JakartaPost-Oct 19, 2026
Indonesia faces mounting criticism over its handling of the haze crisis and spreading wildfires, with the government allegedly silencing public scrutiny and downplaying the scale of the blazes, as neighboring countries speak out against Jakarta’s muted gestures toward accepting firefighting assistance. In recent days, the government has allegedly tried to snuff out online contents criticizing the wildfire response and reported more critical posts to social media platforms, according to public grievances compiled by digital rights group Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet). “The growing restriction targeting critical contents on wildfires may indicate the government’s attempt to polish its image, despite already facing backlash from abroad,” Unggul Sagena of SAFEnet said on Sunday. Digital censorship is not rare in Indonesia, with content restrictions or blocking often coming at the official request from the Communications and Digital Ministry to tech giants, such as X and Meta, which operates Instagram and Facebook. The ministry did not respond to a request for comment. Multiple videos showing wildfires turning the skies orange across Sumatra, Kalimantan and Papua have been circulating online, amplified by numerous coverage by established global media outlets and environmental activists. Independent forest monitoring Nusatara Atlas estimated that at least 1.47 million hectares of land and forest, or an area the size of Timor-Leste, have burned nationwide this year as of September. Common consensus among experts is that drought associated with a strong El Niño climate pattern intensifies the forest and peatland fires, while deliberate land clearing and peatland degradation from agricultural activities often cause the blazes. But the Palace recently downplayed the scale and cause of the fires, with newly appointed government spokesperson Syahganda Nainggolan describing it as an unintentional “natural calamity”. Uli Arta Siagian of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) criticized such a statement coming from the presidential office, saying: “They are trying to disguise environmental and corporate crimes behind natural causes”.
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