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The "African News Dimension" agency published on 13 July 2006 an article by
Kow Ahenakwa on the respect due to the national flag and arms of Ghana.
"For the past few weeks when activities of the FIFA World Cup were at their
peak, the Ghana flag experienced an unprecedented presence in Accra, other
cities and towns, and beyond. Suddenly, the red, gold and green horizontal
stripes with a black star in the middle appeared as hats, shirts, necklaces,
wristbands, head scarves, dresses, jackets, sweatshirts and all manner of
souvenirs sold or given away to often ecstatic supporters of the national
football team, the Black Stars. Both in far away Germany, where the football
tournament took place and at home in Ghana, many people used items of clothing
or accessories to drum up their support for the Black Stars.
All this was
in contravention of a law that makes it an offence for any person without the
express permission of the Minister of Interior to use “for any purpose
whatsoever, the design of the flag or the Coat of Arms of Ghana or any part
thereof”. The Flag and Arms Protection Act of 1959, Number 61, states that any
person who contravenes the provisions of this Act commits an offence and shall
be liable on summary conviction to a fine. “If the design is used upon, or in
connection with goods”, the law says, “The fine shall be increased by an
additional amount equal to the retail value of any such goods ... or the goods
may be confiscated altogether.”
Cecilia Davis, Solicitor to the Graphic
Communications Group, explained to Showbiz on Wednesday that even though the law
was promulgated a long time ago, there is no indication that it has been amended
or repealed and, therefore, people have to abide by it. She explained
further that despite the fact that many people have flouted the law in the past,
it does not mean that offenders cannot be hauled to face the law in court today.
Besides the law, the respect that is due the Ghana Flag and the Coat of Arms
as symbols of the nation is demonstrated by tradition. For example, it is only
the President of the Republic who has the privilege of flying the Ghana Flag on
his car while on official duty. According to state Protocol Department sources,
not even the Vice-President is ordinarily given that privilege. Similarly, in
the Armed Forces, the Ghana Flag is always given armed protection whenever it is
displayed at military parades. The Electoral Commission also makes sure that the
national symbols are not used for partisan political activity through the
commission’s adherence to a strict code about the use of symbols.
During
the period of the World Cup, however, all respect to national symbols seems to
have been thrown to the wind as high demand for the flag created a situation in
which, in the suppliers’ haste to deliver, the colours of the flag were often
mixed up — the red appeared paler; gold turned to be yellow or orange; and the
green could be anything between pale green and sea blue. Overnight, all the
street vendors in Accra were selling flags or some red-gold-green merchandise.
In many cases, the width of the strips were uneven with the red portion being
wider than the green or in other cases, the five prongs of the black star had
been reduced to four.
Some Ghanaians, who have observed the use to which
the national flag has been put in recent times, have made remarks on the issue.
A retired Headmaster, ET Erskine, told Showbiz on Monday that although he was
not aware of any law about the use of the Ghana Flag, he knew by tradition that
the flag was to be given respect at all times. “When I was running a school, for
example” Erskine said, “I personally made sure that the flag that was flown by
my school always went up every morning and brought down its post every evening.
We never allowed it to stay in the rain or dew because of the respect we had for
the flag. These days, however, hotels, churches and all manner of organisations
use the flag in any way they wish.”
[...]
http://www.andnetwork.com/index?service=direct/0/Home/recent.titleStory&sp=l44426
Ivan Sache, 20 July 2006
As I grew up in Ghana I found this article very funny. In my day almost
EVERYTHING in Ghana was painted red gold and green! I seriously doubt that you
could have stood at any point in Accra and not been able to see something in the
national colours within a few yards. Almost every lorry (including the "Trotros"
[minibuses]) had the national flag painted on it somewhere, the fishing boats
were painted in the national colours, the signs for everything from the
Government HQ to the local hairdressers featured large swathes of red gold and
green, usually with a black star as well. It's not that the Ghanaians
disrespected their flag, they just loved it! Every morning we would stand in
school assembly and sing the national anthem (all about the flag of course) as
the flag was raised on the school's flagpole, where it would fly for the rest of
the school day. Their love of the flag was infectious and it is where I picked
up my own love of flags, and to this day I still get a lump in my throat when I
see the flag of Ghana.
I think Ghana is just having one of those spells
when the flag is so popular that someone has to complain about it. We went
through the same thing in England with the St George's flag. I had several
newspapers and radio shows phone me up for an interview obviously wanting me to
rant about the disrespect being shown to the national flag by all these people
hanging it outside their windows or flying it from cars, but I disappointed them
by saying I wholeheartedly supported it!
Graham Bartram, 20 July
2016
The controversy in Ghana between those who unreservedly love the national
symbols and those who want to ensure that those symbols are respected is an old
and familiar one. Some nations, as we know, do not allow ordinary citizens to
fly the national flag in front of private residences; only government buildings
may fly the flag. Others have a civil and a state flag. And in some places, the
national flag flies all over the place, sometimes incorrectly (as in the US S&S
displayed vertically with the canton not in the honor position) but always with
a patriotic passion and fervor. I treasure always a remark made to me by a Dane,
"We love our Dannebrog," as she watched me hoist it here in the U.S. She was
truly touched by someone from another country sharing that feeling of respect
for her national symbol. I've always felt that was a momentary victory for
peace.
I respectfully suggest that the attitude, either the official one
or the public one, reflects the philosophy of the government or the people.
Recall the little joke about how in some countries (which I will not name)
everything is allowed except what is forbidden, and in others nothing is allowed
unless it is authorized, and so forth ... it would seem to apply.
There
is also a link here to the whole idea of copyright on flag designs. There seems
to be a wide-spread public perception (certainly in Ghana!) that the national
symbols are part of the national heritage that belongs to every citizen as a
right of citizenship ... and perhaps that flag designs (though not the actual
physical objects themselves, which can remain property like any other object)
are public property as well. As that perception spreads, it will eventually
become the principle on which laws are built. On the other hand, in some
societies (which some might choose to characterize as "repressive," but I make
no value judgments) the concept that the state owns everything grows daily, and
the opposite trend seems to be the way life is headed.
History shows that
in the former, open societies, the end may well turn out to be that everything
falls apart, or becomes victim to a takeover of some kind ... but "was nice
while it lasted" as they say. In the latter, more controlled, societies, the
public eventually stages a revolution, with or without outside help, and starts
all over again, if anyone is left alive to start anything. Of course, there are
all shades of blending of the two styles, and resultant mixes of results, so
nothing is by formula.
The best may be for a society (represented by it
government) to encourage the use of the national colours (remember the UJ
jackets worn by British rock stars and Abby Hoffman's S&S-design shirt?) as a
way to show simple patriotism, but also educate their citizens in proper respect
for the flag itself, the national anthem, and the more subtle symbols like the
nation's cultural values and the constitution (to cite an example from the US).
The result is that national symbols, including flags, receive both love and
respect.
Bill Dunning, 21 July 2006
