Palace: No One Piece Flag Raising Raid:

JAKARTA - Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi stated that there was no raid by the TNI and Polri officers regarding the raising of the One Piece themed flag ahead of the commemoration of the 80th Anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Indonesia.

"There is no (razia)," said Prasetyo at the Jakarta Presidential Palace Complex, Tuesday.

He said that the government had no problem with the existence of the One Piece flag as a form of expression or criticism from the public.

The government, he said, is also open to various forms of criticism considering the many homeworks that need to be completed.

According to him, the action that may be taken only applies to those who deliberately clashed the presence of the One Piece flag with the Red and White flag.

"Even if someone gets there, any prohibition or action is for the parties earlier, hitting them with, for example, inciting in quotes, to better fly this flag than the Red and White flag. That's not true, it can't be like that," said Prasetyo.

Prasetyo said the government actually encouraged the vibrant independence through collaboration with RT, RW, sub-district head, Babinsa, bhabinkamtibmas, and regional heads to hold various activities, such as competitions, mutual cooperation, and the installation of independence attributes.

Community initiatives in decorating the environment with tubers and billboards are considered as a tangible form of love for the homeland and nationalism.

"If you travel to the regions now lively. The villages that put up the umbuls, put up billboards with all their creativity to show a sense of nationalism, to show the love for their homeland, to show a sense of love for the Red and White flag. That is true," said Prasetyo.

Recently, the public has been enlivened by the phenomenon of raising the pirate flag from the Japanese manga series, One Piece, ahead of the Indonesian 80th Anniversary on August 17.

The fictitious flag has a black background and skull, as well as two bones that cross behind it. The white skull with a smiling expression is decorated with a yellow straw hat typical of the main character of One Piece, Monkey D. Luffy.

The Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs (Menko Polkam) Budi Gunawan assessed that the movement to raise the skull flag was a form of provocation that could reduce the authority and degree of the Red and White Flag.