Dozens of Indonesian men, suspected of being hired by an oil palm plantation company, threatened to kill environmental investigators checking on fires on Sumatra Island, the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry said.
The incident illustrates the difficulties Indonesia faces tackling the illegal burning of vegetation to clear land for palm oil and pulp and paper plantations that cause clouds of smoke every dry season, which at times blanket the region, raising fears for public health and air travel.
The ministry said up to 100 men detained seven investigators for about 12 hours over the weekend and threatened to burn them alive and dump their bodies in a river at an oil palm plantation in Rokan Hulu, Riau Province.
The team was following up on satellite images showing “hot spots,” or suspected fires, in a concession of PT Andika Permata Sawit Lestari (PT APSL) oil palm plantation company.
There were “strong indications” the mob was deployed by the company, the ministry said in a statement.
“With this incident, the investigation of PT APSL will become our top priority,” Indonesian Minister of Environment and Forest Siti Nurbaya Bakar said in the statement, referring to both suspected forest encroachment by the company and the detention of the team.
A company official contacted by reporters yesterday declined to comment.
The team was released only after lengthy negotiations involving police and after they agreed to delete photographic evidence and to leave behind two vehicles and equipment. The equipment and vehicles were recovered the next day.
However, the investigators managed to retrieve video footage shot by a drone showing thousands of hectares of forest had been burned illegally in and around the APSL concession.
“As far as the eye can see, an area that was once peatland has been converted into oil palm plantation,” Nurbaya said.
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