| Flag Desecration |
Article Index for Flag |
Articles about Flag Desecration |
Website Links For Flag Desecration |
Information AboutFlag Desecration |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT FLAG DESECRATION | |
| civil disobedience | |
| flags | |
|
BACKGROUND Flags can be destroyed by burning or ripping, or can be defaced with slogans, excrement, or dirt. Flags can be walked upon, spat upon, or dragged through the dirt. Flags may simply be used unconventionally: they may be hung upside down or reversed (in some countries, however, this is also conventional protocol to indicate a problem). Some people consider it disrespectful not to salute the flag , although others (eg Jehovah's Witnesses ) have religious reasons for not saluting. Toilet paper, napkins, doormats, and other such items may also be manufactured bearing the image of the flag, so that the flag will be defaced in the course of everyday activities. It is increasingly common to see clothing with the image of flags forming a substantial part of the piece. Opinion is split as to whether this is an act of national pride or defacement. Such actions are undertaken for a variety of reasons:
In common usage, the phrase 'flag burning' refers only to burning a flag as an act of protest. However the United States Flag Code states that "the flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning," ideally by an authorized organization with a suitable ceremony accompanying. {Link without Title} AUSTRALIA Elizabeth O'Shea, an Australia n Student , burned the Flag Of Australia in 2002; she was not charged. In May 2002, several prominent politicians advocated the banning of flag burning, but were rejected by the Prime Minister. During the march the following year. However, the RSL was forced to withdraw this invitation as it received phone calls from people threatening to pelt the youth with missiles on the day. [http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/rsl-rethinks-flag-idea/2006/10/11/1160246197880.html . The head of the New South Wales RSL was quoted as saying that "''the people who made these threats ought to be bloody ashamed of themselves''"[http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20559862-2,00.html] In 2006, Australian Contemporary artist Azlan McLennan, burnt an Australian flag and displayed it on a billboard outside the Trocadero artspace in Footscray , Victoria . He called the artpiece ''Proudly UnAustralian''. A socialist youth group, Resistance, has marketed 'flag-burning kits' to university students. {Link without Title} See the Flag Of Australia article for details. BELGIUM Although flag desecration is a crime in Belgium , Flemish Separatists often burn Belgian flags or drag them through the streets during manifestations. CANADA In 1990, during heated political times around the Meech Lake Accord , the Flag Of Quebec was desecrated by residents of Brockville, Ontario opposed to Quebec's Language Laws . Televised images of individuals stepping on the Quebec flag were played in Quebec and contributed to the deterioration in relations between Quebec and English Canada . The incident, seen as a metaphor of Canada's perceived rejection of Quebec (and of Quebec's distinctiveness in the demise of the Meech Lake Accord) was invoked by Quebec Nationalists during the run-up to the 1995 Referendum on Quebec Independence and is still remembered today. In 2003, Baptists from Canada and the United States staged a flag burning of the Canadian Flag outside of the Supreme Court of Canada in Ottawa, Ontario. This was to protest same-sex marriage that was being decided with the Canadian court system. PUERTO RICO In an episode of the '' Seinfeld '' TV series, a group of Puerto Ricans in New York City were carrying a Puerto Rican flag in a parade, and Kramer somehow set it on fire by accident. He then put out the flames by throwing the flag on the ground and stomping on it. Although this was a typical Seinfeldian bit of irreverence, many Puerto Ricans were outraged, and the show was pulled from the repeat list. DENMARK It is illegal in , as the burning of another country's flag could be understood as a threat to that country. The burning of the Dannebrog, on the other hand, does not concern foreign countries, does not fall under foreign affairs, and so remains legal. According to Danish tradition, burning is also the proper way to dispose of a worn flag. According to tradition, care must be observed to ensure that a flag never touches the ground, and flying the flag after sundown is also inappropriate behaviour. [http://www.danmarks-samfundet.dk/aspbite/categories/index.asp?intCatID=34 During the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad Cartoons Controversy , Danish flags were burned in demonstrations in various Muslim countries. FINLAND According to the Finnish flag law it is illegal to desecrate the flag, treat it in disrespecting manner or remove it from a public