Indonesia: Stop crackdown on One Piece anime flag ahead of Independence Day
Responding to the recent crackdown against people flying Japanese anime One Piece flag as a symbol of defiance and criticism of the Indonesian government, Amnesty International Indonesia’s executive director Usman Hamid said:
“The recent raids targeting people raising One Piece flags, used by many Indonesians to express criticism of the government ahead of Independence Day on 17 August, are a flagrant violation of the right to freedom of expression.
“Raising an anime flag is not ‘treason’ or ‘propaganda to disunite the country’, as suggested by government officials.
“The alleged incident on Sulawesi Island of a military officer hitting a man who put a One Piece flag on his car must be effectively investigated.”