PONTIANAK, Oct 14 — Every few years, residents of Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province contend with devastating wildfires that emit a noxious haze causing illnesses, shuttering schools and stifling economic activity.
Lawyers have filed a class action case claiming “negligence, omission and failure” on the part of the government that has resulted in “a massive public health crisis” in the province on Borneo island.
Their target: President Prabowo Subianto and 26 officials from the national, provincial and local government, as well as police and emergency services.
“We’re not asking for anything excessive. We’re only demanding our basic rights as citizens: clean air and a healthy environment,” Sisilius Rami told AFP at his home in the haze-blanketed city of Pontianak.
