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image by Pascal Gross, 27 Aug 2003
From what I understand what has been announced by the national symbols
committee, the winner of the competition is a design for a new flag for Angola. The
old symbols, both flag and arms, will continue in use until the constituent
assembly can agree on a constitution in which the new national symbols
will be described. Hopefully, our Portuguese speaking correspondents can
clarify the matter, but it seems to me the new flag will have to wait before
being run up the flagpoles.
Jan Oskar Engene, 28 Aug 2003
You are absolutely correct. This is just a project, still waiting for a new
constitution to be institutionalized. That, as we all know, can take years to be
implemented. So the winning design is just a proposal.
Jorge Candeias, 28 Aug 2003
Uije Citizens Refute Change of Country's Flag
Angola Press Agency (Luanda)
September 6, 2003
A crowd of citizens in Angola's northern Uije province gathered on 06
September 2003 to demonstrate against the proposed new flag chosen by the Parliament's Constitutional
Commission of the National Assembly (Angolan Parliament).
In a survey carried out by Angop, some interviewed defended
the maintenance of the current national symbols, and others said the flag
to be adopted represents nothing to the Angolan people.
According to Eliás Kutuila, a civil servant, the colours of
the proposed flag "do not go in accordance with the country's historical background". Some people back substantial changes of the flag but without
"neglecting the history of Angola". One citizen, Pedro Augusto, said there are lots of countries in the world
that have gone through situations like Angola but did not change their national
symbols. Another citizen said the flag "they want to impose upon us has no any
historical meaning, whereas the previous one describes the suffering of
the Angolan people (blood and sorrow) plus the country's fortunes".
Antonio Teixeira, 11 Sep 2003
I wouldn't call the "survey" of a few interviews made to people protesting
against the new design representative. Angop is the state-run Angolan press agency
and is not independent from the influence of the ruling MPLA.
So, all this tells us is that there are people in Angola who do not like
that proposed flag, as would be expected. It says nothing about numbers,
or how big the opposition really is.
Speculating, and considering similar cases in other countries, I do
suspect it to be majority: there are those that prefer the current flag
for political reasons, those that don't like the proposal because they'd
prefer some other design (and several ideas have necessarily been put
forward, informally), those that don't like it because they consider it
ugly, etc.
Jorge Candeias, 11 Sep 2003
I completely agree that these are not scientific surveys but they might be the closest we will come to them. So here goes another article about another "survey". But I find it interesting to listen to the reasons for disliking the new flag, some of which are in line with what was already discussed here.
Public Opinion Disagrees On New National Symbols
Angola Press Agency (Luanda)
September 4, 2003
Several citizens disagreed today with the new national symbols (Flag,
Anthem and Insignia), chosen last week by the National Assembly's Constitutional
Commission. The discontent was aired
on the State-run Angolan National Radio (RNA) "Manh? Informativa"
(Informative Morning) programme.
Among the chosen symbols, which took three years to determine, the citizens
were skeptical about the new flag proposal but defended the
country's right to adopt an exclusive flag. During the phone-in session, callers
said things such as "You deputies (MP's) should not copy a flag from other countries
(...)". One of the callers, José Quipungo, a bishop of the United Methodist
Church, considers that in the Hall of Nations, the present national flag
is not similar to that of any other country, therefore, it should not be
changed "Just like that". He stressed that the proposed flag, both in the colours and the
design,
does not represent any patriotic or nationalistic feeling for Angolans.
"Perhaps it represents the present political sentiment", he said. Another caller, Mateus Bimbi, is of the opinion that since the deputies
are always complaining about the lack of democracy, in this specific case they should show their democratic attitude, by letting
people choose. "It is as if they are denying the greatest symbol of our
independence, which means, renouncing our independence".
Ana Bela who also phoned into the programme said that the deputies are being
too hasty because Angola is just coming out of a war situation and there
are still a lot of important things to do. Therefore, some more time should
be given so that the various artists that the country has may work more
calmly to prepare a more a well designed one.
In the opinion of Manuela Santana, popular consultation regarding
the flag design should be carried out because the sovereignty rests on the people.
"It is necessary to find a flag which people can identify with, because
the one that has been chosen does not represent anything for us. Angola
has always had a bright son".
Meanwhile, the guests to the radio programme, deputies Jerónimo
Wanga (UNITA) and Anália Pereira (PLD),
were of the opinion that
the proposed design represents
neutrality.
As regards the similarity of the design with the flag of Costa Rica, the PLD
deputy explained that the commission did not define criteria for the public
competition
from which proposal was chosen, allowing contestants to design
their flags as they pleased. "That is why we did not have a lot of choice",
she said. However, the MP's have assured that the people will have a say
before the symbols are finally approved by the National Assembly.
