Jayapura, Jubi – Amnesty International has called on the government to stop suppressing protest over forest and land fires and declare a national disaster to accelerate the response to the crisis.
The call follows reports of excessive force and violence by security personnel against protesters demonstrating over forest and land fires, known in Indonesia as Karhutla, in several parts of the country.
Amnesty International Indonesia executive director Usman Hamid condemned violence by both state and non-state actors during demonstrations in several regions, warning that the involvement of non-state actors in responding to protest was particularly dangerous.
He said a wave of demonstration over the past week in Banda Aceh, Jambi, Jakarta, Makassar, Pontianak, Samarinda and Jayapura reflected a human rights crisis linkied to the fires.
The protests were also an expression of solidarity with millions of people affected by smoke from the fires, he said.
However, rather than listening to public concerns, the state had responded with what he described as repression.
“Protests are demanding several things: the declaration of a national disaster, free healthcare guarantees, budget transparency and firm action against corporations responsible for environmental destruction,” Hamid said in a written statement on Saturday, 24 October 2026.
He said the government had responded to the ecological emergency with familiar pattern of neglect, suppression and repression.
“The government has failed to fulfil at least two of its obligations in dealing with the forest and land fires. The first is its failure to protect citizens ‘rights to life and physical health,” he said.
Hamid cited data from Indonesia’s Ministry of Health showing a cumulative 333,470 cases of acute respiratory infections in areas affected by the fires, including 75,172 cases among children under five.
The ministry has also warned that prolonged smoke exposure could contribute to mental health problems, stress and anxiety.
Meanwhile, data from Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) indicated that the risk of death for residents of Central Kalimantan, West Kalimantan and South Kalimantan was three to four times higher than for residents of Java, Hamd said.
According to figures to the deaths of a six-year-old child in North Kayong, West Kalimantan, and a one-year-old child in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, reportedly from a respiratory infection in mid-October, while their communities were affected by smoke from the fires.
He said the government’s response had also undermined the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
“When people take to the streets to express their concerns, officials choose to remain silent, while security personnel respond with excessive force,” he said.
In Jakarta, authorities reportedly forcibly removed a Greenpeace Indonesia banner from the Welcome Monument.
Other reports of violence against protesters included baton strikes in Gorontalo, tear gas fired in Jambi and water cannon used in Pontianak.
Hamid said these responses raised concerns about whether security forces were complying with the principle of proportionality.
He added that repression of environmental criticism extended beyond street protest into the digital sphere and the legal system.
This included allegations of shadow-banning content critical of the fires, as well as an alleged attempt by the Jakarta Metropolitan Police to criminalize Dandhy Laksono, director of the documentary Pesta Babi (Pig Feast), which criticized extensive deforestation for the plantation industry.
Hamid said the police summons for Laksono to undergo questioning amounted to an attempt to silence civic space.
Amnesty International Indonesia said the reported physical violence, digital suppression and potential criminalization demonstrated that the government continued to rely on authoritarian approaches to silence dissent.
The organization urged the government to immediately end violence against protesters, open channels for dialogue and focus on addressing the underlying cause of the fires.
“The state exists to protect people’s lives and health and uphold their right to a clean environment, not to fight those demanding their right to breathe,” Hamid said.
Amnesty International Indonesia reiterated its call for an end to repression against people protesting the fires and urged the government to declare a national disaster covering affected areas in Kalimantan, Sumatra, Papua and other parts of Indonesia to speed up the emergency response. (*)
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