The flag of the Serbs of Croatia (Serbo-Croatian: Застава Срба у Хрватској, Zastava Srba u Hrvatskoj) is the official symbol of the Serb national minority in Croatia. It was introduced into official use throughout the country on 9 April 2005 based on the decision of the Serb National Council, an elected political, consulting and coordinating body which acts as a form of self-government and autonomous cultural institution of the Serbs of Croatia. The council received consent of the Council for National Minorities of the Republic of Croatia before the decision.[2] At the time of the statewide introduction, the flag was already officially used in Eastern Slavonia since the 14 November 1997 decision of the Joint Council of Municipalities made at the final stage of the UNTAES deployment in the region.[4]
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| Тробојка / Trobojka (Tricolour)[1] | |
| Use | Civil flag |
|---|---|
| Proportion | 1:2[2] |
| Adopted | 9 April 2005[3] 14 November 1997 (regionally in Eastern Slavonia by the Joint Council of Municipalities)[4] |
| Design | A horizontal tricolour of red, blue, and white |
| Designed by | Serb National Council |
| Coat of Arms as defined by the Joint Council of Municipalities | |
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| Flag of Serbian Orthodox Church | |
 | |
| Use | on church towers during religious holidays[1] |
| Design | Horizontal tricolour of red, blue and white with Serbian cross |
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The flag of Serbs of Croatia is similar to the flag of the Republic of Serbia but has no coat of arms just like the flag of Republika Srpska.[1] The flag was handed over to representatives of Serbian minority in Croatia by the Ambassador of Serbia in Croatia on 8 July 2005 at the ceremony organised to mark the occasion of the introduction of the flag,[1] thereby giving it additional legitimacy in the Serbian community.[1]
While the Serb National Council as of 2021 never adopted the coat of arms of Serbs in Croatia the Joint Council of Municipalities in eastern Slaonia introduced it as well in 1997.[5] In 2013 Milorad Pupovac stated that the new statewide joint Coat of Arms of Serbs in Croatia will probably contain symbols of the Military Frontier.[6]
Flag protocol
editThe flag protocol is prescribed by the Serb National Council's Decision on the Flag of the Serbian National Minority in Croatia.[2] The flag of Serbs of Croatia should be used in accordance with the decision and in a way that emphasize dignity and honor of the Serbian people.[2] The flag is prohibited to stand in dilapidated, untidy, torn or in any other way damaged state.[2]
History
editThe Tricolour flag (Serbian Cyrillic: Тробојка) appeared in 1835. Sretenje Constitution of Principality of Serbia described the colours of the Serbian flag as bright red, white and čelikasto-ugasita (that could be translated as steelish-dark).[7] The constitution was criticised, especially by Russia, and the flag was specifically singled out as being similar to the revolutionary flag of France.[8] Soon afterwards, Miloš Obrenović was requesting to the Porte that the new constitution should contain an article about the flag and coat of arms,[9] and subsequent ferman (1835) allowed Serbs to use their own maritime flag, which will have "upper part of red, middle of blue, and lower of white",[10] which is the first appearance of the colours which have remained until today.
Historically used flags
edit-
Flag of the Republic of Serbian Krajina (1991–1995) -
Flag of Eastern Slavonia (1995–1998) -
-
War flag of the Republic of Serbian Krajina -
Flag of the Socialist Republic of Serbia used in Serb-inhabited towns in SR Croatia (1945–1991)
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See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e "Sve srpske zastave-SNV". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
- ^ a b c d e "Odluka o zastavi srpske nacionalne manjine u Republici Hrvatskoj" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
- ^ "Hrvatska-nacionalne manjine-Srbi u Hrvatskoj". Retrieved 16 April 2013.
- ^ a b Srđan Sekulić. "ТЕОРИЈА ЈЕДНО, А ПРАКСА НЕШТО ДРУГО" (PDF). Izvor (issue 161, 15 February 2017, Joint Council of Municipalities. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ^ Statut Zajedničkog vijeća općina, Vukovar, točka 7.
- ^ "Srbi u Hrvatskoj dobivaju svoju himnu, zastavu i grb". Retrieved 16 April 2013.
- ^ "Глава друга. Боя и Грбъ Сербіє" [Chapter two. Colour and Coat of Arms of Serbia]. Уставъ Княжества Сербіє [Constitution of the Princedom of Serbia] (in Serbian). Kragujevac: Princedom of Serbia. 1835. COBISS.SR-ID 150291719. Archived from the original on 18 February 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
3.) Боя народна Србска єстъ отворено-црвена, бѣла и челикасто-угасита.
- ^ Mih. Gavrilovic, Suspendovanje prvog srpskog ustava februar-mart 1835 god., Arhiv za pravne i drustvene nauke, I, 1906, 410-412
- ^ D. Samardzic, Vojne zastave Srba do 1918, Beograd, 1983
- ^ D. Matic, Javno pravo Knjazevstva Srbije, Beograd, 1851, 33