Medan, Indonesia – Indonesia is celebrating 80 years of independence from Dutch colonial rule, however not everyone seems to be in a celebratory temper, and an uncommon protest motion has rallied round a cartoon pirate flag.
The flag, which contains a cranium and crossbones carrying a straw hat, has been noticed adorning houses, automobiles, vehicles, bikes and boats throughout Indonesia.
Popularised by the hit Japanese anime One Piece, the flag has even been flown beneath the Indonesian flag – generally known as the merah-putih (purple and white) – which is broadly raised all through the month of August within the lead-up to Independence Day on Sunday.
Within the anime sequence, which was tailored by Netflix in 2023, the hatted cranium and crossbones flag is utilized by adventurer Monkey D Luffy – who sooner or later hopes to develop into a pirate king – and is seen as an indication of hope, freedom and a pushback in opposition to authoritarianism.
In Indonesia, the flag has been raised as an indication of protest amid rising public frustration with the federal government.
“Rising costs, difficulties in getting a job and the incompetencies of the federal government have prompted the folks to make use of satire and sarcasm,” Radityo Dharmaputra, a lecturer in worldwide relations at Airlangga College in Surabaya, informed Al Jazeera.
Elevating the pirate flag is an indication of “rising dissatisfaction in society, even with all of the so-called progress that the federal government has claimed”, Dharmaputra mentioned.
Prabowo Subianto was sworn in as the brand new president of Indonesia in October, promising quick financial development and social change on this nation of virtually 286 million folks.
However Southeast Asia’s largest economic system and most populous democracy is faltering.
‘An emblem of my disappointment and resistance’
Indonesia has one of many highest youth unemployment rates in Southeast Asia, with an estimated 16 % of the 44 million Indonesians aged 15-24 unemployed, whereas overseas buyers are pulling capital in a foreign country and the federal government is slicing the finances.
In a survey printed by the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore in January, about 58 % of younger Indonesians mentioned they had been optimistic concerning the authorities’s financial plans, in contrast with a median of 75 % throughout 5 different nations within the area – Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Vietnam.
Earlier than the flag protest, in February, the “Indonesia Gelap” or “Darkish Indonesia” motion gained momentum, with residents utilizing the #IndonesiaGelap hashtag on social media to vent their frustrations about the way forward for the nation following widespread finances cuts and proposed adjustments in laws permitting the army to have a larger position within the authorities.
The net protest was adopted by pupil demonstrations, which erupted throughout numerous cities.
President Prabowo accused the Darkish Indonesia motion of being backed by “corruptors” bent on creating pessimism within the nation.
“That is fabricated, paid for, by whom?” Prabowo mentioned, in line with Indonesian information outlet Tempo.
“By those that need Indonesia to at all times be chaotic, Indonesia to at all times be poor. Sure, these corruptors are those financing the demonstrations. Indonesia is darkish, Indonesia is darkish. Sorry, Indonesia is vivid, Indonesia’s future is vivid,” the president mentioned.
Adi*, a truck driver within the metropolis of Malang in East Java, informed Al Jazeera that he has been flying the anime pirate flag on the facet of his truck for the previous three weeks.
“Many, many individuals have been flying it in East Java. To me, it’s a image of my disappointment and resistance in opposition to the federal government,” he mentioned.
Adi mentioned that he had lengthy been annoyed, however that the flag had supplied him with a brand new approach of displaying this frustration.
Members of his household had died, Adi mentioned, when police fired tear gas into the Kanjuruhan Stadium in East Java’s Malang metropolis on October 1, 2022, following what police claimed was a pitch invasion by followers on the finish of a soccer match.
This tear gasoline led to panic and a crowd crush at locked exit gates that killed 135 folks.
Three cops and two match officers had been prosecuted for his or her roles within the tragedy, one of many worst in worldwide footballing historical past.
“I’m disenchanted by the shortage of justice for the victims of Kanjuruhan. Till now, we now have obtained not one of the restitution we had been promised. I’m additionally disenchanted by different issues in Indonesia, together with rising costs,” he mentioned.
‘An try to divide unity’
The One Piece pirate flag has caught the eye of the federal government, with Budi Gunawan, the coordinating minister for political and safety affairs, warning that authorities would take “agency motion” if the flag was flown on Sunday’s Independence Day.
