TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Klakah District Police in Lumajang is investigating the fire which destroyed 500 hectares of forested area in Mount Lemongan. "We have spoken to two witnesses so far," said the Klakah District Police Chief Adj. Comr. Sutopo on Wednesday, October 1, 2014.
Sutopo said that although no parties came forward to report the fire which has burned since last week, police will begin an investigation into the matter anyway because the burnt forests are located within the jurisdiction of Klakah District Police and Ranuyoso District Police. "The majority of the area is within the jurisdiction of the Ranuyoso Police," said Sutopo.
Sutopo regrets the fact that state-owned forestry firm Perhutani did not report the incident to the police when it happened. According to Sutopo, Perhutani as the administrator of the forest should have assumed the responsibility to report the incident to authorities. "This is bizarre, why did Perhutani fail to report the incident," said Sutopo.
According to Sutopo, the two witnesses knew about the beginning of the fire. If the fire was deliberately set, then police would not hesitate to prosecute those involved in the incident to set an example to communities that protected forests cannot be burnt down for any reason.
A ranger at Mount Lemongan, Abdullah al-Kudus, suspects that the fire was deliberately set by arsonist who did it for commercial purposes. "I suspect that the arsonists are a part of an organized group who wanted to clear the lands for other purposes," said Abdullah.
DAVID PRIYASIDHARTA
