Politicians Burned by Forest Fires
10/2/97
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Headline: Politicians Burned by Forest Fires
Source: Agence France-Presse
Dated: 10/2/97
Copyright 1997 by Agence France-Presse
JAKARTA, Oct 2 (AFP) - Indonesia has been stung by international
criticism of its action over forest fires burning out of control
across the country, which on top of a choking smog has caused
political torment.
President Suharto, southeast Asia's longest serving leader, last
month offered Indonesia's "most sincere apologies" to its neighbours
for what many experts have called an ecological disaster.
Forestry Minister Jamaluddin Suryohadikusumo on Wednesday took
the blame for the failure to stop the fiery devastation of the rain
forests.
The president has not yet acted on Jamaluddin's guilty plea but
there have been calls for at least two other ministers to make
similar confessions.
Singapore, Malaysia and parts of Thailand and the Philippines
have seen their skies blackened out to varying degrees by the smog,
which has also been linked to an Airbus crash last Friday which left
all 234 passengers and crew dead.
Nearly all of Indonesia's allies in the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations have called on Jakarta to take action to stop the
fires and make sure there is no repeat.
Ironically, the Jakarta skies have remained blue throughout the
crisis, but the smog has made for a stinging loss of face in a
region that favors consensus over confrontation.
Mounting evidence that greed was a major factor has provoked an
extraordinary amount of open criticism, rarely seen during Suharto's
33-year iron rule.
"As an Indonesian I feel ashamed to look at the facts. We have
almost 200 million people but have shown ourselves to be indifferent
to the suffering of people affected by the smoke," S.P. Sugiyanto
wrote in a letter to the Suara Karya daily.
"We have been inconsiderate toward our neighbors," he added.
Foreign experts have warned that the fires, blamed on relentless
land clearing to open new areas for palm oil, rubber and
government-sponsored settlers from the congested Java and Bali
islands, could smolder for years.
Jakarta resident Deandri Kusuma Agus wrote to Media Indonesia
that he was "touched" by Malaysia's initiative in sending more than
1,000 firefighters to held in the crisis.
"Where is our sense of solidarity as a nation and as a member of
the southeast Asian community?" he asked. "What if the smog starts
to invade our cities? Do we only feel the urgency of the problem
when the haze hits our big cities?"
The Republika daily, saying Indonesia had been found wanting on
the handling of crises like political riots, a currency crisis,
famine and accidents, called for "national repentance" to save the
country "from larger disasters in the future."
The media has also turned against the government's handling of
the fires.
"This is a class act unmatched by his fellow cabinet members,"
the Indonesian Observer newspaper said of the forestry minister's
confession.
It criticized two other members of the cabinet who dismissed the
extent of the problem or said Indonesia could not be blamed for a
natural disaster. The Observer said Coordinating Minister for
People's Welfare Azwar Anas and Trade Minister Tunky Ariwibowo, were
suffering from "cabinet fatigue."
Anas had rejected compensation claims for the fires while Tunky
reportedly dismissed the haze as "much ado about nothing."
The Observer said some cabinet ministers have "overstayed their
welcome," but did not name them. "We surely can do without ministers
who lack sensitivity toward the plight of others," it commented.
Academic and political analyst, Afan Gaffar, said Jamaluddin's
move "should become a tradition for the Indonesian bureaucracy,"
Kompas reported.
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