Indonesia accused of ‘gross negligence’ in wildfires lawsuit as haze tests region

The Indonesian government has been accused of “gross negligence” in a class action lawsuit over its handling of wildfires that have cloaked large parts of South-east Asia in a toxic haze, shuttered schools and caused a spike in respiratory illnesses.

The lawsuit, filed by indigenous and civil society groups in the Indonesian part of Borneo, named President Prabowo Subianto and the governor of West Kalimantan among 10 defendants. The case seeks comprehensive recovery and rehabilitation measures that would include covering the healthcare costs of residents.

None of those named in the lawsuit attended the opening day of court in West Kalimantan’s provincial capital Pontianak on Wednesday, leading judges to adjourn the hearing until 21 October.

“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,” the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Glorio Sanen, told reporters.

Sanen said the case was “a step to address the problem” of wildfires that flare up annually in Indonesia, where they are often lit as a cheap way to clear land for oil palm planting.

Indonesia, the world’s largest producer of palm oil, has been accused of not doing enough to stop the so-called “slash and burn” land clearances, although the government has vowed a crackdown and deployed the military to fight the fires.

The blazes hit a crisis point this year due to an unusually intense El Niño weather phenomenon, which has created drier-than-usual conditions, sending a putrid smog to Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore, and even the Philippines.

The transboundary haze has angered Indonesia’s neighbours. Schools in the Malaysian state of Johor, just north of Singapore, were to be closed on Thursday and Friday due to deteriorating air quality, local authorities said.

The four plaintiffs in the West Kalimantan lawsuit, which was filed last month, include a chapter of Indigenous NGO AMAN and the local branch of Catholic ​Youth.

Yakobus Kumis, a plaintiff representing a Dayak ethnic group, indigenous to the island of Borneo, expressed disappointment that government representatives did not attend this week’s hearing, saying it was a “way of the central government teaching the people that violating the law is OK.”

He said the government ignored warning signs ahead of the fires breaking out, and called for the smoke crisis to be classified as a national disaster.

A similar lawsuit filed last year at a court in South Sumatra was dismissed.

The presidential office did not immediately ⁠respond to a request for comment.