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View all search resultsRights group slam govt’s ‘repressive’ approach against anime flag movement
Several government officials called the raising of a pirate flag from a popular Japanese anime “an act of treason”, while military and police officers in several regions confiscated the flags and intimidated people who raised the symbol.
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A worker cuts the “Jolly Roger“ flag from Japanese anime “One Piece“ during the printing process on Aug. 5 in Karanganyar regency, Central Java. Printing business owners in the regency say that the demand for the pirate flag from the anime has increased threefold in early August. (Antara/Mohammad Ayudha)
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uman rights groups have condemned the government’s repressive moves against the raising of a flag from popular Japanese anime One Piece, widely seen by the public as a form of protest, ahead of the country’s 80th independence anniversary.
In the past few weeks, a growing online movement led to people raising the “Jolly Roger” pirate flag from the anime in various events across the country. The flag, rather than the country’s Red-and-White Flag, has also reportedly been spotted on roads and in houses ahead of the Independence Day celebration on Aug. 17.
Social media users have hailed the flag, which shows a skull with a straw hat on a black background, as a symbol of resistance. Many said that the pirate flag conveys their “dissatisfaction” with the current state of Indonesia’s democracy.
The government has since responded to the trend with alarm, with officials labeling the trend “provocative” and harmful to the nation’s unity. Among them is Human Rights Minister Natalius Pigai, who called the movement “a form of treason” and that the state should prohibit the act.
“The ban of flying the flag is an important effort to preserve our national symbols as a form of respect for the state,” Pigai said on Sunday, as quoted by Antara.
Read also: Pirate anime flag becomes tool of protest ahead of Independence Day
