September 30, 1997
Indonesian fires no accident, Singapore
paper says
SINGAPORE (Reuter) - Singapore's leading newspaper used a stunning
series of colour photos today to make the point that fires causing choking
smog across Southeast Asia are no accident.
The satellite pictures lead to one conclusion: "Indonesia's forest fires are no
accident or act of nature," the daily Straits Times said.
It ran a series of six photos, including two before-and-after shots at the top
of the front page, to show that forests were being cleared to make way for
plantations, with fire employed as the means of getting rid of the natural
vegetation.
They also show the fires continuing into September, by which time the
smog - affecting Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines as well as
Singapore and Indonesia - had hit health-damaging levels.
"The fires raging in Kalimantan and Sumatra appear to have been started
deliberately to clear huge tracts of land on plantations as well as on small
farms," the pro-government Straits Times said.
It noted Indonesian timber barons have denied clearing their plantations
systematically by fire, and Indonesia's Co-ordinating Minister for People's
Welfare Azwar Anas said the fires were caused by drought due to the
climatic phenomenon El Nino.
But the paper quoted an environmental expert saying El Nino does not
start fires.
"Under normal forest conditions, El Nino or no, it is very difficult to burn
the forests because they remain quite wet," said Anthony Greer, a senior
lecturer in environmental science.
"But in this case, the forests have already been intensively logged, and this
makes them easier to burn."
The report says the pictures, taken by the National University of
Singapore, can pinpoint the fires within 10 to 20 metres.
They are precise enough that "by just looking at the photographs,
Indonesian authorities should be able to tell who owns a piece of land
which has been cleared by fire, or from which plumes of smoke rise," the
paper said.
Singapore Environment Minister Yeo Cheow Tong has urged Indonesia to
take firm action to control the burning, especially when next year's
fire-prone season starts.
On Tuesday, the Straits Times lashed out editorially at Indonesia, a partner
of Singapore in the Association of South East Asian Nations.
"The patience of Singaporeans and Malaysians is wearing thin," the
editorial said.
"As is evident, the cost of the haze is getting unacceptably high and it will
get higher if not enough Indonesian officials act urgently, decisively," the
daily said in a rare attack after weeks of choking smog.
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