The new national
anthem to be approved will keep the melody of the current one with a few
changes to the words. Many of the callers to the radio programme also
think that only the lines referring to the ruling party's
official date for the start of the armed struggle against colonialism (February
4) should be changed since the other parties advocate different dates.
The Constitutional Commission has also agreed to keep the country's
present Insignia.
The Parliament's Constitutional Commission, made up of members of all
the political parties seated in the National Assembly (Parliament), is
in charge of drafting the next Constitutional Bill to be approved before
the next elections.
Antonio Teixeira, 11 Sep 2003
Details on the new proposed flag of Angola can be found at this
webpage. As supplied by Mello Luchtenberg.
My Portuguese is extremely basic, but it seemed to me that the flag
(and presumably the arms as well) was still a "proposal" rather than the
new flag of Angola ( at least as yet)?
Christopher Southworth, 27 Nov 2003
Yes, the flag is a proposal until a new constitution gets approved.
But that whole thing is quite inconsistent. If you check the page of the
"SUB-COMISSÃO
DE TRABALHO PARA OS SÍMBOLOS DA REPÚBLICA" (working sub-commission
for the symbols of the Republic) you can read the internal regulations
of that organism where is expressed that "A Sub-Comissão da trabalho
para so Símbolos da República tem por objecto o apuramento
de três propostas de cada um dos Símbolos Nacionais, submetidos
a concurso pela Comissão Constitucional." (the working sub-commission
for the symbols of the Republic has the purpose of electing three proposals
for each National Symbol, submitted to contest by the Constitutional Commission).
And yet, only one final proposal for flag is known and no proposals for
a new hymn or Coat of Arms are known.
That whole thing is a bit bizarre, if you ask me...
On the other hand, in the page about the proposals for the national symbols, you
get a long list of names (and respective provinces) and no proposals at
all. I assume (because it's written nowhere) that these are the names of
those people that put forward flag proposals. I also see one name with
a differently coloured background. Number 106, Katica, from Luanda,
is probably the author of the proposed flag.
Jorge Candeias, 27 Nov 2003
On 28 August 2003 the Constitutional Commission charged with drafting
Angola's new constitution and proposing new national symbols, released
to the public its proposed new flag for the Republic of Angola.
The proposed flag, measuring 180 cm long and 120 cm wide, is divided
into five horizontal bands. The top and bottom bands are dark blue and
represent freedom, justice and solidarity. The two intermediate bands are
white and signify peace, unity and harmony. The center band is red representing
sacrifice, tenacity and heroism. In the middle of the red band is a 15-ray
yellow sun comprised of three irregular concentric circles. The image is
inspired by rock paintings in the desert cave of Tchitundo-Hulu in Namibe
Province. The sun symbolizes the historical and cultural identity and the
riches of Angola.
The proposed flag and new national anthem will be formally adopted
after general elections, scheduled for 2005. The constitutional commission
has recommended that the the Angolan insignia remain unchanged.
Source: this
webpage.
Carlos Sousa, 11 Nov 2003
Concerning the proposed flag of Angola, Pascal Vagnat found a recent
update:
The draft of the future Constitution of Angola shall be presented to
the Constitution Commission of the National Assembly on 26 January 2004.
The Commission shall discuss the draft before its adoption. A public
consultation process shall also be set up.
The draft of the Constitution includes the new flag proposal.
We can consider that another step was probably made towards the
change of the national flag of Angola.
Ivan Sache, 08 Feb 2004
When will Angola change to the new flag adopted in August 2003 as designed by
contest winner
Catica
(entry No 106)?
Nozomi Kariyasu,
01 Nov 2005
Most probably never! The reason is for us all to speculate, but a hard fact
is that since the end of the Angolan civil war, and even well before it, a
change in the
national flag so that it does not show such a close link with
MPLA has been a consistent rumour right to the
highest level of government, and yet no change whatsoever occurred. So, I remain skeptical,
contest or no contest.
