Angelina Tiara Puspitalova, Edy Can, Jakarta – The phenomenon of the installation of the One Piece flag, which has been widespread of late, is reminiscent of the story of Indonesia's 4th President Abdurrahman Wahid or Gus Dur. He once took steps that were considered brave and different in responding to the raising of flags other than the red-and-white national flag.
Gus Dur's attitude was different from the current government, where he allowed the raising of the Morning Star flag. This attitude reflects Gus Dur's approach which was more humanist and cultural rather than a military approach or one of power that has often been used by governments before and afterwards.
Meanwhile the current government sees the raising of the One Piece flag as potentially being a criminal act. Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Budi Gunawan said there are criminal consequences for actions that could harm the honour of the red-and-white flag.
He said the government would take legal action if there were intentionally provocative efforts. "This is our effort to protect the dignity and symbol of the state", Gunawan said in a written statement on Friday August 1.
As for Gus Dur, the Morning Star was not merely a symbol of separatism or resistance against the state, but part of the cultural expression and identity of the Papuan people.
He equated the flag with local flags in other regions in Indonesia, which do not always contain political meaning. As long as the red-and-white flag remains hoisted as the main symbol of the country, according to Gus Dur there was no reason to worry about the existence of the Morning Star flag.
This attitude was illustrated in an incident when then Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs (Menkopolhukam) Wiranto reported the raising of the Morning Star flag.
Gus Dur asked only whether the red-and-white flag was still flying. After being told that the national flag was still there, he casually responded, "Yeah, enough, let's just say that the Morning Star is a banner". This shows his non-reactionary perspective and emphasised the spirit of reconciliation.
These moves by Gus Dur were taken between the end of 1999 and early 2000, in an important period for relations between the central government and the Papuan community. He even allowed the Morning Star flag to be hoisted, provided that its position was lower than the red-and-white flag, as a form of respect for Indonesian sovereignty.
During his visit to Papua on December 30, 1999, Gus Dur also organised an open dialogue in Jayapura and restored the territory's name to Papua, which had previously been changed to Irian Jaya by the New Order regime of former president Suharto.
The main purpose in Gus Dur allowing the raising of the Morning Star was to build mutual trust between the people of Papua and the government. He believed that recognition of local identity and culture can be the key to reduce conflict and strengthen the sense of nationality among the people of Papua.
An approach based on justice, respect and humanity, according to Gus Dur, is more effective than a repressive approach.
His daughter, Alissa Wahid, has also emphasised that this policy was aimed at making Papuans feel safe in expressing their cultural identity without fear, and thus nurturing love for Indonesia. For Gus Dur, the raising of the Morning Star flag was not a form of support for separation, but a sign that the state appreciates diversity.
Despite this, the decision still caused debate at the national level because the Morning Star flag has long been associated with a symbol of separatism.
After Abdurrahman stepped down, the policy was stopped. The raising of the Morning Star flag was again prohibited, except in the context of culture and had to remain below the red-and-white, as stipulated in the Papua Special Autonomy Law (Otsus).
Gus Dur's policy of allowing the Morning Star to fly was based on the spirit of reconciliation and appreciation of Papuan identity, not recognition of separatism, and to strengthen the integrity of the Republic of Indonesia through an approach of dialogue and respect.
– Noval Panji Nugroho and Budiarti Utami Putri contributed to writing this article.
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 "Fenomena Bendera One Piece Mengingatkan Bintang Kejora di Era Gus Dur".]