Protests in Indonesia Demand Action to Stop Rainforest Fires

Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets this week in Indonesia to voice anger at what they see as their government’s failure to stop fires in rainforests that have blanketed their country in a sickening haze. The demonstrations by students and members of civil society groups began on Monday and spread to more than a half dozen cities across the country including on the island of Borneo, where many of the fires are burning. These are the latest in a series of protests that have been building since August, in which participants have demanded that the nation’s president, Prabowo Subianto, declare a national emergency and take steps to prevent destructive agricultural practices that many blame for fueling the blazes. “I have the right to breathe,” read one banner at a rally in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta. “Extinguish the fires immediately!” “The situation has reached a level that is completely, utterly abnormal,” said one protester, Naomi Artika, a law student at the University of Palangka Raya in Central Kalimantan, a province on Borneo. Government leaders defended their response, which has not been able to halt the fires. Image Rainforests burning in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, in September. Credit... Ulet Ifansasti for The New York Times We are having trouble retrieving the article content. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in . Want all of The Times? Subscribe .