António MARTINS-Tuválkin,
06 Nov 2005
Angola: Parliament Discloses New National Symbols
Source: ANGOP
Date: November 14, 2000
Luanda, 11/14 - Angola's National Assembly (Parliament), will hold
a plenary session today in Luanda, to discuss the proposals submitted
as part of the tender for new national symbols. 288 people have taken part
in the contest for a new flag, new insignia of the Republic, and a new
national anthem as part of the preparations for a new Angolan constitution. The
contest which began on 20 August 1999 was scheduled to close December that
same year, but was extended to 20 March 2000, due to delays in
the submission of the proposals. According to the contest regulations, the national
symbols should promote national unity, territorial integrity, together with the
cultural and historic identity of Angola. They should not bear any connotation
with the symbols of any political party. The sub-commission for symbols
is composed of 15 members of parliament. Eight representatives are from
the ruling MPLA, three from UNITA, one from the
PRS, one from the FNLA,
and another representative from the PLD. One
more deputy represents other parties within the National Assembly. The
sub-commission will elect the three best national symbols under contest, before
sending them to the National Assembly Constitutional Commission.
Source: ANGOP
Date: April 24, 2001
Luanda, 04/24 - The Angolan parliament constitutional sub-commission for national symbols
is to release the results of their second scrutiny
in which 130 envelopes were selected with 150 proposals. The Sub-Commission
Coordinator, Ana Maria de Oliveira said that it was a very difficult phase
that took months of work. The review of the proposals commenced
in November last year after 288 envelopes were submitted containing proposals
for a new national anthem, flag and insignia. Ana Maria de Oliveira said
the first review concentrated on verifying whether participants
had respected the tender regulations. Of the 288 proposals received, 115
were rejected, 121 accepted, and there were three opinions. For a new national
anthem alone the sub-commission received 44 proposals, of which 29
were not considered. She added that the second review would be to select the final 20
proposed flag designs, 10 insignias and
four anthems, which will then be submitted to the constitutional commission for
approval. Ana Maria de Oliveira assured that the necessary conditions were
in place to rapidly complete the work in spite of some practical problems
such as the absence of opposition MP's at meetings. The sub-commission
working on the symbols is composed of 15 MP's: eight for the ruling MPLA,
three for UNITA, one for PRS, one for FNLA, and one representing the parties
not having a seat in the parliament.
Another report indicated that the three proposals
for the anthem were approved on 16 May 2001.
Mark Sensen, 17 Oct 2001
Source: ANGOP
Date: May 16, 2001
Luanda,
05/16 - The Angolan parliament sub-commission debating new symbols of the Republic
approved three proposals for the future national
anthem as part of preparations for the drafting of a new constitutional
law. The proposals of three anthems, three flags and same number of insignias
will be submitted to the constitutional commission of the parliament for
analysis and selection. The new anthem and flag to be approved will replace the current ones.
According to the president of the sub-commission for symbols, Mrs.
Ana Maria de Oliveira, the selection of the three anthems out of 44 proposals has not been easy. She said
they first identified those anthems which observed the requisites of the regulations
of the context before they selected those with the best
melodic and technical quality."
Jan Zrzavy, 19 Feb 2002
Constitutional Commission Examines National Symbols (of Angola) Report
- February 11, 2003
Source: ANGOP Angola Press Agency (Luanda).
The Constitutional Commission of Angola's National Assembly, in charge
of drafting the future constitution for the country will be
informed on Wednesday by the Sub-committee on new national sovereignty
symbols.
The Sub-committee for the National Symbols, co-ordinated by deputy Ana Maria
de Oliveira, was the first one to finish its work that led to the three
proposals for a Flag, Insignia and National Anthem.
Out of the tender for the National Symbols, 246 proposals were obtained,
of which 143 were for the flag, 63 for the insignia 40 for the
National Anthem.
The regulation on the National Symbols stipulates that the winners
will get a medal and the equivalent of USD20 000 in national currency.
Antonio Teixeira, 12 Feb 2003
Constitutional Commission Selects National Symbols
Luanda, 02/12 - The Angolan National Assembly Constitutional Commission
is set to select soon the national symbols (National Anthem, Insignia and
Flag) ahead of a new constitution.
On Wednesday, the commission got briefed on the findings of the national
symbols sub-commission, coordinated by MP Ana Maria de Oliveira.
According to the spokesperson of the constitutional commission, MP
Carlos Magalhaes, the symbols selected as an integral part of the future
constitution will still be submitted to the population.
Selected from a public tender were three proposals for flag, three
for insignia and three for the Anthem, he said.
Jan Zrzavy, 14 Feb 2003
From Angola Press web page:
Luanda, 15 Feb 2003 - Angolan parliament Speaker Roberto de Almeida
Friday said here he strongly believed that the future Constitution of the
country may be submitted to a referendum this year. In an interview on
the state-owned Angolan "TPA" Television, the Speaker added
that even during the deadlock registered at the Constitutional Commission,
the parts of the text which had earned consensus were already being written.
The referendum is expected to take a minimum of three months, he said.
