Students protest against fire smoke

Hundreds of students gathered in Palangkaraya, in the Indonesian part of Borneo, on Friday, October 23, to protest against the thick smoke from fires that have affected the region for months. They demanded government action and more assistance to address the ongoing environmental and health crisis.

Protesters call for national emergency

The protesters, many wearing surgical masks, held signs urging the government to declare a national state of emergency. One sign read, "Public officials are idiots, but they enjoy fantastic benefits while the lives of ordinary people are tragic," outside the office of the governor of Central Kalimantan province.

Protest includes patriotic song and minor clashes

During the protest, participants sang a patriotic anthem and had minor scuffles with the police. However, no injuries or arrests were reported. As night fell, the protesters collected their trash before dispersing peacefully.

Leader demands recognition of disaster

Yuyun Sanjaya, the leader of the protest, called on the Central Kalimantan provincial government to acknowledge its inability to mitigate the disaster. He questioned how the government could allow such thick and dense smoke to affect vulnerable groups like the elderly and newborns.

Fire damage exceeds European levels

According to Nusantara Atlas, an unofficial monitoring system for deforestation and fires, more than 1.9 million hectares have burned in Indonesia during the first nine months of 2026. In comparison, approximately 647,000 hectares burned in the European Union (EU), of which 540,000 since mid-June, according to satellite data from the European system Effis reported by AFP on September 4.

Pollution affects multiple countries

The pollution from the fires has affected the health of hundreds of thousands of Indonesians and has also reached Malaysia, Singapore, and East Timor, highlighting the regional impact of the environmental crisis.