place without permission. HONG KONG In 1999 Ng Kung Siu and Lee Kin Yun were convicted for desecration of the Regional Flag Of Hong Kong They were found guilty by a magistrate, had the conviction over turned in the High Court but the convictions were restored by the Court of Final Appeal. [http://www.hklii.hk/cgi-hklii/disp.pl/hk/jud/en/hkcfa/1999/FACC000004%5f1999.html?query=%7e+facc000004%2f1999 They were bound over to keep the peace on his own recognisance of $2,000 for 12 months for each of the two charges. In the judgement, Chief Justice Andrew Li said although the Basic Law Of Hong Kong guarantees freedom of speech, flag desecration is not legal because there are other protest methods. IRAQ AND IRAN In 2004 many copies of the proposed new flag for Iraq were burnt (see Flag Of Iraq ). There have also been cases in both countries of Israeli and American flags being burnt, although no such examples of burning the national flags, even by political opponents, as both contain the words Allahu Akbar and so would be seen as a religious insult. IRELAND In Ireland , desecration of the flag is discouraged by the government.The National Flag, The Protocol Section, Department of the Taoiseach, Dublin During the 2002 FIFA World Cup , the Guinness beverage company were reprimanded by the Irish Government for selling the Flag Of Ireland with a Guinness logo in the center of the flag. NEW ZEALAND In New Zealand , under the Flags, Emblems and Names Protection Act 1981 it is illegal to destroy the New Zealand Flag with the intent of dishonoring it. In 2003, a Workers Party Of New Zealand member Paul Hopkinson, a Wellington schoolteacher, burned the Flag of New Zealand as part of a protest in Parliament grounds at the New Zealand Government’s hosting of the Prime Minister of Australia, against the background of Australia’s support of the United States in its war in Iraq. Hopkinson was initially convicted of destroying a New Zealand flag with intent to dishonor it, but appealed against his conviction. On appeal, his conviction was overturned on the grounds that the law had to be read consistently with the right to freedom of expression under the New Zealand Bill Of Rights Act 1990 . This meant that his actions were not unlawful because they were done in the context of a protest; however, outside of a protest, the same actions would still have been illegal. This somewhat unusual result was due in part to the fact that the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act does not overrule other laws. Hopkinson was the first person charged under the Flags, Emblems and Names Protection Act. Shortly after his successful appeal, Hopkinson again burned a New Zealand flag and was arrested once more, this time for disorderly conduct. This subsequent charge was later dropped following legal advice that, because of the appeal court's decision, Hopkinson's action would again have been justifiable as a form of free expression or free speech. PANAMA On January 9 , 1964 a discussion broke out between Panamanian students and Americans living in the Panama Canal Zone over the right of the Flag Of Panama to be raised next to the Flag Of The United States , at this time a contended territory between these nations. During the scuffle a Panamanian flag carried by Panamanian students was torn. This sparked four days of riots that ended with 22 Panamanians and four Americans dead, and with Panama breaking diplomatic relations with the United States . This event is considered to be very important in the decision to negotiate and sign the Torrijos-Carter Treaties , that allowed that the Panama Canal administration was handed over to the Panamanian Government on December 31 , 1999 . January 9 is known as Martyrs' Day and it is commemorated in Panama as a day of mourning. PORTUGAL Currently, according to article 332nd of the Penal Code, "who publicly, by means of words, gestures or print publication, or by other means of public communication, insults the Republic, the flag or the national anthem, the coats of arms or the symbols of Portuguese sovereignty" shall be punished with up to two years imprisonment. In the case of the regional symbols, the person shall be punished with up to one year imprisonment or a fine of up to 120 days. SAUDI ARABIA The Flag Of Saudi Arabia has on it the '' Shahada '' or Islamic declaration of faith. Because the ''shahada'' is considered holy, Saudi Arabia's flag code is extremely strict and even the slightest violation amounts to desecration not only of the flag but also of Islam itself. Saudi officials protested against printing the flag on a football during the FIFA World Cup citing that kicking the creed with the foot was totally unacceptable. UNITED KINGDOM English , Scottish and Welsh law does not have any concept of "flag desecration", however the law in Northern Ireland has varied since its foundation in 1921. The Union Flag of the United Kingdom and the Tricolour