Thousands of students have staged days of demonstrations across Indonesia protesting the government’s response to toxic haze that has blanketed multiple cities and several other nations in Southeast Asia JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Thousands of students across Indonesia have protested for days over the government’s response to toxic haze that has blanketed multiple cities and spread across Southeast Asia in recent weeks. On Friday, more than 500 protesters gathered outside the Central Kalimantan Governor’s Office in the provincial capital of Palangkaraya, demanding solutions to the haze. Some held signs that read “haze emergency” and “If we burn, you burn with us!” Protests spread to more than half a dozen Indonesian cities this week, including on the island of Borneo, where many of the fires are burning.
Indonesia’s haze is primarily caused by forest and peatland fires, often started to clear land for farming. While such fires are common during dry season, which usually begins in April, this year’s are the worst on record. The haze has triggered health concerns and ignited public backlash from Singapore, Malaysia and others in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Student and civil society groups have demanded stronger action on the haze for months. Some called for Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto to declare a national emergency and take more aggressive steps to prevent the agricultural practices blamed for fueling the blazes. Some student-led protests have merged with ongoing demonstrations over Indonesia’s struggling economy.
Volunteer firefighters extinguishing blazes around Palangkaraya told The that they hoped that rain would come soon. More than 333,470 residents have suffered acute respiratory illnesses across the seven provinces affected by the haze since mid-August, according to Indonesia’s Ministry of Health. Indonesia’s forests were a tinderbox because there was less rain during the wet season.
Experts blame this on extreme heat, climate change and an intensifying El Niño that may be the strongest in living memory. Singapore and Kuala Lumpur were ranked among the most polluted cities in the world this month by the global air quality monitoring platform IQAir, with many considering this the worst haze crisis to affect the region in over a decade. Singaporean officials, who have warned the country’s air quality may deteriorate further, are taking legal action against seven companies in Indonesia that Singapore blames for causing the fires.
Slash-and-burn agricultural practices are common across Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, with burning seasons typically running from January to April. Regional efforts to tackle the issue have lagged. It is that blame becomes a habit and gets in the way of the cooperation we need.” The ’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations.
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