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 sporting a straw hat, has been noticed adorning properties, automobiles, vans, bikes and boats throughout Indonesia.
Popularised by the hit Japanese anime One Piece, the flag has even been flown beneath the Indonesian flag – often known as the merah-putih (pink and white) – which is extensively raised all through the month of August within the lead-up to Independence Day on Sunday.
Within the anime collection, which was tailored by Netflix in 2023, the hatted cranium and crossbones flag is utilized by adventurer Monkey D Luffy – who in the future hopes to change into a pirate king – and is seen as an indication of hope, freedom and a pushback towards 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, advised 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 just about 286 million folks.
However Southeast Asia’s largest financial system and most populous democracy is faltering.
‘A logo of my disappointment and resistance’
Indonesia has one of many highest youth unemployment rates in Southeast Asia, with an estimated 16 p.c of the 44 million Indonesians aged 15-24 unemployed, whereas international buyers are pulling capital overseas and the federal government is reducing the finances.
In a survey printed by the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore in January, about 58 p.c of younger Indonesians mentioned they had been optimistic in regards to the authorities’s financial plans, in contrast with a mean of 75 p.c 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 function within the authorities.
The web protest was adopted by pupil demonstrations, which erupted throughout a variety of 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, based on 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 vibrant, Indonesia’s future is vibrant,” the president mentioned.
Adi*, a truck driver within the metropolis of Malang in East Java, advised Al Jazeera that he has been flying the anime pirate flag on the aspect 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 towards the federal government,” he mentioned.
Adi mentioned that he had lengthy been pissed off, 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 fuel led to panic and a crowd crush at locked exit gates that killed 135 folks.
Three law enforcement officials 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 dearth of justice for the victims of Kanjuruhan. Till now, we’ve 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 and 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 legal penalties for actions that violate the honour of the pink and white flag,” he mentioned.
Indonesia’s Deputy Home Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad branded the hoisting of the pirate flag an try and intentionally sow dissent.
“We’ve got detected and obtained enter from safety companies that there’s certainly an try and divide unity. My enchantment to all of the nation’s youngsters is to unite and combat towards such issues,” he mentioned.
Yohanes Sulaiman, a lecturer in worldwide relations at Jenderal Achmad Yani College, advised Al Jazeera that the federal government’s warnings had been doubtless an try and clamp down on the present of symbolic dissent.
“I believe they didn’t know the way Prabowo would react and thus thought it higher to point out their loyalty and take the intense 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 one takes it critically,” he mentioned.
Sulaiman mentioned the origins of the flag’s use in Indonesia might be traced again to truck drivers.
“Truckers had been those first flying it to protest a latest regulation that forbade chubby vans from hitting the street. If the federal government had simply ignored it, the flag would have ended up on the again of vans and no one would have taken it critically,” Sulaiman mentioned.
“However, they needed to make it a few nationwide risk, a risk 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 fun.
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 an emblem of protest seemed to be a extra fragmented motion than latest 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 totally different teams and components of the nation, which is indicative of widespread dissatisfaction. It touches a nerve because of the subtle illustration,” he mentioned.
“We’re seeing this phenomenon in locations like villages and by common folks in semi-rural areas, which aren’t typical websites of dissent in Indonesia,” he added.
‘An expression of creativity’
In response to experiences 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.
Thus far, nobody has been criminally charged, as flying the pirate flag will not be technically unlawful.
Usman Hamid, Amnesty Worldwide Indonesia’s government director, mentioned the raids had been “a flagrant violation of the appropriate to freedom of expression”.
“Elevating an anime flag will not be ‘treason’ or ‘propaganda to disunite the nation’, as prompt 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 increase One Piece flags,” he added.
Truck driver Adi advised Al Jazeera that he had seen no indications that the federal government’s threats had had any affect on these flying the flag and that they might nonetheless be seen prominently on show throughout East Java – each on vans and buildings.
“Why would I be petrified 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 common 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 needs 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 critical points with authorities efficiency,” he mentioned.
*Adi is a pseudonym because the interviewee didn’t need his title revealed for private security causes when criticising the federal government.
