Misplaced Pages

Flag of Western Sahara

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Emmette Hernandez Coleman (talk | contribs) at 22:42, 25 March 2013 (Reverted to revision 546960652 by Seb az86556: no consensus. (TW)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Revision as of 22:42, 25 March 2013 by Emmette Hernandez Coleman (talk | contribs) (Reverted to revision 546960652 by Seb az86556: no consensus. (TW))(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
The article's lead section may need to be rewritten. Please help improve the lead and read the lead layout guide. (March 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
The neutrality of this article is disputed. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until conditions to do so are met. (February 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
This article may be unbalanced toward certain viewpoints. Please improve the article by adding information on neglected viewpoints, or discuss the issue on the talk page. (February 2013)
National flag of Morocco, flown by Western Saharans favoring rule by Morocco.
Flag of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, flown by Western Saharans favoring independence. This flag is commonly referred to as the "flag of Western Sahara".

Morocco controls most of the territory and administers it as its Southern Provinces, while the Polisario Front controls the remainder. Since the disengagement of the Spanish forces in 1976, the Polisario proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, as the state that represents the territory.

Flag of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
UseNational flag
Proportion1:2
AdoptedFebruary 27, 1976
DesignA black, white, and green horizontal tricolor charged with a red star and crescent in the center stripe and a red triangle at the hoist

The flag of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is a combination of the Pan-Arab colors of black, green, white, and red, and the Islamic symbol of the star and crescent. On 27 February 1976 the flag was adopted as the official flag of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). It was slightly modified in June 1991. It is said to be designed by El Uali Mustapha Sayed, the first president of the Sahrawi Republic.

Description

The flag is a tricolor of three equal horizontal stripes (black, white, and green from top to bottom) overlaid by a red triangle issuing from the hoist. These are the Pan-Arab colors. There is a red star and crescent in the middle stripe.

The flag is extremely similar to the flags of the Baath Party, Jordan, Palestine, and the Arab Federation all of which draw their inspiration from the Arab Revolt against Ottoman rule (1916–1918). Prior to being the flag of Palestine, it was the flag of the short lived Arab Federation of Iraq and Jordan. The flag of the Arab Revolt had the same graphic form, but the colours were arranged differently (white on the bottom, rather than in the middle).

Its design is based on that of the Palestinian flag, which in turn was derived from the colors used in the Arab Revolt. The star and crescent are considered symbols of Islam, and can be seen on flags of other neighbouring Islamic countries such as Algeria and Mauritania.

Construction sheets

It is not clear whether the flag constructed here has any official status. The 1:2 variant with the star pointing upwards, shown above, is the official one.

  • Construction of the flag Construction of the flag
  • Construction of the star and crescent Construction of the star and crescent
  • Colors of the flag Colors of the flag

Flag of Morocco

Flag of Morocco, used by supports of Moroccan rule in Western Sahara

Morocco has not adopted a flag for Western Sahara and uses the national flag of Morocco.

History

In the late 19th-century, Western Sahara became a Spanish colony. After the Madrid Accords of 1975, Spain disengaged itself leaving the territory to Morocco and Mauritania, who split the territory, giving two thirds to the former. The Polisario Front rejected this and declared in exile, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) as the state representing an "independent" Western Sahara.

In 1979, Mauritania signed a peace treaty with the Polisario front, and Morocco annexed the part formerly controlled by Mauritania. A U.N.-brokered ceasefire was signed in 1991 between the two parties, but the sovereignty of the territory remains unresolved pending ongoing peace-talks.

Historical flags

Moroccan regional flags (1976-1997)

In the 1976-1997 provincial division of Morocco, three provinces included parts of Western Sahara. The provincial division was however re-organized in 1997, consequently some of these flags are no longer in official use.

See also

References

  1. http://awsa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/vicraisingtheflag27feb09-1.pdf
  2. "Western Sahara". Flags of the World. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  3. ^ Protocol Section of the Office of the President of the Republic (June 1987)
  4. Znamierowski, Alfred (2000). Flags of the world: An illustrated guide to contemporary flags. London: Southwater. p. 93. ISBN 978-1-84215-337-6.
  5. ^ Staff. "CIA - The World Factbook". CIA. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
  6. "Subnational flags of Morocco". flagspot. Retrieved 13 March 2012.

External links

Flags of Africa
Sovereign states
States with limited
recognition
Dependencies and
other territories
Flags of the Arab States
National flags and coats of arms
National flags
National coats of arms
Heraldry portal

References

External links

Categories: