‘We want to breathe fresh air’: Indonesians on fire-ravaged island sue Prabowo, officials over haze

Residents in Indonesia's West Kalimantan have filed a class action lawsuit against the government for negligence causing frequent haze that harms health and economy.

Plaintiffs demand clean air, a national emergency declaration, free health services, and investigation into corporations burning land.

The government claims to have ongoing efforts for fire containment and health services, but residents demand more decisive actions.

PONTIANAK, Oct 14 — Every few years, residents of Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province contend with devastating wildfires that emit a noxious haze causing illnesses, shuttering schools and stifling economic activity.

Now, they’ve had enough.

Lawyers have filed a class action case claiming “negligence, omission and failure” on the part of the government that has resulted in “a massive public health crisis” in the province on Borneo island.

Their target: President Prabowo Subianto and 26 officials from the national, provincial and local government, as well as police and emergency services.

“We’re not asking for anything excessive. We’re only demanding our basic rights as citizens: clean air and a healthy environment,” Sisilius Rami told AFP at his home in the haze-blanketed city of Pontianak.

“We... want to breathe fresh air, see clear skies and enjoy the sun,” said the 29-year-old, one of four plaintiffs in the case.

Sisilius said the haze affects every aspect of daily life, disrupting schooling and outdoor activities including some farming. Anyone venturing outside must wear a mask or risk inhaling toxins.

“Children have the right to an education. The community has the right to live healthily. The government should be present to guarantee those rights, not leave people to face the consequences on their own,” he said.

The other plaintiffs are NGOs representing youth, environmental and Indigenous causes in a province with nearly six million inhabitants.

They “are all residents of the province of West Kalimantan affected by the 2026 haze disaster, whose number is so large it would not be practical to file claims individually”, the filing said.

For weeks, communities in West Kalimantan have been fighting fires that have razed vast expanses of land and befouled the air as far away as Malaysia and Singapore.

The government has deployed firefighters assisted by volunteers across affected areas, and used cloud-seeding and water-bombing, with limited success.

For the AMAN Indigenous people’s NGO, also a plaintiff, too much of the burden has fallen on individuals armed with little more than garden hoses and surgical masks.

“If the government had truly been serious about extinguishing the fires, there would be no haze anymore,” said AMAN representative Tono, who like many Indonesians has only one name.

The government should have drilled borewells, distributed sufficient firefighting equipment and deployed more water-bombing planes to communities, Tono said.

“The government has far more adequate resources and facilities than the community. Yet on the ground, it is the community that is fighting with limited means.”

The group’s lawyer, Glorio Sanen, said the Indonesian state did not prepare adequately despite having had months of warning of a particularly intense dry season due to the El Nino weather phenomenon.

“Who has the authority to lead and coordinate across ministries and levels of government? The president. That is why we have named the president as a party to the case,” he said.

‘Environmental criminals’

The plaintiffs want the government to declare a national emergency to release resources for fire containment and recovery.

They are also suing for free health services for people laid low by acute respiratory infections, and compensation for the families of those who died from it.

“We don’t want communities to continue to be victims year after year, while the same problems recur without fundamental improvements,” the lawyer said.

“This lawsuit is our way of asking the state to fulfil its obligations.”

The plaintiffs also want a thorough investigation into the causes, and point the finger at large corporations burning land to cultivate timber, rice and palm oil, or for mining.

“This haze disaster has caused extraordinarily heavy losses. In education, in health, in the economy. As a consequence of this disaster, we must uncover who bears responsibility,” Glorio said.

“We must not allow environmental criminals, arsonists who burn forest and land areas, to remain at large and unpunished while the number of victims keeps growing and their suffering worsens.”

The government told AFP it “respects” the legal action, and that “many of the concerns raised by residents are already being addressed through ongoing efforts”.

These include “ground and aerial firefighting, healthcare services for affected communities, and investigations into 95 corporations” whose activities may have contributed to the fires, the Government Communications Agency told AFP.

It highlighted a standing prohibition on land-clearing by burning, and said the government shared the plaintiffs’ goal of “clean air and an end to recurring forest and land fires”.

Sisilius is not convinced, pointing to previous major fires.

“This has already happened in 2015, it happened again in 2019, and it has happened again in 2026, in a very severe way,” he said.

“We hope the state truly shows up.”

The next court hearing is scheduled for October 21. — AFP

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印度尼西亚西加里曼丹省的居民对政府提起集体诉讼，指控政府疏忽导致频繁的雾霾损害了居民的健康和经济。

原告要求清洁空气、宣布国家进入紧急状态、提供免费医疗服务，并对焚烧土地的企业进行调查。

政府声称正在持续努力控制火灾和提供医疗服务，但居民要求采取更果断的行动。

坤甸，10 月 14 日——每隔几年，印度尼西亚西加里曼丹省的居民就会遭受毁灭性野火的侵袭，野火产生的有毒烟雾会导致疾病、学校停课和经济活动停滞。

现在，他们忍无可忍了。

律师们提起集体诉讼，声称政府存在“疏忽、不作为和失职”，导致婆罗洲岛该省出现“大规模公共卫生危机”。

他们的目标是：总统普拉博沃·苏比安托和来自国家、省和地方政府的 26 名官员，以及警察和紧急服务部门人员。

“我们并没有提出过分的要求。我们只是要求作为公民的基本权利：清洁的空气和健康的环境，”西西利乌斯·拉米在被雾霾笼罩的坤甸市家中告诉法新社。

“我们……想要呼吸新鲜空气，看到晴朗的天空，享受阳光，”这位29岁的原告说道，他是本案的四名原告之一。

西西利乌斯表示，雾霾影响着日常生活的方方面面，扰乱了学校教育和户外活动，包括一些农业活动。任何外出的人都必须佩戴口罩，否则就有吸入有毒物质的风险。

他说：“儿童享有受教育的权利。社区享有健康生活的权利。政府应该保障这些权利，而不是放任人们独自承担后果。”

其他原告均为非政府组织，代表着该省近六百万人口的青年、环境和原住民事业。

文件称，他们“都是受 2026 年雾霾灾害影响的西加里曼丹省居民，人数众多，逐一提出索赔并不实际”。

数周以来，西加里曼丹的居民一直在与大火作斗争，大火烧毁了大片土地，甚至远在马来西亚和新加坡的空气都受到了污染。

政府已在受灾地区部署了消防员和志愿者，并采用了人工降雨和水弹灭火等措施，但收效甚微。

对于原告之一的阿曼原住民非政府组织来说，太多的负担都落在了那些除了花园水管和外科口罩之外几乎一无所有的人身上。

“如果政府真的认真对待灭火工作，就不会再有烟雾了，”AMAN 代表 Tono 说，他和许多印尼人一样，只有一个名字。

托诺表示，政府本应钻井灭火，分发足够的消防设备，并向社区部署更多洒水飞机。

“政府拥有的资源和设施远比社区充足。然而在实际操作中，却是社区在资源有限的情况下奋力抗争。”

该组织的律师格洛里奥·萨宁表示，尽管印尼政府几个月来一直收到厄尔尼诺现象导致旱季异常严重的警告，但政府并未做好充分准备。

“谁有权领导和协调各部委和各级政府的工作？总统。这就是为什么我们将总统列为本案当事人，”他说。

“环境罪犯”

原告希望政府宣布国家进入紧急状态，以便调动资源用于控制火灾和灾后重建。

他们还要求为因急性呼吸道感染而卧床不起的人提供免费医疗服务，并向因感染而死亡者的家属提供赔偿。

“我们不希望社区年复一年地遭受苦难，同样的问题反复出现，却没有得到根本性的改善，”这位律师说。

“我们提起诉讼是为了要求州政府履行其义务。”

原告还希望对起火原因进行彻底调查，并将矛头指向为了种植木材、水稻和棕榈油或进行采矿而焚烧土地的大公司。

“这场雾霾灾害造成了极其严重的损失，教育、医疗、经济都受到了影响。我们必须查明这场灾害的责任方，”格洛里奥说道。

“我们绝不能允许那些纵火焚烧森林和土地的环境犯罪分子逍遥法外，不受惩罚，而受害者人数却不断增加，他们的痛苦却日益加剧。”

政府告诉法新社，它“尊重”这一法律诉讼，并且“居民提出的许多担忧正在通过持续的努力得到解决”。

政府通讯局告诉法新社，这些措施包括“地面和空中灭火、为受影响社区提供医疗保健服务，以及对 95 家可能导致火灾的公司进行调查”。

它强调了禁止焚烧土地的现行禁令，并表示政府与原告有着共同的目标，即“清洁的空气和结束反复发生的森林和土地火灾”。

西西利乌斯对此并不信服，他指出之前也发生过重大火灾。

他说：“这种情况在 2015 年已经发生过，2019 年又发生了一次，2026 年又发生了一次，而且情况非常严重。”

“我们希望州政府能够真正履行职责。”

下次庭审定于10月21日举行。——法新社

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马来西亚部长表示，马来西亚正在建设自己的数字云以保障数据主权。

宗教部长呼吁穆斯林集体祈祷，将其作为对抗雾霾的“武器”。

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