Jon Afrizal and Andi Hajramurni, The Jakarta Post, Jambi/Makassar | Archipelago | Sat, October 04 2014, 12:30 PM

Jambi Police chief spokesman Adj. Comr. Wirmanto revealed on Friday that the force was currently investigating five forest and peatland fires.

Of the five cases, he said, two were being handled by the Batanghari Police, while the three other cases fell under the remit of the East Tanjungjabung, West Tanjungjabung and Tebo police forces.

“In total, we have named 13 suspects. They are being held at the respective regency police precincts,” Wirmanto stated.

In the two cases handled by the Batanghari Police, three people have been named suspects. Wirmanto said one case had been submitted to the local prosecutor’s office while the other case was still being probed.

“The West Tanjungjabung Police have named eight suspects and the case has been submitted to the prosecutor’s office,” he said.

The East Tanjungjabung and Tebo regency police forces have each named one suspect. Both cases are still being looked into.

“We are currently paying special attention to four regencies prone to forest and peatland fires, namely Sarolangun, Tebo, West Tanjungjabung and Batanghari,” Wirmanto said.

The suspects have been charged with violating environmental law, government regulations on the environment and Article 187 of the Criminal Code on action that causes fire. Article 187 is designed to be brought against those who intentionally set fire to forest and peatland.

Wirmanto added that the Jambi Police had formed an integrated task force to draw up an action plan on the mitigation of forest and peatland fires and haze.

“The task force comprises officers from the Jambi Police headquarters and regency police forces,” he said.

“Later on, the task force will also involve the Indonesian Military [TNI], as well as relevant agencies,” he added.

Wirmanto said the task force was part of Jambi Police chief Brig. Gen. Bambang Sudarisman’s drive to prevent the problems caused by forest and peatland fires.

The duties of the task force include disseminating information to the public and companies on the negative effects of forest and peatland fires, as well as cross-sector coordination. The task force will also enforce the law.

“We will legally process offenders. The existence of the force has already been made known to the public,” Wirmanto said.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency’s (BMKG) Region IV Makassar, Hanafi, said that the city had been suffering from prolonged drought and temperatures of up to 35 degrees Celsius.

He explained that the drought had lasted since May and had reached its peak in August and September. He blamed the situation on global warming and el Nino (a band of warm ocean water temperatures), while predicting that the drought would end early next month.