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View all search resultsPlaintiffs criticize government's no-show at forest-fire class-action hearing in Pontianak
Four plaintiffs, including a local chapter of Indigenous NGO AMAN, filed the class action lawsuit last month at a court in Pontianak in West Kalimantan.
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Firefighters from specialized peatland wildfire tactical unit, Manggala Agni, direct a high-pressure water stream at a burning area in a vast field of tall dry grass in Ogan Ilir, South Sumatra on September 25, 2026. Low visibility caused by persistent forest fires has hampered both commercial air travel and aerial firefighting operations across the province. (AFP/Al Zulkifly)
T
he Indonesian government was accused of "gross negligence" in a court case that opened on Wednesday against the president and other officials over a toxic haze emitted by wildfires that blanketed parts of Kalimantan.
The plaintiffs are the West Kalimantan chapter of the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago, the West Kalimantan branch of Catholic Youth, Perkumpulan Laman Punyung Indonesia and an individual, Sisilius Rami, a court filing showed.
The region has been hit hard by fires and smoke that have shuttered schools and forced hundreds to seek medical help for respiratory ailments.
President Prabowo Subianto and the governor of West Kalimantan are among 10 defendants.
The plaintiffs' lawyer Glorio Sanen said after the first hearing that the case was "a step to address the problem" of annual wildfires blamed largely on forest destruction and fuelled this year by an exceptionally intense episode of the drought-causing El Nino weather phenomenon.
Indonesia has for weeks battled to control fires that have burned through vast swathes of Sumatra, Papua and Kalimantan, spewing a choking smog as far as Malaysia and Singapore.
None of the defendants were present, according to an AFP reporter in the courtroom on Wednesday.
"We feel sad and regretful about their absence... But on the other hand, we also understand that perhaps this haze condition caused them to be unable to land in Pontianak," Glorio told reporters.
Yakobus Kumis, a plaintiff representing a Dayak ethnic group, expressed disappointment that central government representatives did not attend the hearing.
"They did not show up. This is a way of the central government teaching the people that violating the law is okay," Yakobus said.
Hundreds of flights have been disrupted by the putrid smoke.
The plaintiffs have accused the government of "gross negligence" for failing to address what has been a recurring problem, according to a court filing seen by AFP.
They want the government to declare a national disaster allowing for comprehensive recovery and rehabilitation measures that would include covering the healthcare costs of affected residents.
Judges adjourned the hearing until October 21 due to the government's absence from the proceedings.
The presidential office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, when contacted by Reuters.
A similar lawsuit filed last year at a court in South Sumatra was dismissed.
