KoPi – The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), a social organisation concerned with the environment, has released a list of big companies causing the forest and land fires in Indonesia.

Parliza Hendrawan, Palembang – The bad old practices of the New Order dictatorship of former President Suharto are still being applied in some government agencies in Indonesia.

Despite repeated pledges by the government that it will put an end to the massive forest fires sweeping across Riau, Kalimantan and Sumatra, which have been widely blamed on big and usually politically connected wood pulp and palm oil companies clearing land ahead of the planting season, the choking haze blanketing a large swathe of South-East A

Environmental activists say that in order to avoid legal liability for the massive forest fires sweeping across Riau, Sumatra and Kalimantan, big palm oil and wood pulp companies pay local people to start fires that conveniently spread onto their concession areas providing a cheap way to clear land ahead of the planting season.

The government and other circles have agreed to restrict the room to maneuver for non-government organisations (NGOs) that disrupt national sovereignty. Not only that, they could also face criminal charges.

These moves are linked with a black campaign against palm oil plantations taking place at the moment.