Indonesian police arrest 72 people as fires blanket region in smoke

Indonesian authorities have arrested 72 individuals suspected of deliberately starting forest and peatland fires that are blanketing the region in a harmful haze. The blazes, exacerbated by an intensifying El Niño pattern and a prolonged dry season, have generated dense smoke that has crossed into Malaysia, according to Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency.

These fires are a recurring issue in Indonesia, frequently straining relations with neighboring countries. Plantation owners and traditional farmers often use fires to clear land for agriculture, a practice that contributes to the severe air pollution. Mohammad Irhamni, director of special crimes at the National Police's Criminal Investigation Agency, stated that the suspects are being investigated in connection with 89 cases across Borneo and Sumatra.

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We will not stop at the perpetrators on the ground. We will determine who benefited from these activities and who was ultimately behind them.

Investigators are examining financial records to uncover whether companies orchestrated or funded the land clearing, indicating a potential expansion of the probe beyond those apprehended on the ground. "We will not stop at the perpetrators on the ground," Brigadier General Irhamni declared. "We will determine who benefited from these activities and who was ultimately behind them."

President Prabowo Subianto visited Central Kalimantan, an area heavily affected by the fires, urging authorities to control the haze. He pledged government resources, including helicopters and water pumps, and vowed accountability for any companies found complicit. "I hope we can control this soon," he said, expressing confidence in overcoming the crisis, as Indonesia has experienced worse in the past.

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I hope we can control this soon. We have experienced worse forest and land fires in the past, and we were able to overcome them.