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Indonesia accused of ‘gross negligence’ in wildfires lawsuit as haze tests region

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Cite

Bangkok, O. H. i. (2026, October 8). Indonesia accused of ‘gross negligence’ in wildfires lawsuit as haze tests region. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/08/indonesia-wildfires-gross-negligence-lawsuit-haze-region

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Guardian · collected 2026-10-08 · by Oliver Holmes in Bangkok

Quick Summary

Indigenous groups and civil society organizations in Borneo have filed a class action lawsuit against the Indonesian government, accusing it of “gross negligence” over wildfires that caused widespread haze across Southeast Asia. The defendants include President Prabowo Subianto and the governor of West Kalimantan; the case seeks recovery measures including covering healthcare costs for affected residents. Held in Pontianak on Wednesday, the court adjourned until October 21 due to the absence of government officials who did not attend, citing poor air quality as a reason. The lawsuit highlights annual wildfires exacerbated by El Niño weather conditions this year, leading to environmental and health crises affecting multiple countries.
Written by AI on 2026-10-08, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

In West Kalimantan, residents and civil society organizations have filed a class-action lawsuit against the Indonesian government over its handling of widespread wildfires that have caused severe air pollution. The haze has led to more than 175,000 acute respiratory infections nationwide, with over 116,000 cases in West Kalimantan alone and nearly 28,000 patients under five years old. Since the start of the year, 48,000 hectares (or 185 square miles) of land have burned, affecting areas like Pontianak, the provincial capital. The plaintiffs argue that the government's failure to prepare for this dry season and address the fires through mitigation efforts constitutes gross negligence. Indigenous people, religious youth groups, and a Dayak ethnic group are among the plaintiffs seeking comprehensive recovery measures including covering healthcare costs for residents. However, none of the defendants attended the first court hearing on 21 October, which has been adjourned until further notice.

Written for “Indonesian Haze Lawsuit” on 2026-10-30, grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Indonesian Haze Lawsuit
Environment · 3 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Indonesian government faces wildfires lawsuit as haze blankets region Same event
ABC News (AU)
Hedges 5 of 30 claims Outlet record 68/100
Indonesians sue president over haze – can it clear the air? Same event
South China Morning Post
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 1 of 5 claims Outlet record 64/100
Smokescreen politics? Malaysians mock Indonesian official’s ‘we send oxygen’ haze defence Different event
South China Morning Post
Hedges 0 of 4 claims Outlet record 64/100
“The articles describe different aspects of the haze issue in Southeast Asia, with Article A focusing on a lawsuit against Indonesia for negligence, and Article B reporting on Malaysian reactions to an Indonesian official's statement about oxygen.”
Malaysia urged to police its firms in Indonesia as haze shuts schools Different event
South China Morning Post
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 0 of 5 claims Outlet record 64/100
“The articles discuss related issues caused by Indonesian wildfires but focus on different aspects: one on a lawsuit against Indonesia's government for negligence, and the other on Malaysia urging to police its companies with alleged links to forest fires.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
17
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 17 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
66/100
The Guardian's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
3
Environment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-08 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

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Who wrote this

Oliver Holmes in Bangkok
4 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Aung San Suu Kyi flew to the international court of justice in The Hague, where she said she acknowledged military units might have used “disproportionate force”, but defended the government against accusations of genocide.
2026-10-25 · assertive framing · Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi ‘sounds strong’ but is isolated, son says
🔮 Min Aung Hlaing has also made efforts to reach out to Donald Trump’s administration, saying in a September interview with Time magazine that “it would be ideal if the US could cooperate with us”.
2026-10-20 · assertive framing · Myanmar’s ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi seen in rare photos after receiving gift from King Charles
🔮 The case seeks comprehensive recovery and rehabilitation measures that would include covering the healthcare costs of residents.
2026-10-08 · assertive framing · Indonesia accused of ‘gross negligence’ in wildfires lawsuit as haze tests region
🔮 Aside from its island bases in the South China Sea, Beijing does not have a significant network of military outposts in other countries and the Laos airbase would be its first facility in another country capable of handling fighter jets. The satellite images, taken a day after the announcement and first reported by Reuters, show extensive construction work that appears to be focused on a future runway extension, which could make the airport capable of handling larger planes such as bombers.
2026-10-07 · assertive framing · Satellite images show attack jets at Chinese military facility in Laos
Also by Oliver Holmes in Bangkok
Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi ‘sounds strong’ but is isolated, son says
2026-10-25 · The Guardian
Myanmar’s ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi seen in rare photos after receiving gift from King Charles
2026-10-20 · The Guardian
Satellite images show attack jets at Chinese military facility in Laos
2026-10-07 · The Guardian
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

