Indonesians raise anime pirate flag in protest as nation marks independence

Medan, Indonesia – Indonesia is celebrating 80 years of independency from Dutch assemblage rule, but not everyone is successful a celebratory mood, and an antithetic protestation question has rallied astir a cartoon pirate flag.

The flag, which features a skull and crossbones wearing a straw hat, has been spotted adorning homes, cars, trucks, motorcycles and boats crossed Indonesia.

Popularised by the deed Japanese anime One Piece, the emblem has adjacent been flown beneath the Indonesian emblem – known arsenic the merah-putih (red and white) – which is wide raised passim the period of August successful the lead-up to Independence Day connected Sunday.

In the anime series, which was adapted by Netflix successful 2023, the hatted skull and crossbones emblem is utilized by adventurer Monkey D Luffy – who 1 time hopes to go a pirate king – and is seen arsenic a motion of hope, state and a pushback against authoritarianism.

In Indonesia, the emblem has been raised arsenic a motion of protestation amid expanding nationalist vexation with the government.

“Rising prices, difficulties successful getting a occupation and the incompetencies of the authorities person prompted the radical to usage satire and sarcasm,” Radityo Dharmaputra, a lecturer successful planetary relations astatine Airlangga University successful Surabaya, told Al Jazeera.

Raising the pirate emblem is simply a motion of “growing dissatisfaction successful society, adjacent with each the alleged advancement that the authorities has claimed”, Dharmaputra said.

Prabowo Subianto was sworn successful arsenic the caller president of Indonesia successful October, promising accelerated economical maturation and societal alteration successful this state of astir 286 cardinal people.

But Southeast Asia’s largest system and astir populous ideology is faltering.

A graffiti of the pirate emblem from Japanese anime One Piece, adopted by immoderate Indonesians arsenic a awesome of vexation with their government, is seen connected a thoroughfare successful Sukoharjo, Central Java, connected August 6, 2025 [Dika/AFP]

‘A awesome of my disappointment and resistance’

Indonesia has 1 of the highest younker unemployment rates successful Southeast Asia, with an estimated 16 percent of the 44 cardinal Indonesians aged 15-24 unemployed, portion overseas investors are pulling superior retired of the state and the authorities is cutting the budget.

In a survey published by the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute successful Singapore successful January, astir 58 percent of young Indonesians said they were optimistic astir the government’s economical plans, compared with an mean of 75 percent crossed 5 different countries successful the portion – Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Before the emblem protest, successful February, the “Indonesia Gelap” oregon “Dark Indonesia” question gained momentum, with citizens utilizing the #IndonesiaGelap hashtag connected societal media to vent their frustrations astir the aboriginal of the state pursuing wide fund cuts and projected changes successful authorities allowing the subject to person a greater relation successful the government.

The online protestation was followed by pupil demonstrations, which erupted crossed a fig of cities.

President Prabowo accused the Dark Indonesia question of being backed by “corruptors” bent connected creating pessimism successful the country.

“This is fabricated, paid for, by whom?” Prabowo said, according to Indonesian quality outlet Tempo.

“By those who privation Indonesia to ever beryllium chaotic, Indonesia to ever beryllium poor. Yes, those corruptors are the ones financing the demonstrations. Indonesia is dark, Indonesia is dark. Sorry, Indonesia is bright, Indonesia’s aboriginal is bright,” the president said.

A graffiti creator paints a mural depicting a Jolly Roger from the fashionable Japanese anime and manga bid One Piece successful Bekasi, West Java province, Indonesia, connected August 7 , 2025 [Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana/Reuters]

Adi*, a motortruck operator successful the metropolis of Malang successful East Java, told Al Jazeera that helium has been flying the anime pirate emblem connected the broadside of his motortruck for the past 3 weeks.

“Many, galore radical person been flying it successful East Java. To me, it is simply a awesome of my disappointment and absorption against the government,” helium said.

Adi said that helium had agelong been frustrated, but that the emblem had provided him with a caller mode of displaying this frustration.

Members of his household had died, Adi said, erstwhile police fired teardrop state into the Kanjuruhan Stadium successful East Java’s Malang metropolis connected October 1, 2022, pursuing what constabulary claimed was a transportation penetration by fans astatine the extremity of a shot match.

This teardrop state led to panic and a assemblage crush astatine locked exit gates that killed 135 people.

Three constabulary officers and 2 lucifer officials were prosecuted for their roles successful the tragedy, 1 of the worst successful planetary footballing history.

“I americium disappointed by the deficiency of justness for the victims of Kanjuruhan. Until now, we person received nary of the restitution we were promised. I americium besides disappointed by different problems successful Indonesia, including rising prices,” helium said.

‘An effort to disagreement unity’

The One Piece pirate emblem has caught the attraction of the government, with Budi Gunawan, the coordinating curate for governmental and information affairs, informing that authorities would instrumentality “firm action” if the emblem was flown connected Sunday’s Independence Day.

