JAKARTA — Residents of the Indonesian province of South Sumatra are seeking protection from the country’s National Human Rights Commission after reportedly facing intimidated for filing a lawsuit against three pulpwood companies over recurring haze pollution.

One of the 11 plaintiffs, Yeyen, said she was pressured by a company representative to withdraw the lawsuit just months after filing it.

“The company contacted me, urging me to drop the case. They even offered, ‘How much money do you want? Where does your husband want to work? We can arrange it. If your child is old enough, what kind of job would they like?’” she told Mongabay.

Yeyen said she was given a week to consider the offer. When a company representative later visited her home for a final decision, she declined the offer, Yeyen said.

“I told them that I was standing together with my friends in this lawsuit, and I didn’t want to betray them,” she said. “I made my decision to continue fighting for health, the economy, and the environment.”

Another plaintiff, Ayu, said a local journalist contacted her, urging her to drop the case and threatening to share her personal information with the companies.

Concerned about the escalating threats, the group visited the human rights commission, known as Komnas HAM, in Jakarta on Feb. 26, seeking protection.

“There are risks in suing large companies, and we need security guarantees,” Arif, another of the plaintiffs, told Mongabay. “We don’t know what threats might come next. There have already been intimidation attempts, and things could escalate as the case progresses. That’s why we sought Komnas HAM’s special attention.”

According to Komnas HAM deputy chair Pramono Ubaid Tanthowi, the alleged intimidation poses a threat to the plaintiffs’ right to security.

Human rights violations and environmental harms

Beyond security concerns, Pramono said the case highlights multiple rights violations, the most obvious being the plaintiffs’ right to a healthy environment.

South Sumatra residents frequently endure severe air pollution from land and forest fires, including those on concessions operated by three suppliers to the largest pulp and paper producer in Indonesia, Asia Pulp & Paper (APP): PT Bumi Mekar Hijau (BMH), PT Bumi Andalas Permai (BAP) and PT Sebangun Bumi Andalas Wood Industries (SBA Wood Industries). The lawsuit accuses these companies of contributing to haze pollution through repeated large-scale fires.

Mongabay reached out to APP for comment, but the company had not respond by the time of publication.

BMH has a history of legal issues related to fires. In 2014, a court fined the company 78 billion rupiah ($6.6 million at the time) for fires that burned 20,000 hectares (about 50,000 acres) of its concession. The following year, another 63,000 hectares (156,000 acres) burned again, making BMH the third-largest contributor to burned concession land in Indonesia between 2015 and 2018.

From 2015 to 2020, a total of 254,787 hectares (629,592 acres) burned across the three companies’ concessions — an area nearly the size of Jakarta. These fires contributed significantly to South Sumatra’s haze crisis during the 2015, 2019 and 2023 dry seasons, according to the lawsuit.

The latest major fires on the three concessions occurred in 2023, burning 41,833 hectares (103,372 acres) of carbon-rich peatland, including protected areas, according to analysis by environmental watchdog Pantau Gambut.

As a result, the lawsuit argues that the companies are legally responsible for the harm caused to local residents, including respiratory illnesses and mental distress due to disruptions to daily life.

“I suffered from cough and eye irritation, so I had to buy medicine. Some of my neighbors had to take their children to the clinic due to asthma,” Yeyen said. “My job was also affected because I work as a teacher at a preschool, but the preschool had to close [during the haze]. I felt anxious and sad, trapped at home.”

The plaintiffs, who live in haze-affected areas — the city of Palembang, and the villages of Bangsal and Lebung Itam villages in neighboring Ogan Komering Ilir district — include farmers, rubber tappers, fishers, buffalo breeders and environmental activists.

Rights commissioner Pramono noted that recurring fires violate not only the right to a healthy environment, but also other fundamental rights, such as access to education and stable employment.

Court proceedings and corporate accountability

Before the lawsuit went to trial, the plaintiffs and the companies attempted mediation. However, the process collapsed when the companies refused to meet the plaintiffs’ demands for fair compensation and environmental rehabilitation, according to Ipan Widodo from the Palembang Legal Aid Institute, one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs.

In environmental case like this, he said, mediation must include an agreement on environmental restoration.

“We stick to our demand, which is to stop the building of new canals [on peatlands] and to restore peatlands [in their concessions],” Ipan said.

With mediation failing, formal hearings began on Dec. 12, 2024. The plaintiffs are seeking damages for both economic and personal harm caused by the haze, with claims ranging from 200,000 to 200 million rupiah ($12–$12,000) for material damages, and 10 billion rupiah ($626,000) per plaintiff for emotional distress and the violation of their right to a healthy environment.

The case is now in the evidentiary stage, where both sides will present supporting material, and judges will examine the evidence and question witnesses.

According to Ipan, the lawsuit could set an important precedent for corporate accountability in Indonesia’s recurring haze crisis, as it’s the first case to demand strict liability from companies for fire-related damages.

Despite fears of further intimidation, Yeyen said she will keep fighting for her rights and for her son’s future.

“We want to hold the defendants accountable and deter them from causing such harmful conditions again. We want a healthy environment for ourselves and for all Indonesians,” she said.

She also emphasized the importance of justice for future generations, including her son.

“I named my child Adil” — which means “just” or “fair” in Indonesian — “because from a young age, we have experienced so much injustice,” Yeyen said. “Adil represents truth, and justice must prevail.”

Banner image: The plaintiffs, witnesses, and activists unfurled a banner reading “Not Yet Free from Smoke” during the continuation of the trial of a citizen lawsuit against three pulpwood companies, where witness testimonies were heard at the Palembang District Court on March 20, 2025. The witnesses will provide testimony regarding the impact of the haze, which is suspected to have been caused by forest and peatland fires within the concessions of PT Bumi Mekar Hijau, PT Bumi Andalas Permai, and PT Sebangun Bumi Andalas (SBA) Wood Industries—three timber companies under the control of Asia Pulp and Paper (Sinar Mas Group). Image courtesy of © Abriansyah Liberto / Greenpeace.

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