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One Piece's Jolly Roger Flag Flies in Protest in Indonesia
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
Indonesian citizens flying the flag are doing it out of protest to numerous controversial policy changes since President Prabowo began his term as president. The most recent of these changes was a revision to Indonesia's National Armed Forces Act, which would allow military officers to also serve as members of the civilian government without resigning from their military position. The reform could potentially grant military officers influence in the government not seen since the dictator Suharto's reign more than two decades ago.
In recent weeks, the Jolly Roger symbol can be seen not just as flags flown outside residences or on the streets, but also as street art on walls and roads, or car stickers. A flag seller in Central Java told Reuters he received an "overwhelming" number of orders for the One Piece flag over the last month and had stopped accepting new orders for the flag. The symbol has also dominated Indonesian social media.
Many Indonesians are displaying the symbol not just out of opposition to the reform of the National Armed Forces Act, but also as a general symbol of discontent and frustration with injustices and standard of living inequality in the country.
Reception to the Jolly Roger has been mixed in the Indonesian government, with Deputy House Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad calling it an "attempt to divide unity." Center-right politician Firman Soebagyo even floated the idea that displaying the symbol could be perceived as treasonous. Jakarta police have stated that they are monitoring the use of symbols that go against "the spirit of nationalism, including pirate or fictional-themed flags." Authorities in East Java have already confiscated a number of the flags last week, according to local media. However, Indonesian state secretary minister Prasetyo Hadi noted that President Prabowo himself had no objection to the flag as a form of "creative expression." Deputy Home Affairs Minister Bima Arya Sugiarto stated that expressions such as this were "a natural phenomenon in a democracy."
Displaying fictional flags is not restricted by law in Indonesia, but the law states if fictional flags are flown alongside the national flag, the national flag must be hoisted higher.
Prabowo's career itself has been wracked by controversy, long before he began his presidency last year. He was previously commander of Kopassus, a special forces unit in Indonesia, and has never been able to escape suspicions of his and the unit's involvement in the Kraras massacres in East Timor in 1983, as well as other allegations of human rights violations, including the kidnapping and disappearance of activists. He was part of Indonesian dictator Suharto's inner circle, and was dismissed from the military following Suharto's downfall. The leadup to his presidency consisted of an electoral campaign that sought to rewrite his image as a friendly, paternalistic, and populist figure, appealing to a newer generation who had no experience of his controversial past.
President Prabowo's government has so far garnered opposition on plans to raise the value-added tax, slash government budgets and employment, and raise defense spending, in addition to the most recent issue of legislative reform of the National Armed Forces Act. He has however gained praise for such programs as providing free lunch meals to Indonesian children, as well as providing free medical checkups.
Sources: BBC (Kelly Ng), The Independent (Maroosha Muzaffar), Reuters (Yuddy Cahya Budiman, Budi Purwanto)
