Prabowo Calls Forest Arsonists ‘Environmental Terrorists’

President Prabowo Subianto addressed forest and land fires in several parts of Indonesia during a plenary Cabinet meeting at Merdeka Palace in Central Jakarta on Wednesday (21 October 2026). He said the fires were caused by human intervention.

Prabowo said he did not hesitate to describe individuals who deliberately set forests alight as environmental terrorists.

He called on the police, the Attorney General’s Office, the Forestry Ministry, the Indonesian Military and intelligence agencies to investigate those responsible for the fires.

“Many corporations have turned out to bear responsibility, and members of the public have also caught individuals deliberately setting fires. We can regard this as environmental terrorism,” Prabowo said.

He also stressed that deliberate forest burning was a crime against humanity because it endangered the health of millions of Indonesians. The government, he said, could not treat the issue lightly.

“We are now tackling this on a large scale, but we will also investigate it fully. This time, we cannot continue to act as usual. If the evidence is clear, we will act and revoke all permits held by companies that have violated the rules.

“And for certain countries that like to insult Indonesia, in due course we will expose their companies,” Prabowo concluded.