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Bosnia and Herzegovina - The 1998 Flag Change - Second Set of Proposals

Second Set of Proposals

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Second Set of Proposals

I received some images with proposals of the new Bosnian flag which I will share with you. Some time ago I sent to the list a report from an interview with general Klein, "governor" of Bosnia and Herzegovina (or at least I intended to send it). He was claiming to have a solution for the flag (and car licence plates etc.) that could be acceptable to all sides. There was no good image of it in the article, but there was a photograh of Mr. Klein with his proposal wich was not very well visible. The images I received now are strikingly similar to that one.

As I said before, I received four images from Velid Jerlagic from Sarajevo, tonight, but without any explanation. They are proposals for the new flag of Bosnia and herzegovina, judging from their names. In any case, they are very similar to what I remember from the article mentioned above. I believe that these are the proposals made by Mr. Klein, now finally published somewhere, and it is very probable that something in this direction will be adopted.

by Velid Jerlagic

Diagonally striped tricolour (of Congo pattern) of red-white-blue with the blue map of Bosnia and Herzegovina outlined in yellow in the middle inside a circle of 10 five-pointed yellow stars. Ratio 1:2.

Due to the wider ratio than in the case of Congo, the white stripe is wider. The number of stars could be reffering to the number of cantons/counties in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but that is a bit odd.

by Velid Jerlagic

Same as above, but with 12 stars. Do they stand for the European Union? Even odder.

by Velid Jerlagic

Similar diagonal tricolour but with an even wider white stripe (so the angle is not 45 degrees), with a yellow map of Bosnia and Herzegovina outlined in green and flanked with the green olive wreath exactly the same as in United Nations logo.

by Velid Jerlagic

Horizontal tricolour of Blue white red with the same emblem in the middle as the previous one.

This one is exactly the same that I remember showed in the article, except I believe that there was the red-white-blue tricolour. I am very sorry that I can't find it now, since I believe that this is an important distinction (cf. flag of Croatia vs. Yugoslavia).

Personally, I don't like neither of the designs - those with stars are just "stupid". The map could be easily taken out, since it doesn't give much distinction, and is complicated to make (cf. Bangladesh case). In my humble opinion, the olive branches have nothing to do on the flag (Bosnia is not an UN protectorate, but an independent country, at least in theory). Again In my humble opinion, the flag of diagonal tricolour could be distinctive enough, it would keep the Panslavic colours (all three nations are Slavic after all).

Zeljko Heimer, 16 December 1997

Yesterday there was a reportage of the late TV news, considering the new flag of Bosnia and herzegovina. Unfortunately nothing sensational was said there. According to them, the deadline for the deal for the new flag is postponed again (it was 20 December 1997, if I recall correctly) for three months. The same discussion is about the design of the new currency (for those interested: it should be of unique design on one side, and with different other side for the Federation and for Srpska Republic, but at the moment are only three persons in the world who know how they look like - the governor of the central bank and his two associates).

There were shown several proposals for the new flag, all based on the last four designs that I have posted recently (diagonal, with map). All of these were showed only as images on TV screens behind some speakers intervewd of the reportage, and they were several variations, including variations in the order of colours (interchanged red and blue). As some point it was told that out of some 60 proposals the commisions choosed some 4 or 5 into the "finals". It was hinted that these 4 or 5 might be just those diagonal designs. It seems that the only thing that is now in dipute is what to put as the middle emblem "weather the stars of European Union, UN oil branches or something else" (quotation from memory).

I was told by my father that on the news today it was told that the UN administrator decided that he will form a commission that will decide over the issue of the new flag next week, and that he will impose the solution to Bosnian government (as he is entitled to do).

These are the news, and we will see what happens in next few days.

Zeljko Heimer, 13 January 1998

This message has unfortunately some political content, but it seems that the flag debate in Bosnia-Herzegovina (B&H) is essentially politics-biased :-):

I still wonder why the European stars should be added to the B&H flag. Is it to show the unified behaviour the European Union (EU) members had during the war? Is it to express to Bosnians that they will not join the EU in a near future (euphemism) but that they can keep the hope by using the flag? At least, the EU flag should be put in the canton, just to mean the 'protective powers'.

Or maybe, as we reported for Hawaii, a EU flag was given as a present to the B&H presidency by an European officer?

Ivan Sache, 13 January 1998