Yudhoyono to lead haze fight in Riau (ST 15.3)

[chialc88]

Yudhoyono to lead haze fight in Riau (ST 15.3)

Dr Yudhoyono called the situation on Sumatra island a 'man-made' disaster and urged all village heads to educate farmers to stop the practice of burning to clear land.

'The fire was not caused by the climate. It is deliberate burning. This will recur every year if people still burn.'

The president also did not minced his words as he scolded Coordinating Welfare Minister Agung Laksono and provincial Governor Annas Maamun for skipping the concall that also involve Vice President Boediono, Riau's deputy governor, the Attorney- General and several ministers.

Love Compassion


A Life not Reflected is a Life not Worth Living.

[rogerwilco]

Here it goes again....

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/sby-...e-debacle/

SBY Takes to Twitter Over Riau Haze Debacle
By Yudo Dahono on 12:03 pm Mar 14, 2014
Category Environment, Featured, News
Tags: Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Riau haze
Jakarta.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono aired his frustration over the Riau administration’s unsuccessful attempts to get the province’s annual forest fires under control in a flurry of tweets posted to his official Twitter account.

“I understand the restlessness and anger of some of the people over the smoke and fire happening in Riau again. *SBY*” Yudhoyono tweeted on Wednesday night.

The president criticized the local administration of failing to stop illegal land clearing on Wednesday as the haze blanketing Riau province worsened this week, spreading as far as Bukittingi, West Sumatra, where visibility dropped to 300 meters. This year’s haze, which previously showed signs of ending without a significant impact on the region, returned earlier this month as forest fires spread.

On Thursday, most of Riau and West Sumatra reported significant levels of haze, with nearly 50,000 suffering respiratory distress in Pekanbaru and the surrounding areas, according to reports by BBC Indonesia. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) reported some 183 hotspots after viewing satellite images, the BBC reported.

The BNPB plans to do additional water drops from helicopters on Friday in the latest effort to douse the flames. The agency is also working with the Indonesian Air Force to conduct cloud seeding above the heaviest hit areas, according to reports in the local news portal Jaringnews.com.

“We are prepared to cloud seed tomorrow,” Syamsul Maarif, of the BNPB, told Jaringnews.com on Thursday. “We’re planning to seed [the area] to reduce the intensity of the haze.”

Police have charged 40 people with setting fire to forest and scrubland as of Friday, according to the Indonesian news portal Tempo.co. One company, Nasional Sagu Prima, was also charged with the fires after officers reportedly discovered fires on 21 thousands hectares of land owned by the plantation company, according to the local news portal Riau Terkini.

The company, a subsidiary of Sampoerna Agro, was implicated in the haze earlier this week. Police are now investigating a dozen other companies over hotspots seen inside their concessions.

Those caught setting fires should face harsh penalties, Syamsul said.

“It is a national crime, many people are affected by the [poor] conditions,” he said. “The state will punish the perpetrators straight away.”

If local officials in Riau fail to get the burning under control, the president will oversee the mitigation efforts himself, Yudhoyono tweeted.

“If in the next 1-2 days the Riau Administration and the ministers can’t handle it, I will take over the leadership and mitigation. *SBY*” he wrote.

The president tweets about the Riau haze


“I understand the restlessness and anger of some of the people over the smoke and fire happening in Riau again. *SBY*”


“The fire and smoke was not only caused by extreme weather, but also by the local people and companies who tried to burn the land. *SBY*”


“There have been efforts from the central government, BNPB, the Army and the Police to handle the problem, but the [impact] of the results hasn’t been significant. *SBY*”


“We need to work together. We need to raise our [level of] responsibility and awareness to stop burning land uncontrollably. *SBY*”


“Even though the National Police have set 37 suspects and they will soon be on trial, the disaster will still happen again if [people] keep setting land on fire every year. *SBY*”


“Tonight I have again instructed the related ministers to do an emergency operation, using all means and tools. *SBY*”


“I also want all local officials in Riau to be on the front-lines in preventing and handling this smoke. Why does this keep happening and the people become the victim. *SBY*”


“If in the next 1-2 days the Riau Administration and the ministers can’t handle it, I will take over the leadership and mitigation. *SBY*”

[chialc88]

President SBY's order: End fires, haze in 3 weeks (ST: 18.3)

"I want us to do as much as we can so it does not burden the new president and the administration he will soon lead."

He also order them to make sure the problem does not crop up in the next 5 month until Sept, a dry period when the annual haze usually occurs.

Love Compassion


A Life not Reflected is a Life not Worth Living.

[sgd]

all these years they not motivated to do anything because they never gone thru it, now that they have tasted their own bitter medicine and it affect their own kitchen now they understand and scramble to do something.

experience is still the best teacher