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Pacifism
Peace flags
Last modified: 2023-12-09 by randy young
Keywords: peace flag | pacifism |
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Also on FOTW:
- UN CyberSchool Bus'contest Peace Flag Stamp (2000)
- Six Flags of Tolerance, UNESCO project (1996)
- World Peace Association: Brotherhood flag
- Non-rainbow peace flags by country:
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The Cyprus flag is quite common the "Greek" side. You can see it hoisted in many places. It is more frequently viewed than the Greek flag. The "Greek" Cypriots are quite proud of their flag.
Dov Gutterman, 28 May 1999
And yet it was deliberately designed to be a "neutral" flag, in order to inspire the peace between the two communities (Greek and Turkish Cypriots). The very same occurred with the Irish flag, where green stands for the Irish, the orange for the Protestants and the white for peace among them — the very same flag that was even prohibited in Northern Ireland because it may offend one of the conflicting parts! Other examples to hand are the unofficial green-white-pink flag of Newfoundland (similar symbolism as Ireland) and the Tatarian flag with green for Muslims/Tatars, red for Russians and white (very thin stripe!) for peace.
António Martins, 29 May 1999
Yet another case of a "neutral" design, supposedly peace-inspiring, is the flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
António Martins, 5 December 1999
The [previous] flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina was already a compromise design; this specifically-designed neutral flag [has] received a political charging which now makes it unacceptable.
John Hall, 18 December 1997
Other cases are:
USA Grand Union Flag 1775-1777: This flag altered the British Red Ensign with six white pieces of cloth to create a field of 13 red/white stripes. By 1777, the presence of the Union Flag in the canton was deemed inappropriate.
Cambodia: The flag of UN blue with a white map and blue text ofthe name of the country was an interim flag that wasn't appreciated much at the time (early 1990s), but now is used by Cambodian Americans. Probable the reverse of the original question [compromise flags that became politically charged and unacceptable].
The very similar flags of Egypt/Libya/Syria were an international compromise in forming the Federation of Arab Republics in 1970. The federation is now dissolved, with Libya choosing a monochromatic flag.
The 1928-1994 flag of South Africa was really a compromise between the British and the Dutch. They conveniently forgot the majority population which is now quite well representated in the government and in the flag.
Nick Artimonich, 18 December 1997
The following is a list of flags that have been used as symbols of peace themselves, or derived from campaigns to promote peace. The list is arranged in chronological order.
- White flag, used from as early as AD 25
- The Red Cross, used since 1864
- "Verda Stel" (Green Star) flag, used since 1887
- "Pro Concordia Labor", adopted by the US National Council of Women in 1897
- Christian flag, used since 1897
- Vredesvlag/World Peace Flag, adopted by the Universal Peace Congress in 1912
- Flag of the Olympic Games, used since 1914
- Suffragette flag, used since 1917
- International Banner of Peace, adopted by the Roerich Movement in 1929
- League of Nations, first version adopted in 1929
- Anarcho-pacifism, used since about 1940
- "Four Freedoms Flag" (also known as the "UN Honor Flag"), used since 1942
- United Nations Organization, adopted in 1945
- "World Citizen" flag, used since 1954
- "Peace Sign" flag (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament), used since 1958
- Brotherhood flag of the World Peace Association, used since 1958
- Rainbow "PEACE" flag, used since 1961
- Ecology flag, used since 1969
- Earth Day flag, used since 1970
- Gay Pride/Rainbow flag, used since 1978
- "One World" flag, used since 1996
- Peace Bell Foundation flag, adopted in early 2000s
- Global Country of World Peace, adopted in 2000
- International Day of Peace flag, used since 2001
Esteban Rivera, 10 October 2015
This is, although interesting as a compilation, a bit too inclusive what regards flags of pacifism: Olympic flag, Suffragette flag, Christian flag, gay pride flag and all.
Over and over again there is this reference to the white flag in the writings of Tacitus. I have neither found chapter and verse for a good reference nor have I found the "white flag" thing myself by searching the texts. Does anyone actually know where this really is?
Regarding the Rainbow "PEACE" flags, the chronology is wrong: Aldo Capitini in 1961 was not the first using the rainbow flag as a peace flag in Italy. This was already in use since at least the late 1940s in the context of the Communist Party (PCI), usually, but not always, with the inscription "PACE."
M. Schmöger, 12 October 2015