“There volition beryllium transgression consequences for actions that interruption the honour of the reddish and achromatic flag,” helium said.

Indonesia’s Deputy House Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad branded the hoisting of the pirate emblem an effort to deliberately sow dissent.

“We person detected and received input from information agencies that determination is so an effort to disagreement unity. My entreaty to each the nation’s children is to unite and combat against specified things,” helium said.

Yohanes Sulaiman, a lecturer successful planetary relations astatine Jenderal Achmad Yani University, told Al Jazeera that the government’s warnings were apt an effort to clamp down connected the amusement of symbolic dissent.

“I fishy they didn’t cognize however Prabowo would respond and frankincense thought it amended to amusement their loyalty and instrumentality the utmost presumption than beryllium atrocious later,” Sulaiman said.

The authorities threats had “backfired spectacularly”, helium said, adding that it was near looking similar a “laughing stock”.

“Saying that the emblem has the imaginable of breaking isolated the federation is excessively much. It is hyperbolic and cipher takes it seriously,” helium said.

A idiosyncratic holds a replica of the pirate emblem from Japanese anime One Piece, made for merchantability arsenic immoderate Indonesians follow the awesome from a communicative astir resisting a corrupt satellite authorities to explicit vexation with their own, astatine a T-shirt store successful Karanganyar, Central Java, connected August 6, 2025 [Dika/AFP]

Sulaiman said the origins of the flag’s usage successful Indonesia could beryllium traced backmost to motortruck drivers.

“Truckers were the ones archetypal flying it to protestation a caller regularisation that forbade overweight trucks from hitting the road. If the authorities had conscionable ignored it, the emblem would person ended up connected the backmost of trucks and cipher would person taken it seriously,” Sulaiman said.

“But, they had to marque it astir a nationalist threat, a menace to nationalist unity and disrespect of the nationalist flag,” helium said.

He added that the accrued visibility of the pirate emblem comes astatine a delicate clip successful Indonesia – up of Independence Day – which is traditionally a infinitesimal for the authorities and the nationalist to celebrate.

Ian Wilson, a lecturer successful authorities and information studies astatine Murdoch University successful Perth, Australia, said the emblem furore demonstrated “sensitivity astir perceptions of popularity” successful the existent government.

The emblem arsenic a awesome of protestation appeared to beryllium a much fragmented question than caller and humanities protests successful Indonesia, Wilson said, which person traditionally been mostly driven by students.

“Students are a much singular group, but this is simply a much dispersed improvement crossed antithetic groups and parts of the country, which is indicative of wide dissatisfaction. It touches a nervus owed to the diffused representation,” helium said.

“We are seeing this improvement successful places similar villages and by regular radical successful semi-rural areas, which are not accepted sites of dissent successful Indonesia,” helium added.

‘An look of creativity’

According to reports by section Indonesian media, anime pirate flags person been seized successful raids by authorities successful East Java, portion citizens recovered displaying them person been questioned successful the Riau Islands.

So far, nary 1 has been criminally charged, arsenic flying the pirate emblem is not technically illegal.

Usman Hamid, Amnesty International Indonesia’s enforcement director, said the raids were “a flagrant usurpation of the close to state of expression”.

“Raising an anime emblem is not ‘treason’ oregon ‘propaganda to disunite the country’, arsenic suggested by authorities officials,” Hamid said successful a statement.

“Authorities, including lawmakers, indispensable halt harassing radical by threatening them with jailhouse presumption for ‘disrespecting the nationalist flag’ and ‘treason’ if they rise One Piece flags,” helium added.

A pirate emblem is seen astatine a location successful Solo, Central Java, connected August 7, 2025 [Dika/AFP]

Truck operator Adi told Al Jazeera that helium had seen nary indications that the government’s threats had had immoderate interaction connected those flying the emblem and that they could inactive beryllium seen prominently connected show crossed East Java – some connected trucks and buildings.

“Why would I beryllium frightened of immoderate sanctions?” Adi asked.

The president’s bureau has denied immoderate engagement successful the constabulary confiscating flags oregon questioning civilians.

For his part, Prabowo – a retired service wide who oversaw crackdowns connected the 1998 pupil protests that precipitated the autumn of the country’s longtime dictator President Soeharto – said that the emblem was “an look of creativity”.

Murdoch University’s Wilson said that the authorities had possibly been rattled by the Dark Indonesia protests, which came aboriginal connected successful Prabowo’s presidency.

“No 1 wants that astatine the commencement [of a presidency], arsenic they are trying to make optimism,” Wilson said.

“But now, further down the track, radical person immoderate superior issues with authorities performance,” helium said.

*Adi is simply a pseudonym arsenic the interviewee did not privation his sanction revealed for idiosyncratic information reasons erstwhile criticising the government.