Inaccurate 'CNN' report

Inaccurate 'CNN' report

I was surprised while watching Cable News Network (CNN) on
Dec. 10, by Ms. Maria Ressa's report on the haze situation in
Southeast Asia and particularly in Indonesia. I was dismayed at
the report's inaccuracy which projected an image far from the
actual situation. I feel obliged to react strongly, as reporting
on such a dramatic subject should be based on actual facts rather
than personal opinion.

Ms. Ressa's report gave the impression that the haze,
resulting from forest fires in Indonesia during the summer
months, continued to affect the populations of Indonesia's
neighboring countries. This has not been the case since the
beginning of the rainy season and the arrival of the northeast
monsoon and the northeast winds. Rain has extinguished the
remaining fires and dissipated the haze.

In fact, by mid-November satellites were only detecting the
remnants of fires in some of the areas affected and much of the
smoke had already cleared. At the same time, pollution reports
from Malaysia showed that the level of air pollutants had fallen
to a range of good to moderate. Satellite pictures showed that
the haze had receded tremendously and could no longer be seen.
Today the forest fires are all extinguished.

It is unfortunate that Ms. Ressa's report also lacked relevant
and accurate information on the measures undertaken by the
Indonesian government to combat the fires and the valuable help
and assistance it received from other countries.

I am rather disappointed that such outdated information was
broadcast around the world, giving viewers a wrong image of the
situation which may result in seriously deterring them from
planning visits to our country.

AGUS TARMIDZI

Ambassador, Permanent Representative

of Indonesia to the United Nations

and other International Organizations

Geneva