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Prabowo Orders Probe as Wildfires Threaten Indonesia Cave Paintings

By Drooid · Oct 23, 2026, 3:34 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Indonesia Wildfires Threaten

Indonesia’s wildfires threaten the world’s oldest cave paintings on Sulawesi.
An intense El Niño raised temperatures and cut rainfall, making forests and peatlands fire-prone.
Over 270 hectares of Maros-Pangkep park burned from September 30 to October 18.
Flames came within 800 metres of the Maros-Pangkep cave, said firefighter Muhammad Ikfar.
Basran Burhan warned heat accelerates corrosion and smoke deposits soot that blurs the paintings.

Summary

Prabowo Orders Probe

President Prabowo Subianto ordered police, the Attorney General's Office and the Ministry of Forestry to investigate the wildfires.
He said the Armed Forces and intelligence services would support the probe.
He warned he would reveal responsible companies and revoke their licenses after evidence is gathered.
He labeled deliberate fire-setting “environmental terrorism” and a “crime against humanity”.
ASEAN convened a regional meeting after haze spread to Malaysia, Singapore and East Timor.

History

Historical Context

Indonesia’s August 1997 slash-and-burn fires scorched about 2.5 million ha, causing US$4.47 billion in damages and a regional haze that prompted ASEAN’s 1998 early-warning plan and the 2002 Transboundary Haze Agreement. Today, former general Prabowo Subianto urges ASEAN to label deliberate ignitions as “environmental terrorism,” reviving the same policy drive that followed the 1997 crisis.

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Indonesia Wildfires Threaten

Indonesia’s wildfires threaten the world’s oldest cave paintings on Sulawesi.
An intense El Niño raised temperatures and cut rainfall, making forests and peatlands fire-prone.
Over 270 hectares of Maros-Pangkep park burned from September 30 to October 18.
Flames came within 800 metres of the Maros-Pangkep cave, said firefighter Muhammad Ikfar.
Basran Burhan warned heat accelerates corrosion and smoke deposits soot that blurs the paintings.

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