Riau Police Name 62 Suspects In Forest Fire Case

Pekanbaru, Riau, (Antarariau.com) - The Riau provincial police named 62 suspects in forest and plantation fire cases.

"We are still investigating the environmental crimes, and the number of suspects might increase," spokesman of the Riau police adjunct Commissioner Guntur Aryo Tejo said here on Saturday.

The police detained 62 suspects from April 5 to June 27, 2014.

These suspects also included alleged illegal loggers and those encroaching on forests, he said.

The suspects were allegedly involved in 41 incidents, consisting of 16 forest and plantation fire cases and 25 illegal logging and encroachment cases, he stated.

Of the total cases, 19 involving 24 suspects are being handled by the Rokan Hilir police, seven cases involving 21 suspects by the Dumai police, five cases with seven suspects by the Bengkalis police, three cases involving four suspects by the Pelalawan police, one case by the Kampar police, and two cases and two suspects are being handled by the Siak, Meranti, and Rokan Hulu police, respectively.

Four cases will be brought to court soon, he added.

This year, Indonesia is again expecting El Nino winds, which tend to become more frequent and stronger due to climate change.

Learning from the El Nino-induced forest fires in 1997 and other years, the government has been making preparations for the El Nino phenomenon, forecast to develop between May and October 2014.

If forest fires occur during the El Nino phenomenon, they can have serious repercussions since Indonesia will most likely experience an El Nino-induced drought.

"We have to anticipate El Nino and enforce legal measures against forest and plantation fire setters," Indonesian Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan recently emphasized.

The government can no longer afford to be tolerant towards those setting fires every year, therefore, repressive action must be taken to deter the perpetrators, he reiterated.