoming another national disaster," he said.

The government has repeatedly blamed the use of fire to clear land by both large companies and individual farmers for the thick haze which caused health problems in Indonesia and several neighboring countries in 1997 and 1998.

With the arrival of the dry season, the fires have again returned over the past several weeks, mostly in Sumatra and parts of Kalimantan.

Recent fires on Sumatra have sent smoke over parts of neighboring Malaysia, Singapore and as far as southern Thailand.

In Medan, the capital of North Sumatra, the thick haze which enveloped the city for the past several days eased on Tuesday following heavy rain overnight.

Polonia Airport, where the haze had caused air traffic to be suspended, resumed operations on Tuesday.

"The rain is very helpful in eliminating the haze," an official at the airport said.

The Meteorology and Geophysics Agency reported last Friday morning that visibility had dropped to about 1,000 meters, resulting in the airport's closure.

"The children can go out and play now, the people can resume activities such as going to school or to work without fear of having an accident due to a lack of visibility. But we fear that once the rain ends, thick smoke will gradually cover the sky again," a local reporter said.

The local administration also warned residents to be on the lookout for new fires, following a recent report the dry season in the province would last until September.

There may be occasional rain, but it is feared it will not be sufficient to quench the haze, a staff member at the agency said. (dja/39/edt)