TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Commmander of the Fire Taskforce of the National Army (TNI), Brigadier General Nurendi, said that most of the burning peat land in Riau was inflicted on purpose. Nurendi denied that the fire was due to natural cause. "Amid the heat, peat land cannot burst into fire by itself," he told Tempo on Wednesday September 16.
Nurendi claimed that the peat land was possibly incinerated to open new land. "The perpetrators might be from the locals of corporate men," he said.
Moreover, he claimed that the army have deployed patrols and the police have performed investigation.
The Forestry Agency has noted that 3,043 acres of field in Riau have been burned from June to September 2015. The fire has also taken down Sultan Syarif Kasim II airport for more than a week. It also impacted school activity, as well as inflicting respiratory problems to thousands of people.
RIYAN NOFITRA