Flag desecration

Burning the Flag of the United States

Flag desecration is a blanket term applied to various acts that intentionally deface a flag, most often a national flag (though other flags can be defaced as well). Often, such action is intended to make a political point against a country or its policies. Some countries have laws forbidding methods of defacement (such as burning) or forbidding particular uses (such as for commercial purposes); such laws may distinguish between desecration of the country's own national flag and flags of other countries. Other countries have laws protecting the right to burn a flag as free speech.

Background

Flags can be destroyed by burning or can be defaced with slogans, excrement, etc. 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:

• As a protest against a country's foreign policy.
• To distance oneself from the foreign or domestic policies of one's home country.
• As a protest at the very laws prohibiting the actions in question.
• As a protest against nationalism.
• As a protest against the government in power in the country, or against the country's form of government.

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. [2]

Australia

Main article: Flag of Australia

Elizabeth O'Shea, an Australian 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 2005 Cronulla riots, a Lebanese-Australian youth, whose name has been kept secret, climbed an RSL club and tore down its flag before setting it on fire. The youth was sentenced to 12 months probation for the destruction of the RSL's property. [3] In October of that year the youth accepted an invitation from the RSL to carry the Australian flag along with war veterans in the Anzac Day march the following year. [4]. 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. [5]. 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". [6]

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. [7]

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 Denmark, under section 110 (e) of the Danish penal code, to desecrate the flags or national symbols of foreign nations, while legal to burn the Dannebrog, Denmark's national flag. The Folketing's reasoning is as follows: the burning of foreign flags falls into the realm of foreign policy, 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. [8] 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. [9]

During the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy, Danish flags were burned in demonstrations in various Muslim countries.

Finland

According to the Finnish flag law^[10] 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 [11] but the convictions were restored by the Court of Final Appeal. [12] 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. During the 2002 FIFA World Cup, the Guinness beverage company was 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 illegal 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.^[13]

The Queen's Colours and Regimental Colours 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 Crosses posthumously.

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. states (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.

The United States Flag Code lists many guidelines for the use and display of the flag, many of which are largely ignored. For example :

• "No part of the flag should ever be used as a costume or athletic uniform"
• The flag "should not be embroidered on such articles as cushions or handkerchiefs and the like, printed or otherwise impressed on paper".

American sports teams often wear an American flag on their uniforms. 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 American Legion, Boy Scouts, The Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Sons of the American Legion.

An upside-down U.S. flag at a Washington, D.C. protest against the Iraq War.

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"[14]; it has been used by extension to make a statement about distress in civic, political, or other areas. Upside-down flying of the flag was ruled constitutional in Spence v. Washington, a 1974 Supreme Court ruling.[15]

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.

Venezuela

Since the demonstrations against the refusal by the government to renew the broadcasting license of RCTV (a major TV network), the upside-down flag of Venezuela has been adopted as a symbol of protest for this and other alleged threats to civil liberties. Demonstrators claim that it is a sign of distress and a call for help. However, government and ruling-party officials insist that these are demonstrators are desecrating the flag, manipulated by the enemies of the people. An official video sharply criticizing this practice as disrespectful and traitorous was produced, and private TV networks have been ordered to transmit it for free . 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

• Civil religion
• Flag etiquette
• Flag Desecration Amendment
• Free speech

Notes

1. ^ "Richard the Lionheart", by J. Gillingham, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1978, p.176.
2. ^ "The RUC: A Force Under Fire", by Chris Ryder, London: Mandarin, 1992, p. 82
3. ^ BBC: A motion calling for the Union Flag to be flown on Parliament Buildings every day the Northern Ireland Assembly meets has been defeated 6 June 2000
4. ^ Finnish flag law in finlex
   • Flagging concern: the controversy over flags and emblems by Robin Wilson, Democratic Dialogue July 2000
   • ".DOC" format: Flags Regulations

External links

• The Flag Burning Page
• USA Flag Burning Archive
• Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding the flag
• Would prohibiting the desecration of the US flag limit free speech?
• Flag-burning from your armchair, a flag-burning parody.
• Flag-Burning: a Detriment to the Oceanian Way, a satire by Alexander S. Peak
• Flag amendment fails by one vote
• Flag Burning video
• Citizen's Flag alliance; reports of flag burning in 2006
• Pictures of George Bush standing on an American flag: [16], [17]
• Burn the flag online
• Belgian flag dragged through the street during a demonstration