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Congo - Constitution and National Anthem

Last modified: 2013-06-22 by bruce berry
Keywords: congo | brazzaville | constitution | anthem |
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National Flag in the Constitution

The Constitution of 1992 [from http://www.ifrance.com/congo- brazzaville/constitution_congolaise.html] (Constitution de la République du Congo-Brazzaville Examinée par le Conseil Supérieur de la République le 20 Décembre 1991et adoptée au Référendum du 15 Mars 1992) determines the flag in Article 2, english text from CongoWeb (http://www.congoweb.net):
Article 2.
L'embleme national est le drapeau tricolore, vert, jaune, rouge. De forme rectangulaire, il est composé de deux (2) triangles rectangles de couleur verte et rouge, sépars par une bande jaune en diagonale, le vert étant du côté de la hampe. La loi précise les dimensions, les tons des couleurs et les autres détails du drapeau.
Article 2.
The national emblem is a tricolor, green-yellow-red flag. Of rectangular shape, it is made of two (2) rectangle triangles, green and red, separated by a diagonal yellow stripe, the green triangle lying along the hoist. The law states the dimensions, the colour shades and the other details of the flag.
Article 3.
The national anthem is 'La Congolaise'.
The motto of the Republic is 'Unite-Travail-Progress' (Unity-Labour-Progress).
The seal of the State and the arms of the Republic are defined by law.
The official language is French.
The national common languages are Lingala and Munukutuba.
The capital city of the Republic of Congo is Brazzaville.
[...]
Ivan Sache and Željko Heimer, 5 January 2001

I haven't located the law that "states the dimensions, the colour shades and the other details of the flag" (if it exsists at all) on the Net. L'Album gives ratio of the flags as 2:3~, while, e.g. Bartram's World Flag Database and Shipmate Flag Chart have it 2:3 exactly. If we would have the mentioned law we would know for sure, I guess...
However, even this unusual tricolour retains the main feature of a tricolour - three stripes of equal area (symbolizing the equality). This is aquired only with the requirement that the yellow stripe have the horizontal edges equal to 1/3 of the total length. In case that the flag is exactly 2:3, that would make the red and green triangles not only rectangular (as required by Constitution) but also isoscales.
Željko Heimer, 26 May 2001

The 1992 Constitution has been abolished in 1997 and replaced by a Fundamental Act. Its Article 2 says:
Article 2.
L'emblème national de la République est le Drapeau tricolore, Vert, Jaune, Rouge - De forme rectangulaire, il est composé de deux triangles de couleur verte et rouge, séparés par une bande jaune en diagonale, le vert étant du côté de la hampe.
L'hymne national est "La Congolaise".
La devise de la République est "Unité - Travail - Progrès".
La langue officielle est le français.
Le sceau de l'État et les Armoiries sont définies par la loi.
Article 2.
The national emblem of the republic is the green, yellow, red tricolour. Of rectabgular shape, its made of two triangles, green and red separated by a yellow diagonal stripe, the green being on the hoist.
The national anthem is "La Congolaise".
The national motto is "Unité - Travail - Progrès".
The official language is French.
The state seal and the coat of arms are defined by Law.
There is no more mention of a flag law. And the constitution description gives many graphical possibilities...
J.-F. Blanc, 6 August 2001

There is a newer Constitution for the Republic of the Congo. It is dated 20 January 2002 and reads as follows regarding the flag:

Title l, Article 5:
"The national emblem is a tricolour flag in green, yellow and red. In a rectangular form, it is composed of two regular triangles of green and red separated by a diagonal yellow stripe. The green part is next to the hoist.
The precise dimensions, colour shades and other details of the flag are prescribed by law."

I have been unable to locate any legislation regarding this flag (as referred to in the Constitution of 1992). I have, however, managed to obtain an official model. The model itself (containing no surprises) is unfortunately undated, but the accompanying letter from The Ministry of Information, Brazzaville is dated 2 December 1999 and shows a flag with a rising diagonal stripe contained entirely within the length of the flag and occupying one-third of that length. I have, of course, no way of confirming the accuracy of its colour reproduction, but when compared to my Pantone chart the nearest equivalents appear to be red 032, yellow 109 and green 354.

Christopher Southworth, 30 January 2005


National Flag in the National Anthem

Last stanza of national anthem 'La Congolaise' from CongoWeb (http://www.congoweb.net)
Et s'il nous faut mourir en somme
Qu'importe puisque nos enfants
Partout pourront dire comme
On triomphe en combattant
Et dans le moindre village
Chantent sous nos trois couleurs
And if we shall die
Nevermind since our children
Everywhere shall be able to say
How we triumph in fighting
And in the smallest village
They sing under our three colours
Lyrics and musics by Jean Royer, Jacques Tondra and Jo Spadiliere. Adopted in 1962, suppressed in 1969, readopted in 1991.
Ivan Sache, 5 January 2001