Fiji's Flag Fuss - Ranting

Oh look, he's back!

Um, well, no. I'm probably not going to be doing a lot more, this is just because I saw something I care about and have a bit of spare time.

So yeah, Fiji. Small island nation of 850'000 people, gaining Independence in 1970 from the British. Has established itself as a major holiday resort and one of the largest island groups in the Pacific. However; Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama, has recently voiced his concern that the country should get a new identity and scrap the flag. "The new flag should reflect Fiji's position in the world today as a modern and truly independent nation state" he stated. "We need to replace the symbols on our existing flag that are out of date and no longer relevant, including some anchored to our colonial past" he said. Bainimarama's main concern is the inclusion of the British insignia and has been known to dislike the British culture, having gotten rid of the Queen's head printed on its money.

As a keen vexillologist ...

 - Really, you think people will know what that is?

 - They can search it up.

 - Pfff, unlikely, they'll think you're being pompous!

 - OK fine. It's the study of flags ... I know, thrilling.

Anyway, I am quite keen on this subject. Firstly; I feel his way of saying the flag represents the past is a bit contradictory of the point of flag. A flag should, in my eyes, be there to show a countries history. It represents the land, the people and how it has reached that point in time. Which is why I feel it's not a major issue having the British flag in the corner, as it represents what is quite a large part of the country's history. 

Removing the British flag from a flag is not uncommon, its been something that has been done many times before with nations who have become independent. (see above) However; this is starting to raise concerns over the future for these flags. Australia, New Zealand and Tuvalu are now the only countries with the British Flag on them and the former two have both had talks about potentially changing the flag. Many of the countries who changed their flag had done so because they became a republic, not accepting the British monarchy as their (theoretical) head of state and Fiji did just this in 1970 when it too became a republic. So, many would argue, it has the right to break further away from the UK.

However; like all commonwealth nations, Fiji needs to accept that much of what it is now is because of the British governments leadership. While its majority use of English and the fact they drive on the left seemingly the few things left on the face of it, the culture still lingers.

The other question to be raised is; does this affect the commonwealth territories. While it may be reasonable for a nation to establish its Independence with a new non-colonial flag what about those islands/ territories who aren't independent, for various reasons. If they're are still governed by a country, is there a need for them to change. The point of putting a Union Flag in the corner of many colonies was not to show we oppressed them, but to show that they were united under a single ideology, of which, they still are. 

Also, what would happen to areas such as Niue (see left) or the Cook Islands, both are governed by New Zealand. If NZ decides to change its flag, should Niue/ Cook Islands keep with its traditional insignia or should it adopt a New Zealand type flag. Then again Norfolk Island, part of the Australian commonwealth, has a completely separate flag. The problem with this, is that it continues the idea of representation, rather than self identity. This is not just a British thing either; France does the same with its territories, as do many states/ provinces of various countries, who have a common insignia.

I won't make a decision on whether changing Fiji's identity is a good or bad thing, instead I'll leave it up to you. Thank you for reading through (even though I know you skipped some -_- )

Make Yourself Known

-|CJ|-