Yogyakarta – The August 17 '45 People's Resistance Alliance will hold a One Piece flag-raising competition on Indonesian Independence Day on August 17. In addition to this, they have also called for the raising of the One Piece flag in various places to symbolise resistance.
The cross-community coalition of civilians, students, workers, artists and activists that are part of the August 17 '45 People's Resistance Alliance are calling for the raising of the One Piece anime flag on Indonesian Independence Day. Not only did they make this call, but they are also holding a One Piece flag-raising competition.
The competition is titled "One Piece Flag Ceremony Competition on August 17, 2025 with a Pirate Culture".
Entries can be in the form of videos with a maximum duration of 2 minutes. They can include a narrative or demands with the hashtags #17agustus2025 (#17August2025), #IndonesiaGelap (#Dark Indonesia), #KaburAjaDulu (#JustRunAway), #ReformasiDikorupsi (#ReformCorrupted), #TolakOmnibusLaw (#RejectTheOmnibusLaw), #GejayanMemanggil (#GajayanCalling) and #TolakRKUHAP (#RejectTheRKUHAP). The winners of the competition will receive prizes.
The Alliance, which was initiated by the Gejayan Calling Alliance, said that the One Piece flag-raising actions are a symbol of resistance against oppression or tyranny, the hypocrisy of fake independence celebrations and the betrayal of the political elite.
The Alliance believes that independence has been stolen in the interests of a handful of people. The reforms fought for by previous generations have been corrupted, the voices of the people silenced and the law twisted to perpetuate greed.
Policies such as the Omnibus Law on Job Creation and the Draft Criminal Procedure Code (RKUHAP), they continued, are only a small part of the corrupted face of reform in the "Dark Indonesia" era that has sold off justice and restricted freedoms.
"These symbolic actions will be held simultaneously on August 17, 2025, and will be continued until the people's demands are heard and implemented", read an official statement distributed by Alliance spokesperson Kontra Tirano on Friday August 1.
The Alliance is urging all members of the public to show their political stance by flying the flag with the pirate Jolly Roger wearing a straw hat. They are calling for the One Piece flag to be flown in various spaces such as homes, streets, campuses, offices, on vehicles and even in cyberspace through avatar profile photos on all social media platforms.
"We are not enemies of the nation, we are people who are fed up with being lied to. Raise the black flag and show that we still dare to dream of a truly independent Indonesia", the Alliance said in closing its statement.
Seen as effort to overthrow government
The phenomenon of raising the One Piece flag ahead of the 80th anniversary of the Republic of Indonesia on August 17 has become a hot topic on social media.
A number of accounts on the social media platform X have uploaded images of black One Piece flags featuring Luffy's "Straw Hat Pirates" symbol flying in front of houses and from motor vehicles. The phenomenon became popular shortly after the government announced the official logo for the 80th anniversary of the Republic of Indonesia.
Meanwhile the deputy chairperson of the Golkar Party faction in the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), Firman Soebagyo, has called the raising of the One Piece anime flag an action intended to overthrow the government.
He wants such actions banned because he considers it to be part of a provocation aimed at bringing down the government.
Meanwhile, House of Representatives (DPR) Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad from President Prabowo Subianto's Gerindra Party, said that there is an alleged systematic movement to divide the nation through the raising of the One Piece flag.
He claims to have receiving intelligence reports regarding alleged attempts to divide the nation. Ahmad said these efforts cannot be separated from Indonesia's increasingly rapid development at the moment.
Then, according to Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Budi Gunawan, the movement is a form of provocation that could reduce the authority and status of Indonesia's national red-and-white flag.
"As a great nation that values history, we should all exercise restraint and not be provoked by symbols that are irrelevant to the nation's struggle", said the man known by his friends as BG in an official press release received in Jakarta on Friday.
According to BG, the government greatly appreciates all forms of creativity by citizens in expressing themselves as long as it does not violate the boundaries and harm state symbols.
However if the government sees any deliberate attempt to spread this narrative, BG gave assurances that the government will take firm action.
"The government will take firm and measured legal action if there are elements of intent and provocation in order to ensure order and the dignity of state symbols", he said.
He added that there are criminal consequences for actions that harm the honour of the red-and-white flag. (kum/els)
Notes
A recent trend on social media ahead of Indonesia's 80th Independence Day has been the displaying flags from the Japanese anime One Piece on houses and vehicles, which many have interpreted as an expression of public discontent with the Prabowo government. One Piece tells the story of a young pirate named Monkey D. Luffy who is determined to become the Pirate King. Based on a comic book published since 1997, for its fans some of the stories represent resistance against injustice in which the protagonists confront corrupt governments, sadistic military forces, human rights violations, genocide, racial discrimination and attempts to manipulate history.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "17 Agustus, Aliansi Rakyat Gelar Lomba Pengibaran Bendera One Piece".]
