Indonesia is cracking down on a viral pirate flag that is spreading as a symbol of political protest ahead of independence day.
The Jolly Roger skull and bones with a straw hat — from Japanese anime series One Piece — has been fluttering from a rising number of trucks, cars and homes.
Officials warn the “provocation” — seen by many as a protest against Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s policies — should not fly alongside the country’s red-and-white flag.
Photo: AFP
The pirate banner was taken up by disgruntled truck drivers earlier this summer, but has recently snowballed into an online and real-life movement.
“I personally raised the One Piece flag because the red and white flag is too sacred to be raised in this corrupt country,” said Khariq Anhar, a 24-year-old university student in Sumatra’s Riau Province. “I believe freedom of speech in Indonesia exists, but it is very limited. Voicing your opinion is getting more dangerous.”
Government officials say the flag’s use is an attempt to divide the nation.
They warn it might be banned from flying next to Indonesia’s colors, or being raised on Aug. 17 — the 80th independence anniversary after Japan’s surrender at the end of World War II.
“It is imperative we refrain from creating provocation with symbols that are not relevant to this country’s struggle,” Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Budi Gunawan said in a statement last week.
Ministers have cited a law that prohibits flying a symbol higher than the national flag as the basis for any punishment.
Under that law, intent to desecrate, insult or degrade the flag carries a maximum prison sentence of five years or a fine of nearly US$31,000.
Indonesian State Secretary Minister Prasetyo Hadi on Tuesday said Prabowo had no issue with the “expression of creativity,” but the two flags “should not be placed side by side in a way that invites comparison,” local media reported.
A presidency spokesman did not respond to an AFP question about its position on the pirate flag, which was put two days earlier.
Experts say unhappy Indonesians are using the flag as a way to express anti-government feeling indirectly, with some of Prabowo’s economic and defense policies causing concern about democratic backsliding.
“Symbols like the pirate flag let people channel frustration without spelling it out,” said Dedi Dinarto, lead Indonesia analyst at advisory firm Global Counsel. “It reflects a public sentiment that parts of the country have been ‘hijacked.’”
Others, like food seller Andri Saputra, who has flown the pirate ensign below an Indonesian flag at his home for a week, say they want to be able to decide what symbols they display.
“I want to be free to express my opinion and express myself,” the 38-year-old said in Boyolali regency in Central Java. “This is just a cartoon flag from Japan.”
Police in Banten Province neighboring capital Jakarta and West Java Province, Indonesia’s most populous, have threatened action if the flag is flown next to the nation’s colors.
One printing business owner in Central Java said on condition of anonymity that his facility was raided by plain-clothes police on Wednesday evening to halt its production of the pirate emblem.
Rights groups have called the response excessive and say Indonesians are allowed to wave the flag by law.
“Raising the One Piece flag as a critic is a part of the freedom of speech and it is guaranteed by the constitution,” Amnesty International Indonesia executive director Usman Hamid said.
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