of the Republic Of Ireland are often defaced or burnt in Northern Ireland as a political provocation or as a protest. The Flags And Emblems Act of 1954 of the Northern Ireland Parliament , effective until repeal in the 1980s, made the display of a flag likely to cause a " Breach Of The Peace " and made it an offence to interfere or threaten to interfere with the display of "a Union flag." More recently, there has been controversy in Northern Ireland over which flags (if any) to fly over government buildings. The Queen's Colour s and Regimental Colour s are a very important symbol for a British Army Regiment and for many regiments in the Commonwealth which have inherited the British Army's traditions. In a Line Regiment the Colour stand consists of these two flags, and damage to such a symbol would be a considered a great insult to the regiment by its members. In the past, when Colours were carried into battle, the seizure of an enemy Colour or the defence of the regiment's own Colours have ranked among any British regiment's finest moments. Examples include Sergeant Ewart's capture of the French 45th Ligne Eagle Standard during the Charge Of The Scots Greys at the Battle Of Waterloo ; and the actions of Lieutenants Coghill and Melvill , who were both killed in their failed attempt to save the Queen's Colour at the Battle Of Isandlwana , and for which they were awarded Victoria Cross es Posthumous ly. UNITED STATES The Flag Of The United States has sometimes been used in symbolic defacement, often in protest of the policies of the American government, both within the country and abroad. In 1862 , during the Union army's occupation of New Orleans in the American Civil War , the military governor, Benjamin Franklin Butler , sentenced William B. Mumford to death for removing an American flag. Today, defacing a flag is an act of protected speech under the First Amendment To The United States Constitution , as established in '' Texas V. Johnson '', 491 U.S. 397 ( 1989 ), and reaffirmed in '' U.S. V. Eichman '', 496 U.S. 310 ( 1990 ). After these decisions, several "flag Burning" Amendments to the Constitution have been proposed. Any amendment to the US Constitution must first be passed by a two-thirds majority in Congress and then be ratified by 38 of the 50 U.S. State s (a three-fourths majority). On June 22 , 2005 , a flag burning amendment was passed by the House with the needed two thirds majority. On June 27 , 2006 , the most recent attempt to pass a ban on flag burning was rejected by the Senate in a close vote of 66 in favor, 34 opposed, one vote short of the two-thirds majority needed to send the amendment to be voted on by the states.http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/27/washington/27cnd-flag.html?_r=1&oref=slogin The United States Flag Code lists many guidelines for the use and display of the flag, many of which are largely ignored. For example :
American sports teams often wear an American flag on their Uniform s.http://www.csmonitor.com/2001/0926/p14s2-lihc.html This would appear to be in clear violation of the Flag Code. Flags are even used sometimes as carpeting, violating such guidelines as not allowing the flag to touch the ground, not displaying it in a horizontal position, and not displaying it in a manner which is likely to allow it to get soiled. The ritualized burning of the American flag is considered an appropriate way to dispose of a damaged or soiled flag. Flags are burned in retirement ceremonies by the , the Daughters Of The American Revolution , and the Sons Of The American Legion . Picture of Roger St. Cyr , commander of the Sons of the American Legion Post 464, setting fire to 8,000 flags behind Legion Post 286. Flying an American flag upside down is not necessarily meant as political protest. The practice has its origin in a military distress signal; displaying a flag in this manner is "a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property" {Link without Title} ; it has been used by extension to make a statement about distress in civic, political, or other areas. While desecration of the American flag is legal in the United States, it is illegal to "deface, defile or contemptuously abuse" the Confederate Flag in the state of Florida. Three men were arrested for burning the flag at Yale University , though this arrest had little to do with flag desecration laws, as the students were burning a flag that they did not own. They were arrested for destroying private property and endangering the lives and property of nearby residents. "Uproar Hits Fla. Confederate Flag Show" Salon.com AP News Wire VENEZUELA Since the demonstrations against the refusal by the government to renew the broadcasting license of . Globovisión prepended to the video a statement denouncing the message as violative of the Law On Social Responsibility On Radio And Television , "for constituting anonymous official propaganda". SEE ALSO NOTES |
|
|