singapore to pursue firms over fires
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today
Arab Today, arab today
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today

Despite Indonesian ire

Singapore to pursue firms over fires

Arab Today, arab today

Arab Today, arab today Singapore to pursue firms over fires

Indonesian police and firefighters extinguish a fire
Jakarta - Arab Today

Singapore is refusing to back down in its pursuit of those responsible for haze-belching forest fires in Southeast Asia last year, despite struggling to bring the perpetrators before the courts and drawing a sharp rebuke from neighbouring Indonesia.

Forest fires are part of an annual dry-season problem in Indonesia, started illegally to quickly and cheaply clear land for cultivation -- particularly for palm oil and pulpwood.

But last year's haze outbreak was among the worst in memory, shrouding Malaysia, Singapore, and parts of Thailand in acrid smoke and forcing school closures as pollution reached hazardous levels and thousands fell sick across the region.

Singapore has served notice to six Indonesian companies it believes may have cleared land by burning but could target others as investigations continue, according to Singapore's ambassador to Indonesia Anil Kumar Nayar.

"We are going after, to put it starkly, the bad guys that are causing this problem," he told AFP in an interview last week.
However, the city-state's efforts to punish Indonesian companies under its own anti-haze law have become a flashpoint with Jakarta.

Singapore argues that international rules allow states to take action -- even if harm is being caused by activities outside its jurisdiction -- but Jakarta has questioned how Singapore could pursue Indonesian citizens for prosecution, especially in the absence of a ratified extradition treaty between the neighbours.

The latest sabre-rattling came after Singapore issued a court warrant in May to detain a director of an Indonesian company linked to the haze while he was in the city-state. 

Afterwards, Indonesia's Environment Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar said that she would be reviewing her ministry's cooperation with Singapore on environmental issues.

"Singapore cannot step further into Indonesia's legal domain," Bakar told reporters in June. Her spokesman declined to comment further on the matter when contacted.
Nayar reiterated that Singapore wasn't crossing any line pursuing these companies and was within its rights to enforce its law.

"We are not doing something that is extraordinary. It is not targeting any country, or anybody's sovereignty," he said. 

The law threatens local and foreign firms with fines of up to $100,000 Singaporean dollars (US$74,000) for every day Singapore endures unhealthy haze pollution. 

So far just two of the companies have responded to the court order, Nayar said, without naming specific firms. 

- Slow progress - 

Singapore has repeatedly asked Indonesia for details about companies -- such as maps showing who owns what concessions -- but says Jakarta has not provided any information. 

Singapore would "continue to press", Nayar said, but added the evidence needed to prosecute these companies could be found by other means.

"We could go that way as well, but at the end of the day this is part of a legal process. We want to be working with the Indonesian government," he said.
One of Indonesia's main arguments is that a regional approach to solving the haze crisis would be more effective than individual action.

"They (Singapore) know our view on this, on how we can best address this issue of haze through the ASEAN mechanism," ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir told AFP.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has an agreement to create a haze-free region by 2020, though it took 14 years to be fully ratified.

Nayar says regional progress on curbing haze has been slow.

Fellow ASEAN member Malaysia, which also suffers during the haze outbreaks, has expressed interest in adopting its own law similar to Singapore's to pursue errant companies.

Jakarta has promised tougher action in the wake of last year's haze disaster, which turned skies yellow in Indonesia's part of Borneo island and dealt the economy a $16 billion blow.

The government announced in May it would no longer grant new land for palm oil plantations, and established a new agency to restore millions of hectares of carbon-rich peatlands susceptible to fires.

Source: AFP

arabstoday
arabstoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

singapore to pursue firms over fires singapore to pursue firms over fires

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

singapore to pursue firms over fires singapore to pursue firms over fires

 



GMT 05:50 2017 Tuesday ,15 August

20 killed in Takhar funeral attack

GMT 04:51 2017 Thursday ,13 April

Huda Kattan among top 10 beauty influencers

GMT 09:44 2018 Saturday ,06 January

Aoun to deliver speech in Rome this afternoon

GMT 09:14 2017 Saturday ,30 December

London stocks end year on record high

GMT 11:47 2017 Monday ,11 December

France's rightwing shifts after Macron victory

GMT 04:49 2013 Monday ,27 May

Feng Shui living room concepts

GMT 19:45 2017 Wednesday ,18 January

The UAE Releases Global State of the Future Report

GMT 23:40 2017 Wednesday ,18 October

OIC condemns terrorist attack in Jeddah

GMT 16:41 2017 Saturday ,18 February

FBMA International Show Jumping Cup 2017 competition

GMT 17:43 2017 Tuesday ,14 February

Spanish activists taken to court over BDS activism
Arab Today, arab today
 
 Arab Today Facebook,arab today facebook  Arab Today Twitter,arab today twitter Arab Today Rss,arab today rss  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
arabstoday, Arabstoday, Arabstoday