South Africa.. The Supreme Court of Appeal upholds the ban on the apartheid-era flag
South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeal has upheld a ruling banning the public display of the apartheid-era flag in the country.
The Supreme Court has not ruled on whether displaying the flag of South Africa's brutal "apartheid" era in homes should be considered hate speech or discrimination.
The Supreme Court said arguments on this specific issue must first be brought to the lower court, which initially banned the flag in 2019.
The decision to ban the public display of the old flag, which was the national flag of South Africa from 1928 until it was abolished in 1994, supports this ruling by the Equality Tribunal four years ago.
Afriform has challenged the flag ban in the Supreme Court, saying such a "widespread ban" is a violation of the right to freedom of expression.
The Supreme Court said in its ruling that "those who raise or wave the ancient flag publicly convey a brazen and devastating message that they celebrate and long for the racism of our past."
The issue of the flag has become a very controversial issue in South Africa, where many see it as an explicit symbol of the racism and brutality of the apartheid regime.
Apartheid was formally implemented in 1948 and officially abolished when Nelson Mandela became South Africa's first democratically elected president in 1994, when everyone was allowed to vote for the first time.
International News Agency Rudaw24
