Panglima Jilah: Do Not Blame Indigenous Farmers for Forest Fires
The supreme leader of the Tariu Borneo Bangkule Rajakng (TBBR) Red Army, Panglima Jilah, has called for indigenous farming practices not to be equated with plantation activities in the issue of forest and land fires (karhutla) in West Kalimantan.
According to him, indigenous communities have farming practices that have been passed down for generations and are carried out on mineral soil, not peatland.
He is concerned that this situation has led to farmers being blamed when fires occur at the same time as plantation activities.
“Yes, in West Kalimantan forest and land fires have actually occurred frequently. But what concerns us is that farmers are being blamed. Farming and plantation activities sometimes happen at the same time. In the end, the farmers are blamed,” said Panglima Jilah at the Presidential Palace in Central Jakarta on Friday (28/8).
“People farm on mineral soil. So when the timing coincides, people who do not understand how we farm or how we live there end up accusing farmers of being the source of the smoke,” he continued.
Panglima Jilah said indigenous communities do not farm on peatland because the land characteristics are different. He noted that the Dayak people have practised farming for a long time without experiencing incidents like the forest and land fires occurring today.
“A farmer would never want to plant rice in a peatland area. That is simply the logic,” he said.
Panglima Jilah also responded to the ban on open burning in forest and land fire management. According to him, the ban needs to be distinguished from the local wisdom practices of indigenous communities.
“That applies specifically to plantations (indiscriminate land burning). Local wisdom cannot be treated the same way,” he said.
He said President Prabowo Subianto also supports indigenous communities and farmers. Therefore, Panglima Jilah hopes that forest and land fire management will not lead to misidentification of people carrying out farming activities.
“He (President Prabowo) supports indigenous communities. Farmers are supported,” he said.
Panglima Jilah even said there is a possibility that farmers arrested during forest and land fire operations are victims of wrongful arrest. He said indigenous communities will help review and screen such cases.
“There is a possibility that individuals who burned forests have been arrested, but there may also be wrongful arrests — someone farming may have been mistaken for someone running a plantation. We will screen these cases later,” he said.
On the other hand, he said indigenous communities continue to monitor land burning activities. According to him, people who burn land for farming are also responsible for overseeing their own land.
“Indigenous communities always monitor. So if we burn our farmland, that is where we will carry out the monitoring,” he said.
He added that indigenous communities also conduct outreach through traditional leaders to ensure burning is not carried out carelessly. These efforts, he said, are linked to the close relationship between indigenous communities and the environment.
“Indigenous communities socialise through traditional leaders so that forests are not burned carelessly. Indigenous communities are synonymous with being close to nature. Without nature, there would be no indigenous communities. We protect it,” he said.
Panglima Jilah previously met President Prabowo at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Friday (28/8). During the meeting, he said the issue of forest and land fires in West Kalimantan was also discussed.
“We discussed forest and land fires. He (President Prabowo) is helping us through personnel, and this has already begun — we have been discussing forest and land fires for about a week,” he said.
He also conveyed a number of government supports for West Kalimantan, including traditional houses, schools, scholarships, roads, infrastructure, hospitals, and support from the TNI and Polri.
Regarding forest and land fire management, Panglima Jilah said he has provided input on the need for additional personnel and the President expressed willingness to help. He also mentioned that cloud seeding efforts and the addition of helicopters have been carried out.
Amid these efforts, the government is also investigating alleged corporate involvement in forest and land fires in West Kalimantan. One of them, PT MAP, has been named a corporate suspect in a case in Mempawah Regency on 14 August 2026.
Meanwhile, in Ketapang Regency, authorities are still investigating alleged encroachment of forest areas in the Sungai Tengar-Pesaguan Production Forest and have not yet named any suspects.