[133], In 2020, as protests spread across the U.S. demanding an end to police brutality, some U.S. citizens chose to fly their flags upside down as part of the protests. [54] This states in part "The National Flag should never be defaced by placing slogans, logos, lettering or pictures of any kind on it, for example at sporting events. [79], Burning the national flag is illegal in Nepal. Australia is one of the few nations, along with the United States, Canada, and Belgium, to explicitly allow flag burning. However, government and ruling-party officials insist that these demonstrators are desecrating the flag. It is not illegal in the US either. The flag of Saudi Arabia bears the shahada (Islamic declaration of faith). Military personnel must salute or present arms according to their corps' internal regulations. The Portuguese Penal Code (article 323) also forbids the desecration of foreign symbols: "Who publicly, by means of words, gestures or print publication, or by other means of public communication, insults the official flag or other symbol of sovereignty of a foreign State or of an international organization of which Portugal is a member shall be punished with up to one year imprisonment or a fine of up to 120 days." [127], In common usage, the phrase "flag burning" refers only to burning a flag as an act of protest. The Regional Flag and Regional Emblem Ordinance is the equivalent statute in respect of the Hong Kong flag. The Bureau of Indian Standards is in charge of the enforcement of the manufacture of the flag according to the guidelines. Laws around burning national flags vary around the world. In short, it’s not likely. According to Radio Free Asia, in January 2014 after Uyghur residents were reportedly forced to bow to a flag of China before worshipping at Xaniqa mosque in Yengimehelle township, Xayar County, Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang, three Uyghur youths burned the flag. [citation needed], Destruction, removal, or desecration of national emblems installed by a public authority (i.e., the Swiss flag, the Swiss coat of arms, the cantonal or municipal flags and coats of arms) is punishable by a monetary penalty or imprisonment of up to three years according to the Swiss federal penal code. 9 January is known as Martyrs' Day and is commemorated in Panama as a day of mourning. [117][118] In some cases, Ivorian flags displayed in Northern Ireland have signs explicitly labeling them as such displayed nearby to avoid having them desecrated by local pro-UK loyalists mistaking them for Irish ones. In the United Kingdom, it has been a tradition to burn an effigy of the Pope, or of failed Catholic plotter Guy Fawkes, for hundreds of years. During the scuffle a Panamanian flag carried by Panamanian students was torn. Article 32 states that flags in a bad condition must be sent to the nearest military unit for incineration on Flag Day according to ceremonial procedures. Offenders can be hit with jail terms of up to three years for acts such as mocking the national anthem by singing it in a sarcastic voice. They were arrested for a breach of the peace#Scotland offence, subsequently pleaded guilty and were fined a total of £450. The designers are immune from prosecution as the shoes were made and displayed outside Thailand. Inflation and not one but two separate new currencies make it hard to track just how much it went up, but the new penalty is a maximum fine of over $16,000 and up to three years in prison. It is illegal to damage or revile flags of foreign countries, if they are shown publicly by tradition, event, or routinely by representatives of the foreign entity (§104 StGB). The act is considered offensive by many, but flag burning is legal in the U.S. under Supreme Court rulings that it is constitutionally protected speech under the First Amendment. Actual convictions because of a violation of the criminal code need to be balanced against the constitutional right of the freedom of expression, as ruled multiple times by Germany's constitutional court.[39]. [36], A July 2010 law makes it a crime to desecrate the French national flag in a public place, but also to distribute images of a flag desecration, even when done in a private setting, if the objective is to create trouble in public space. [citation needed] 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. Before 1989, a whopping 48 of 50 states had some type of flag-burning law on the books. In Algeria, flag desecration is a crime. [citation needed]. Except for a few occasions during 1971 Liberation War between then East and West Pakistan. [35], In 2006, a man who had publicly burnt a French flag stolen from the façade of the city hall of Aurillac during a public festival, organized and regulated by public authorities, was fined €300. Flag Burning History. In July 2016, the Israeli legislature passed an amendment to Israel’s Flag and Emblem Law that makes burning the Israeli flag a criminal offense punishable by a $15,000 fine or up to three years imprisonment. [48], In October 2016, some miniature Chinese and Hong Kong flags that had been placed by pro-Beijing legislators in the Legislative Council chamber were flipped upside down by lawmaker Cheng Chung-tai, who regarded them as "cheap patriotic acts". Atlas Obscura and our trusted partners use technology such as cookies on our website to personalise ads, support social media features, and analyse our traffic. A spokesman at the Thai National Flag Museum[109] commented that no one has a copyright on the flag's colours or the order in which they are presented. In the Brazilian Armed Forces' Military Penal Code,[20] article 161, a soldier, airman or seaman who disrespects any national symbol is punished with one to two years' detention; officers may be declared unsuitable for their rank. According to French law,[32] a person outraging the French national anthem or the French flag during an event organized or regulated by public authorities is liable to a fine of €7,500 (and six months' imprisonment if performed in a gathering). The ministry that oversees the use of national symbols requested four years in jail, but the judge only issued a small fine and a public warning. The United States Supreme Court in Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397 (1989), and reaffirmed in U.S. v. Eichman, 496 U.S. 310 (1990), has ruled that due to the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, it is unconstitutional for a government (whether federal, state, or municipal) to prohibit the desecration of a flag, due to its status as "symbolic speech." "[59], Seán O'Casey's 1926 play The Plough and the Stars attracted controversy for its critical view of the Easter Rising, in particular a scene in which a tricolour is brought into a pub frequented by a prostitute. Koo responded that "he is happy to be punished as being jailed is part of the life of an activist, and he would continue to protest against the Beijing and Hong Kong governments and fight for democracy. This use of other laws to prosecute acts of flag burning is a common practice: Charges may include disturbing the peace, theft, destruction of property, arson, and other crimes, in lieu of symbolic desecration. It is your money, you are free to do what you will with it. A symbol used to represent something powerful or influential—a person, a sports team, a religion—also makes itself vulnerable to destruction. [77], The use of the National Symbols (Coat of Arms, Anthem, and National Flag) in Mexico is protected by law. In 2010, an Algerian man, furious with the extremely bad customer service he was receiving at a local government office, grabbed a Tricolore and snapped its wooden pole in half. In Denmark, it is illegal to desecrate the flags of foreign countries as well as the flags of the United Nations and Council of Europe, but legal to burn the Dannebrog, Denmark’s national flag, according to section 110(e) of the Danish penal code because Parliament has decided that burning other countries’ flags is a matter of foreign policy, as it could be construed as a threat. [clarification needed]. The law properly protects the principles that are important to its citizens from attack: blasphemy laws protect certain religious beliefs from desecration, slander and libel laws protect personal and group reputations from abuse. [94][95], During the Romanian Revolution, the Communist era flag was flown with the coat of arms cut out, leaving a hole. It is not illegal in the US either. June 6, 2018. [122], After the Johnson decision, the Flag Protection Act was passed, protecting flags from anyone who "mutilates, defaces, physically defiles, burns, maintains on the floor or ground, or tramples upon any flag". [108], In October 2018, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha ordered the Foreign Ministry to investigate fashion footwear in Paris that incorporates the colours of the Thai national flag. § 2. The concept of flag desecration continues to provoke a heated debate over protecting a national symbol, preserving free speech, and upholding the liberty said to be represented by that national symbol. Photos of the shoes, shown on the Vogue Paris Facebook page taken during Paris Fashion Week, outraged Thai social media users, some of whom demanded apologies and jail sentences for the perpetrators. She clarified that provisions for safeguarding the national flag would be added under the proposed National Harmony Act. § 1. 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. Flags have several advantages over effigies.