Citizens protest legislation changes, inequality before the 80th independence day of the country
©Oda Eiichiro/Shueisha, Fuji TV, TOEI animation
Indonesia will celebrate its 80th Independence Day on Sunday, August 17. The country’s President Prabowo Subianto Otaku: Jolly Roger’s Straw Hat Pirates piece.
Since President Prabowo began his term as president, the unanswered flags of Indonesian citizens are for protest. The latest changes in these changes are the amendment to the Indonesian National Armed Forces Act, which will allow officers to serve as members of civilian governments without resigning. Since the reign of the dictator Suharto, the reform may have given officers an impact in government.
In recent weeks, the joyful Roger symbol can be seen not only as flags hanging outside a residence or on the street, but also as street art or car stickers on walls and roads. A flag seller in central Java told Reuters he received an “overwhelming” order piece Flags last month and stop accepting new orders for flags. The symbol also dominates Indonesian social media.
Many Indonesians not only show a symbol of opposition to the National Armed Forces Act, but are also a general symbol of dissatisfaction and frustration with the injustice and standard of living in the country.
The reception of the Indonesian government is mixed in the Indonesian government, which House Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad called it “an attempt to divide unity.” Center-right politician Soebagyo even proposed the idea of showing symbols, which may be considered treason. Jakarta police said they are monitoring the use of symbols with the “nationalist spirit” that “including pirates or fictional themed banners.” According to local media reports, East Java authorities had confiscated many national flags last week. However, Indonesian Minister of State Prasetyo Hadi pointed out that President Prabowo himself had no objection to the national flag as a form of “creative expression.” Bima Arya Sugiarto, deputy minister of the interior, said expressions like this are “natural phenomena in democracy.”
In Indonesia, displaying fictional flags is not restricted by law, but the law stipulates that if a fictional flag is hung next to the national flag, the national flag must be hung higher.
Prabowo’s career itself has been plagued by controversy, long before he took office as president last year. He was formerly a commander of Kopassus, a special forces unit in Indonesia, and has never been able to avoid suspicion that he and the department were involved in the Kraras Massacres in East Timor in 1983, as well as other allegations of human rights violations, including kidnapping and the disappearance of activists. He was part of the inner circle of Indonesian dictator Suharto, who was fired after Suharto’s fall. Leadership in the presidency included an election campaign that sought to rewrite his image to become a friendly, paternal and populist figure that attracted a new generation without his controversial past experience.
To date, President Prabowo’s administration has also opposed plans to increase VAT, cut government budgets and employment, and increase defense spending, in addition to legislative reforms to the latest National Armed Forces Act. However, he was praised for providing free lunch meals to Indonesian children and for programs that provide free medical checkups.
Source: BBC (Kelly), independent (Maroosha Muzaffar), Reuters (Yuddy Cahya Budiman, Budi Purwanto)
