Flag of Mozambique
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| Use | National flag and ensign |
|---|---|
| Proportion | 2:3 |
| Adopted | May 1, 1983 |
| Design | A horizontal tricolor of green, white-edged black and yellow with the red isosceles triangle based on the hoist-side bearing the yellow five-pointed star that bears an AK-47 Assault Rifle with the bayonet attached to the barrel crossed by the hoe superimposed on an open book. |
The flag of Mozambique was adopted on May 1, 1983. It includes the image of an AK-47 with a bayonet attached to the barrel, and is one of only two national flags of UN member states to feature a firearm (the other being Guatemala).
Green stands for the riches of the land, the white fimbriations signify peace, black represents the African continent, yellow symbolizes the country's minerals, and red represents the struggle for independence. The rifle stands for defence and vigilance, the open book symbolizes the importance of education, the hoe represents the country's agriculture, and the star symbolizes Marxism and internationalism.
The flag is based on the flag of the Mozambican Liberation Front (FRELIMO), the leading political party in Mozambique. The FRELIMO flag, used for a brief period after the country gained its independence from Portugal, looks like the current flag but lacking the emblem, with green, black, and yellow horizontal stripes separated by white fimbriations and a red triangle in the hoist.
On independence the colors were rearranged to form the national flag, in diagonals emanating from the upper hoist. Over this was a white cogwheel containing the hoe, rifle, book, and star that appear on the present flag. The flag was altered in 1983; the colors were arranged in horizontal stripes, and the star of Marxism was made larger.
In 2005, a competition was held to design a new flag for Mozambique. 119 entries were received and a winning flag was selected, but to this day the flag remains the same. This came in the context of a drive to create a new crest and anthem for the country. Mozambique's parliamentary opposition would specifically like to see removed from the flag the image of the Kalashnikov assault rifle, which symbolizes the nation's struggle for independence, according to press reports.
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