Flags of Aceh


The provincial flag of Aceh, adopted on December 10, 2007, features the province's coat of arms on a green field. A pentagon shaped like a kopiah, inside it, a scale with two rencongs at the top, under it, a stalk of rice, cotton, and factory chimneys, with a mosque dome and a pen pointing at a book in between, with the province's motto in Sanskrit below, reading: Pancacita
The topic of a new Acehnese flag has been a controversial issue, due to the association of a separate flag for Aceh to the Free Aceh Movement, which seeks to declare Aceh independent from Indonesia; As stated by law, A provincial coat of arms or flag that slightly or fully resembles a banned organisation's symbol is illegal.

Symbolism

The coat of arms has the motto Pancacita, namely justice, heroism, prosperity, harmony, and welfare. The symbolism of Pancacita's motto can also found in the individual symbols inside the shield:
  • Scale representing justice
  • Rencong representing heroism
  • Rice, cotton, and factory chimneys representing welfare
  • Mosque dome representing harmony
  • Book and qalam pen representing prosperity
The mosque dome, book, and qalam pen may also represent Aceh's spirituality and religiosity, especially Islam, and knowledge. The coat of arms colours also has the following meanings:
  • White representing purity
  • Yellow representing prosperity
  • Green representing prosperity and welfare

History

''Alam Peudeuëng'' (15th/16th century – 1904)

Alam Peudeuëng is the flag of the Aceh Sultanate. It consists of a white crescent moon and a star in the centre above a white sword pointing to the right on a red field.
Before the creation of the Sword Standard, Aceh previously used the Ottoman flag as its own. Over time, Aceh developed several of its own flag designs, drawing influence from Ottoman motifs, particularly the crescent and star, which later evolves into the Sword Standard. The Sword Standard was used as early as the 16th century, with some saying its usage goes back to 1412 with the unification of Aceh states, and was widely used by the Acehnese people. The flag remained the official flag of the Aceh Sultanate until its annexation into the Dutch East Indies after the Aceh War.

''Bintang'' ''Buleuën'' (1976–2005, 2013–2016)

Alam Bintang Buleuën, also known as Pusaka Nanggroë is the flag of the Free Aceh Movement, an organisation that seeks to declare independence from Indonesia. It consists of a white crescent moon and a star in the centre, between six horizontal striples, alternating between two thin stripes of white and one thick stripe of black, on a red field.
The Moon Star flag was used as the official flag of GAM until its dissolution with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in Helsinki in 2005.
In 2013, the Moon Star flag alongside the coat of arms of GAM was officially adapted as the new symbols of the province, stating in law, recognising the symbols to not be a symbol of separatism and instead a cultural and uniting symbol of Aceh, removing it of its past separatism relation.With it, an official instruction of the flag is published as well. The flag construction goes as follows:
  1. The flag of Aceh is rectangular flag. A red band two-thirds the height, two straight white lines at the top and two straight white lines at the bottom. One black line at the top and one black line at the bottom, and in the middle, a white crescent moon and star.
  2. One black line at the top and one black line at the bottom, twice the size of the white lines that flank it.
  3. Two straight white lines at the top and at the bottom are the same size; half the size of the black lines.
  4. A black line at the top and at the bottom are twice as large as the white lines.
  5. Then, A red stripe on the top and the bottom are the same size as the black lines.
The flag was the de facto flag of Aceh until May 12, 2016, where it was rejected through the Minister of Home Affairs Decree 188.34-4791 of 2016, as they deem the Qanun to be in violation of Regulation of Government Number 77 of 2007. Iskandar Usman Al-Farlaky, a member of the Aceh House of Representatives, argues that the decree is invalid, he stated that according to Article 145 of the Constitution Number 32 of 2004, a regional law can be rejected by the president for no longer than 60 days, and if nothing is said about the regional law, then it is official. Since 2016 and onwards, Alam Acèh is the official flag of Aceh, as flying the Bintang Buleuën flag is still outlawed by law.

Proposed flags

While the province of Aceh officially uses a plain-coloured field with the state coat of arms in the middle like the other Indonesian provinces as stated by law, many consider the current flag to be unrepresentative of Aceh's identity. As a result, there have been ongoing efforts and campaigns advocating for the adoption of a new flag that better reflects Acehnese culture and history. A sizable portion of Acehnese society prefers to use the Moon Star flag or the Sword Standard flag to represent Aceh.
Despite its official status as the flag of Aceh from 2013 to 2016. The Moon Star flag has been the subject of controversy due to its historical association with GAM. In response, the Sword Standard has gained popularity as an alternative, with a considerable number of Acehnese society viewing it as a more culturally appropriate and historically representative symbol for the province.

Other proposed flags

After the backlash on May 16, 2016, Fakhrurrazi, Yudhistira Maulana, and Hamdani designed and proposed a flag and coat of arms for the province of Aceh as a judicial review to the Supreme Court of Indonesia. The flag is the Sword Standard but with a green field and a yellow crescent, star, and sword. Led by, this judicial review was rejected by the Supreme Court on February 14, 2017.