Indonesia agrees to international help in fighting raging blazes
Indonesia has welcomed help from the international community to combat wildfires that are sending a blanket of haze over some of the Southeast Asia country’s neighbors.
Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir said Thursday an agreement has been reached to receive help from “a number of our partners in our efforts to suppress the forest fires.”
“We are working with a number of countries, including Singapore,” he said.
The blazes have created a large haze dangerously cloaking the skies of some of Indonesia’s neighbors since last month.
With the haze clouds spreading and causing more air pollution, tensions have been rising between Jakarta and its neighbors as many of them accuse the Asian country of not controlling its industries, which they blame for the fires.
Neighboring Singapore’s biggest supermarket chain earlier withdrew paper products made by an Indonesia-owned company accused of being behind the fires.
The haze has covered Singapore and Malaysia in acrid smog, decreasing air quality, closing schools and forcing the cancellation of outdoor events.
Indonesia has deployed about 25,000 personnel as well as aircraft to combat the blazes mainly on the western Sumatra Island, and the Indonesian part of Borneois Island, located north of the country and shared by Malaysia.
Haze caused by forest fires is an annual problem in Indonesia; the recent case, though, has been one of the worst in the country.
The blazes were reportedly caused by companies as well as small-scale farmers who use the illegal slash-and-burn method to clear vegetation for palm oil, pulp and paper plantations.
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