“There might be felony penalties for actions that violate the honour of the purple and white flag,” he mentioned.
Indonesia’s Deputy Home Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad branded the hoisting of the pirate flag an try to intentionally sow dissent.
“We have now detected and obtained enter from safety businesses that there’s certainly an try to divide unity. My attraction to all of the nation’s youngsters is to unite and battle in opposition to such issues,” he mentioned.
Yohanes Sulaiman, a lecturer in worldwide relations at Jenderal Achmad Yani College, informed Al Jazeera that the federal government’s warnings had been probably an try to clamp down on the present of symbolic dissent.
“I think they didn’t know the way Prabowo would react and thus thought it higher to point out their loyalty and take the acute place than be sorry later,” Sulaiman mentioned.
The federal government threats had “backfired spectacularly”, he mentioned, including that it was left wanting like a “laughing inventory”.
“Saying that the flag has the potential of breaking up the nation is an excessive amount of. It’s hyperbolic and no person takes it severely,” he mentioned.
Sulaiman mentioned the origins of the flag’s use in Indonesia could possibly be traced again to truck drivers.
“Truckers had been those first flying it to protest a current regulation that forbade obese vehicles from hitting the highway. If the federal government had simply ignored it, the flag would have ended up on the again of vehicles and no person would have taken it severely,” Sulaiman mentioned.
“However, they needed to make it a few nationwide menace, a menace to nationwide unity and disrespect of the nationwide flag,” he mentioned.
He added that the elevated visibility of the pirate flag comes at a delicate time in Indonesia – forward of Independence Day – which is historically a second for the federal government and the general public to have a good time.
Ian Wilson, a lecturer in politics and safety research at Murdoch College in Perth, Australia, mentioned the flag furore demonstrated “sensitivity round perceptions of recognition” within the present authorities.
The flag as a logo of protest gave the impression to be a extra fragmented motion than current and historic protests in Indonesia, Wilson mentioned, which have historically been largely pushed by college students.
“College students are a extra singular group, however this can be a extra dispersed phenomenon throughout completely different teams and elements of the nation, which is indicative of widespread dissatisfaction. It touches a nerve as a result of subtle illustration,” he mentioned.
“We’re seeing this phenomenon in locations like villages and by common folks in semi-rural areas, which aren’t standard websites of dissent in Indonesia,” he added.
‘An expression of creativity’
In accordance with studies by native Indonesian media, anime pirate flags have been seized in raids by authorities in East Java, whereas residents discovered displaying them have been questioned within the Riau Islands.
To this point, nobody has been criminally charged, as flying the pirate flag shouldn’t be technically unlawful.
Usman Hamid, Amnesty Worldwide Indonesia’s govt director, mentioned the raids had been “a flagrant violation of the precise to freedom of expression”.
“Elevating an anime flag shouldn’t be ‘treason’ or ‘propaganda to disunite the nation’, as urged by authorities officers,” Hamid mentioned in an announcement.
“Authorities, together with lawmakers, should cease harassing folks by threatening them with jail phrases for ‘disrespecting the nationwide flag’ and ‘treason’ in the event that they elevate One Piece flags,” he added.
Truck driver Adi informed Al Jazeera that he had seen no indications that the federal government’s threats had had any impression on these flying the flag and that they may nonetheless be seen prominently on show throughout East Java – each on vehicles and buildings.
“Why would I be terrified of any sanctions?” Adi requested.
The president’s workplace has denied any involvement within the police confiscating flags or questioning civilians.
For his half, Prabowo – a retired military normal who oversaw crackdowns on the 1998 pupil protests that precipitated the autumn of the nation’s longtime dictator President Soeharto – mentioned that the flag was “an expression of creativity”.
Murdoch College’s Wilson mentioned that the federal government had maybe been rattled by the Darkish Indonesia protests, which got here early on in Prabowo’s presidency.
“Nobody desires that in the beginning [of a presidency], as they’re making an attempt to generate optimism,” Wilson mentioned.
“However now, additional down the monitor, folks have some severe points with authorities efficiency,” he mentioned.
*Adi is a pseudonym because the interviewee didn’t need his identify revealed for private security causes when criticising the federal government.
