^{This page is part of © FOTW Flags Of The World website}

Macedonia: Flags of national minorities

Flag proposals by the Macedonian Heraldry Society
The (abrogated) law on the flags of national minorities

See also:

Macedonia

Flag proposals by the Macedonian Heraldry Society

During a press conference, the Macedonian Heraldic Society unveiled proposals for the new flags to be used by national minorities in Macedonia.
Basically, the issue is that Macedonians would not like that the minorities use the flags of their national state in vicinity. Therefore they would like to have the minorities' flags defaced with a symbol that would connect the minorities' flags with their homeland Macedonia (much like it was done with the addition of the red star in the minorities' flags in former Yugoslavia).
The Macedonian Heraldry Society proposed a solution that would minimally deface the flag and yet effectively signal the Macedonian loyalty: the addition of a yellow or bicolour yellow and red vertical stripe fimbriated white near the hoist.

The Macedonian Constitution name explicity six minorities as well as "others": Albanians, Turks, Valakhians, Serbs, Roma and Bosniaques. The sets of proposal by the Macedonian Heraldry Society provide only flags for Albanians, Turks, Serbs and Roma. However, the proposals are designed so that a similar flag could be designed for any minority, once the minority decides about it.

Flag proposals for the Albanian minority in Macedonia - Images by Željko Heimer, 25 June 2005

Flag proposals for the Rom minority in Macedonia - Image by Željko Heimer, 25 June 2005

Flag proposals for the Serbian minority in Macedonia - Images by Željko Heimer, 25 June 2005

Flag proposals for the Turkish minority in Macedonia - Images by Željko Heimer, 25 June 2005

The first proposal includes a vertical yellow stripe near the hoist of the flag, the width of the stripe is 1/21 of the length, separated from the hoist of the same width.
The second proposal includes a similar stripe but bicolour, yellow and red fimbriated white against the flag background.

Željko Heimer, 25 June 2005

Law on the flags of national minorities

This law was abrogated by the Constitutional Court short after its release.

Law on the use of flags through which the members of the nationalities in The Republic of Macedonia express their identity and the national particularity
Zakon za upotrebata na znaminja preku koi pripadnicite na nacionalnostite vo Republika Makedonija go izrazuvaat svojot identitet i nacionalnite osobenosti

I. General Prescriptions.

Article 1. This Law determines the use of flags through which the members of the nationalities in The Republic of Macedonia express their identity and the national particularity.

Article 2. The members of the nationalities in the Republic of Macedonia have the right to use a flag to express their identity and the national particularity.
The flag of paragraph 1 of this Article is considered to be a flag that the members of the nationality have chosen and are using it as a flag to express their identity and the national particularity.

II. Use of the flag through which the members of the nationalities in tyhe Republic of Macedonia express their identity and the national particularity.

Article 3. The members of the nationalities have right to use the flag from Article 2 of the Law while celebrating in their private lives and when maintaining cultural, sporting and other manifestations organized by the members of the nationalities in the Republic of Macedonia.

Article 4. The flag from the Article 2 of this Law may not be displayed in front and in these objects and institutions:
- The Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia, the President of the Republic of Macedonia, the Government of the Republic of Macedonia, government institutions, courts, office of the public attorney general of the Republic of Macedonia, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Macedonia and the National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia;
- Institutions of the units of local self-government
- Public services and companies that are established by the Republic of Macedonia or the units of local self-government and other public objects, companies, societies and organizations.

Article 5. In the units of local self-government in which the members of one nationality have relative majority, in the holydays of the Republic of Macedonia determined by the Law, beside the state flag in front of the institutions of the units of local self-government, it could be displayed also a flag through which the members of that nationality express their identity and the national particularity.

III. Penal Provisions.

Article 6. With a fee between 50.000 and 200.000 denars it shall be fined for an offence a legal person that uses the flag from the Article 2 against the provisions of the Article 4 of this Law.
For the offence of the paragraph 1 of this Article, it shall be fined between 30.000 and 50.000 and with a jail sentence between 30 and 90 days the responsible person from the legal person.

IV. Final Provision.

Article 7. This Law becomes valid on the day of its publishing in Službeni vesnik na Republika Makedonija (the official gazette of the State).

Translated by Željko Heimer, 26 June 2005