There have been many ridiculous ways that the government’s unfounded paranoia towards communism has manifested itself in Indonesia recently, the latest of which may just be the most paranoid yet.
The South Jakarta city administration last night took down a billboard ad by telecommunications provider Indosat Ooredoo in Lenteng Agung. The ad promoted Indosat Ooredoo’s collaboration with video streaming service iFlix, as well as featuring the poster for a TV show called ‘The Americans’, which is available on iFlix.
At first glance, one might not find anything at all offensive about the ad. But a South Jakarta Police officer spotted a small communist hammer and sickle symbol imposed on the actress’ face in the poster. As the spreading and display of communist symbols is illegal in Indonesia, the officer reported it to his higher ups, which prompted an actual investigation.
“We’re going to summon the provider (Indosat Ooredoo) to find out if there was deliberate intent or not. [The ad] contains a hammer and sickle symbol and the Soviet flag,” said Jakarta Metro Police Spokesman Awi Setiyono, as quoted by Detik yesterday.
“The South Jakarta Police chief and the mayor have gone down to the scene and taken down the ad.”
The police could probably save themselves a lot of time and effort if they were to just look up a description of the show. ‘The Americans’, which stars Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys, is a spy thriller that tells the story of Elizabeth and Philip Jennings, two KGB officers posing as an American married couple living in Washington, D.C.
That synopsis alone explains why its poster contains communist imagery, so Indosat Ooredoo should be off the hook in this case. That is, unless the police have a problem with the provider and/or iFlix for showing a TV show that portrays a couple of fictional communists. And, at this point, we wouldn’t really be surprised if they did.
Indonesian law forbids the propagation of communist ideologies, which includes the display of communist symbols. Four Malaysian men were detained over the weekend after they were found to be selling copies of ‘The Communist Manifesto’ at the Indonesia International Book Fair. In the last year, police and the military have arrested or detained numerous individuals for wearing shirts or even selling toys with hammer and sickle logos. President Joko Widodo has supposedly given his blessing to the continued communist crackdown.
