Rare Moment: Red and White Flag Raised in the Ciliwung River

The Ciliwung Depok Community (KCD) held a commemoration of the 81st Anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Indonesia beneath a bridge over the Ciliwung River in Depok, West Java, on Monday (17/8/2026).

The Ciliwung Depok Community (KCD), in cooperation with the Biology Study Programme of STKIP Arrahmaniyah, raised the Red and White Flag from a rocky outcrop in the river beneath the Grand Depok City (GDC) bridge.

The public was openly invited to attend and witness firsthand this annual tradition of environmental volunteers, which has been consistently held since 2016. The flag-raising was carried out in a special manner, with the flag-raising team moving from a boat towards the rocks in the middle of the river.

The flag-raising procession unfolded dramatically as the team landed from the boat and made their way to the middle of the river, accompanied by the strains of the national anthem, Indonesia Raya.

The organisers carried a main narrative focused on four pillars of ecological liberation in order to save the future of the river ecosystem.

The first pillar emphasised the importance of a Ciliwung free from pollution by plastic waste and other household rubbish.

The second pillar voiced the liberation of the water flow from contamination by domestic waste and industrial effluent that damages the river’s water quality.

The third pillar highlighted the firmness needed to free the river border area from the rampant illegal conversion of land.

The fourth pillar focused on liberating the ecosystem from the invasion of foreign species such as the suckermouth catfish, which increasingly threatens the native fauna population of the Ciliwung.

This concrete action is expected to spark wider public concern for preserving the Ciliwung River sustainably, serving not only as part of the independence commemoration but also as a means of conveying a message about the importance of protecting the Ciliwung River.