Indigenous, civil-society groups sue Prabowo over forest fire response

JAKARTA, Sept 19 (Reuters) - A ‌group of ​indigenous ​and civil-society organisations in Indonesia's West Kalimantan has filed a class-action lawsuit against President Prabowo Subianto ‌and other authorities over their handling of forest ⁠fires in the region, its lawyer said on Saturday.

Below are more ‌details:

• The case was registered ‌at the Pontianak court in West Kalimantan with the first hearing scheduled for October 7, the court filing ​shows.

• "This lawsuit was filed in response to the West Kalimantan public's concerns over the government's negligence and failure ⁠to prevent and tackle forest and land fires that recur every year," Glorio ​Sanen, the plaintiffs' lawyer told Reuters on Saturday.

• The presidential office did not immediately respond to ​request for comment.

• The plaintiffs are ‌West Kalimantan chapter of the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago, West Kalimantan branch of ⁠Catholic Youth, Perkumpulan Laman Punyung Indonesia and an individual, Sisilius Rami, the filing shows.

• Indonesia is battling its most intense wildfires ⁠in 11 years and the government has warned that the fires ​could continue until November this year.

• In 2016, a lawsuit was brought by seven Indonesian residents against then-President Joko Widodo, his cabinet ‌ministers and local governments over their handling of forest fires in 2015.

• After initially winning ‌at the district court, the decision on 2016's lawsuit was ⁠overturned when the Supreme ‌Court granted the government's ​petition for judicial review in 2022, according to media reports.

(Reporting by Stefanno Sulaiman; Editing by Sam ‌Holmes)

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