Topics

Indonesia Indonesian Pontianak Singapore West Kalimantan

Subjects

Indonesia GPE · 3× Indonesian NORP · 2× Pontianak GPE · 2× Singapore GPE · 2× West Kalimantan GPE · 2× Borneo GPE · 1× Glorio Sanen PERSON · 1× Prabowo Subianto PERSON · 1× Sanen PERSON · 1× West Kalimantan’s GPE · 1×

Narrative

Yakobus Kumis, a plaintiff representing a Dayak ethnic group, indigenous to the island of Borneo, expressed disappointment that government representatives did not attend this week’s hearing, saying it was a “way of the central government teaching the people that violating the law is OK.”
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-08
🔮 The case seeks comprehensive recovery and rehabilitation measures that would include covering the healthcare costs of residents.
2026-10-08 · The Guardian
Indonesia accused of ‘gross negligence’ in wildfires lawsuit as haze tests region · assertive framing

Claims (17 extracted, 0 hedged)

The Indonesian government has been accused of “gross negligence” in a class action lawsuit over its handling of wildfires that have cloaked large parts of South-east Asia in a toxic haze, shuttered schools and caused a spike in respiratory illnesses. asserted
that → accuse → illnesses
The lawsuit, filed by indigenous and civil society groups in the Indonesian part of Borneo, named President Prabowo Subianto and the governor of West Kalimantan among 10 defendants. asserted
lawsuit → file → defendants
The case seeks comprehensive recovery and rehabilitation measures that would include covering the healthcare costs of residents. asserted
that → seek → residents
None of those named in the lawsuit attended the opening day of court in West Kalimantan’s provincial capital Pontianak on Wednesday, leading judges to adjourn the hearing until 21 October. asserted
None → name → October
“We feel sad and regretful about their absence … asserted
We → feel → absence
But on the other hand, we also understand that perhaps this haze condition caused them to be unable to land in Pontianak,” the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Glorio Sanen, told reporters. asserted
lawyer → understand → reporters
Sanen said the case was “a step to address the problem” of wildfires that flare up annually in Indonesia, where they are often lit as a cheap way to clear land for oil palm planting. asserted
they → say → planting
Indonesia, the world’s largest producer of palm oil, has been accused of not doing enough to stop the so-called “slash and burn” land clearances, although the government has vowed a crackdown and deployed the military to fight the fires. asserted
government → accuse → fires
The blazes hit a crisis point this year due to an unusually intense El Niño weather phenomenon, which has created drier-than-usual conditions, sending a putrid smog to Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore, and even the Philippines. asserted
which → hit → Malaysia
The transboundary haze has angered Indonesia’s neighbours. asserted
haze → anger → neighbours
Schools in the Malaysian state of Johor, just north of Singapore, were to be closed on Thursday and Friday due to deteriorating air quality, local authorities said. asserted
authorities → close → quality
The four plaintiffs in the West Kalimantan lawsuit, which was filed last month, include a chapter of Indigenous NGO AMAN and the local branch of Catholic Youth. asserted
which → file → Youth
Yakobus Kumis, a plaintiff representing a Dayak ethnic group, indigenous to the island of Borneo, expressed disappointment that government representatives did not attend this week’s hearing, saying it was a “way of the central government teaching the people that violating the law is OK.” asserted
violating → represent → law
He said the government ignored warning signs ahead of the fires breaking out, and called for the smoke crisis to be classified as a national disaster. asserted
crisis → say → disaster
A similar lawsuit filed last year at a court in South Sumatra was dismissed. asserted
lawsuit → file → Sumatra
The presidential office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. asserted
office → respond → comment
Agence France-Presse and Reuters contributed to this report asserted
Presse → contribute → report
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