Indonesians on fire-ravaged island sue state for clean air

PONTIANAK, Indonesia: 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.

"LIMITED MEANS"

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 Oct 21.