The Indonesian government is facing legal action over allegations that authorities were seriously negligent in handling forest fires that have blanketed parts of Borneo with thick haze.
The class action was heard for the first time at a court in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, on Wednesday, after four plaintiffs, including a local branch of indigenous rights organisation AMAN, filed the lawsuit last month.
President Prabowo Subianto and the Governor of West Kalimantan are among 10 defendants named in the case.
Plaintiffs’ lawyer Glorio Sanen said the lawsuit seeks to address the recurring forest fires that have been linked to forest destruction and worsened this year by an El Niño phenomenon that brought unusually dry conditions.
Indonesia has been struggling to contain fires across Sumatra, Papua and Borneo in recent weeks, with thick smoke spreading across neighbouring Malaysia and Singapore.
In West Kalimantan, the haze has forced schools to close and sent hundreds of residents for medical treatment over respiratory problems.
According to AFP, none of the 10 defendants attended the first court hearing.
The plaintiffs accuse the government of failing to properly address a problem that returns almost every year and are seeking a declaration that the fires and resulting haze constitute a national disaster.
They are also demanding comprehensive measures to restore affected areas, including requiring the government to cover healthcare costs for residents affected by the haze.
However, the legal challenge faces an uncertain path, as a similar lawsuit filed in South Sumatra last year was rejected by the court.
