Thursday, November 24, 2011

The Flag Of Cambodia

By Don Robertson


Who has heard of the people's republic of Kampuchea by chance? I sure did not till recently. Located in the southeastern part of Asia, this country was ruled by the French in the mid-nineteenth century. Its inhabitants know this country as "Kampuchea," and the French name for this country was "Cambodge," anglicized as the more commonly known Cambodia. The country's flag has changed over time. The current flag is hoisted on Cambodian flag poles and has been in use since 1993. Size variations, including very big flags, are also hoisted on poles every so often.

Democratic Kampuchea flew a red colored banner at one time, which featured the symbol of a temple. This banner was the fifth national ensign since 1945. All the giant flags, however, have had in common the use of the symbol of a temple. The current design of the flag also features a temple, which displays nicely from Cambodian flag poles, especially tall commercial flag poles. "Angkor Wat" is the country's greatest national monument and temple, which was built in the 13th century.

Like other countries, the use of the red color has powerful meaning. The red color used on the different flag-designs has remained and is said to symbolize blood and revolution. The Angkor Wat represents the unity of the people of Cambodia, which includes the soldiers and workers of the country. Today, Cambodia counts nearly 15 million inhabitants.

Interestingly, back in the year 1975, communist forces known as the Khmer Rouge established a new regime in which the color red was recognized as a color of revolution and Communism. In the then following year, a new constitution was announced for the country, which shortly after was renamed "Democratic Kampuchea." At the time, the constitution described the new ensign as a red colored field with a three towered national monument (Angkor Wat) in the center.

Today this country is a kingdom and hence officially called the "Kingdom of Cambodia." The kingdom's leader is also the head of government. Hun Sen has been the longest serving leader in this part of the world. He has been Cambodia's leader for some twenty five years.

The national flag that was hoisted on Cambodian flag poles from 1979 through 1989 featured a similar design. This design differs from the flag of Democratic Kampuchea only in having a temple of five towers instead of three in the center. The same temple is represented on a red disk in the coat of arms of this respective southeastern Asian republic. I was especially fond of Cambodian giant flags that featured this incredible design.




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