Govt to suspend 12 firms for igniting forest fire

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)