REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said his side has readied a number of warships to evacuate victims of haze.
"We have prepared six warships belonging to the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI). Two others are from state-owned shipping company Pelni. These will be used to accommodate or as a place to shelter children and infants, if needed," he said after attending a limited cabinet meeting with President Joko Widodo here on Friday.
He said that the warships will be used as temporary accommodation for the victims of haze if the refugee locations in their respective regions were deemed no longer usable. Luhut said although the space these steps offer is limited, the warships' capacity to accommodate was still relatively adequate.
However, the first step to be taken is to evacuate the haze victims to temporary shelters at government office buildings in their respective cities.
While preparing to implement the plan, Luhut said his office was still to make assessment in the first place.
"We will carry out that exercise first. I will visit the haze affected regions. However, we have made careful preparations for military operations," he added.
In order to carry out the operation, Luhut said his side has deployed almost 2,000 joint military and police personnel. More personnel could be deployed.
"We want to deploy as many personnel as possible. The number of personnel has almost reached 2,000 now, and even more if police personnel were also to be included.
Later, if need be, we will field combat forces to assist the victims," noted the Coordinating Minister of Political, Legal and Security Affairs.
But the feasibility of using warships to evacuate the victims was still to be studied. "Let's see. These are the President's instructions (and show that) we are serious about (dealing with) this problem. We will carry out all these plans based on the principle of conducting military operations for humanity," asserted Luhut.
Earlier, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) held a limited cabinet meeting with relevant ministers on Friday to discuss the haze problem plaguing the country and its impact.
"During the limited meeting, chaired by the President, the issue of land and forest fires and their impact was discussed," Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung stated here on Friday.
He said President Jokowi had decided to intensify efforts to control land and forest fires under the coordination of the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs.
Luhut Panjaitan's earlier plan to join President Jokowi during his state visit to the United States was cancelled as he was tasked with the responsibility of handling the forest and land fire extinguishing operations in the field.
"The Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs should fly tomorrow along with the Education Minister, Health Minister, Social Affairs Minister and other officials to Kalimantan," Pramono noted.
According to the Cabinet Secretary, the Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister is coordinating with 21 agencies to control the impact of fires. They comprise members from the coordinating ministerial level down to district head and mayoral level. The ranks also cover members from the ministerial level, the Defense Forces (TNI) and National Police.
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