Asked on the impossibility of holding elections before approving the new
Constitution, Roberto de Almeida said he understood that it would be desirable
that the new elections are held after a consensual legislative and legal
framework has been established. But the Speaker feels that the National
Assembly is "on a good path" and there is no room for elections without
a new Constitution. The Constitutional Commission, a body created in 1988,
is to select soon the new national symbols (anthem, insignia and flag)
which will be part of the future draft Constitution.
Jan Zrzavy, 15 Feb 2003
Luanda, 19 March 2003 - The constitutional commission of the National
Assembly (Angolan parliament) met today in Luanda to analyse the proposals
of each political party with parliamentary seats on the "National Symbols"
(Anthem, Insignia, and Flag).
"This is a preliminary consultation", said ruling party MP, Rui Falcăo,
at the end of the meeting, adding that other meetings on this matter will take place until an agreement is reached. On February,
the Constitutional Commission was informed about the results obtained on
the public tender for national symbols, having been selected three proposals
for the flag, insignia and national anthem from a number of about 288 proposals
in the whole country.
Jan Zrzavy, 19 Mar 2003
It sounds serious, this time... Let's see what comes out from it. It appears
that
there have been three attempts to changes the flag in Angola (1989, 1995 and 1998).
António Martins-Tuválkin, 20 Mar 2003
image by
António Martíns-Tuválkin, 26 July 2016Angola has indicated it will adopt a new flag. The probable design currently in discussion,
is attached. The additions in the flag (emblem, shield...) are unknown
at the moment.
The news was indicated by a reporter who visited Angola two weeks ago.
Jaume Ollé, 16 September 1996
The Angola embassy here has NO knowledge of the move towards adopting a new
flag.
Bruce Berry, 17 September 1996
This would seem to be a straightforward combination of the flags and
colours of the ruling MPLA party and their
UNITA
rivals, shorn of ideological insignia. The MPLA flag, as mentioned elsewhere,
is black over red with a yellow star in the middle. The UNITA flag is red
over green over red with a black cockerel and red sun emblem on the red
stripe.
So the proposed flag - red over green over black combines the two Party
flags while using the pan-African colours. Personally, I think the overall
effect is rather boring and unimaginative, especially when compared to
other new African flags such as those for Namibia and
South Africa. On
the other hand, Angola has had more than enough excitement over the past
thirty years so any symbol around which all Angolans can unite should be
welcomed.
Stuart A. Notholt, 20 September 1996
A recent news report from Angola said that the national assembly of
the country has initiated work on a new constitution. The assembly appointed
a 44-member Constitutional Committee to prepare a draft constitution. According to the report, UNITA is taking part in the work on the new
constitution along with other Angolan parties. Now, the interesting thing
for the vexillologist (and the vexillolographer) is that the news report
stated that the Constitutional Committee will organise a contest for a
new flag in July this year. So, we may have a new national flag to look
forward to.
Jan Oskar Engene, 22 April 1998
On 28 August 1999 Jaume Ollé wrote:
Three unknown flags seen in Luanda c. 1976.
1) Horizontal stripes of red, green and black; and
2) Horizontal B-R-B horizontal (the red stripe fimbriated Y)
3) stripes of red, purple and green.
According to Jaume Ollé, at the beginning of September 1996, a (Spanish?)
journalist visiting Luanda was informed that this proposal, a horizontal
tricolor of red, green and black, was under consideration to be the basis
of a new national flag. But, as was recently commented in n Lusovex, a new Angolan flag seems
to be out of perspective in the current state of affairs. What a 1996 proposal
was doing in 1976 is quite a mystery.
Antonio Martins, 31 Aug 1999
I believe that the flag of 1976 can be of one province of Angola. I
have a w/b photo with many flags in an Avenue, some of them unidentified,
probably flags of provinces (alternating with national and party flags).
These flags were probably short lived because the war ravaged the country
and provincial flags disappeared. Later the colours, forgotten by people,
may be used like national proposal.
Jaume Ollé, 12 Sep 1999
It is a tantalizing possibility, but is there any evidence to back it
up? The pre-1975 provinces of Angola didn't have any flags (of if they
had,
they would be in the usual Portuguese post-1935 civic flag pattern, with
a Coat of Arms in the middle of a plain or gyronny background). Knowing the independentists'
ideas about national unity and acknowledgement of local particularities,
I doubt that any provincial flag could have been adopted until 1976; even
party or army geographical sections would have if any, hardly distinct
flags. On the photo: which are the identified ones? And which party or
parties? By "national flag" I guess you mean the MPLA sponsored. People's
Republic of
Angola, is that it?
Antonio Martins, 13 Sep 1999