Wind to blame for spread of haze—Indonesian VP

Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla blamed the wind as he apologized for the Indonesian haze that caused havoc in neighboring countries.

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“One thing we cannot control is the wind. I am sorry we cannot control the wind,” Kalla said during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) CEO Summit.

The haze has affected countries including Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, among others since last June. Flights had been grounded, events had been cancelled and millions have been complaining of smoke.

“We do not want the haze going everywhere but the wind, we cannot control. If [haze goes to other countries], this happens not because we want to but because the wind did it,” Kalla said adding that the government is doing it can to address the problem.

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“We have a big project to restore all the forest but we need international cooperation. We cannot do it alone,” he added.

Next year, he said, the haze would still probably persist, but he is hopeful that the condition will improve.

“We will not charge you for months of good weather,” he said in jest. CDG