Opponents of Indonesia's centralised regime use the pirate flag from One Piece as a symbol

They are demonstrating their stance on the current policies of an increasingly authoritarian government, and the government accuses them of dividing the nation and even treason.

The latest news on Indonesia. Surely when Eiichiro Oda, the creator of the One Piece manga, could not have imagined that his amusing 'jolly roger' flag (as pirate flags with skull and crossbones are known) would not only be a symbol of resistance and freedom in his pages, but that it would inspire a generation of "rebels" in Indonesia three decades later to stand up to a central government.

The spark was ignited when citizen protests began to erupt over legislative changes by the current president, former General Prabowo, that would make social budget cuts and give the military greater power in government, as well as centralise the governance of a country made up of thousands of populated islands.

When the president called in a speech to the nation to proudly raise the red and white national flag ("red for the blood shed for independence, white for the purity of the soul"), a spontaneous movement in different parts of the country decided instead to hang the flag of the fictional pirate Monkey D. Luffy, the protagonist of the manganime One Piece. In fiction, Luffy flies his pirate flag not to plunder the weak, but also to challenge a world government that curtails freedom.

Because of One Piece's popularity among Indonesians of all ages, the flags have offered a way to "raise awareness of political issues in a different and unique way," said Dominique Nicky Fahrizal, a researcher at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Other Indonesian citizens say that raising the flag is a "symbol that we love this country, but we don't completely agree with its policies".

Indonesia's democracy is still a young and fragile form of government that still carries with it certain mechanisms of past power. In 1998 the government structure underwent major reforms, and it was not until 2004 that citizens were able to vote for their president and vice president for the first time since 1945 (the year of independence from the Netherlands).

"Although this country is officially independent, many of us have not really experienced that freedom in our daily lives.

"They have shown that Monkey D Luffy's dream, the simple and unwavering desire to be free, is the only thing they really fear."

Thanks, BBC.

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