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Free Aceh Movement (Indonesia)

Aceh independentist movement, GAM

Aceh independentist movement

1:2 by António Martins

Description of the flag
Variant at 2:3
Supposed age of the flag
Free Aceh Movement logo

See also:

Description of the Flag

The flag of the main Aceh separatist movement. Aceh is a predominantly Muslim region, as evidenced by the flag, which has similarities to the flag of Turkey.
Dylan Crawfoot, 27 February 1999

The star points into the mouth of the moon on the photo in the paper.
Ole Andersen, 2 August 1999

From an interview in Hallands-Posten, a Swedish newspaper:
The flag of the independentist state of Aceh-Sumatra was officially hoisted on the renewed proclamation of independence on 4 December 1976 by Head of State Tengku Tjhik di Tiro Muhammad Hasan (Tengku Hasan di Tiro). It was he who added the black stripes with white fimbriation in 1976, to commemorate those who lost their life defending the flag. It is over thousand years old [sic!], and was used in the naval battle against Portugal in 1586, and in the war against the Dutch from 1873 till 1942. (Officially the war ended in 1914, but I think small resistant groups kept fighting. In 1942 the Japanese invaded the Netherlands Indies). From 1949 till 1976 the flag was not hoisted anymore on account of the Javanese suppression.

The crescent and star are symbols of the Islam for submission to Allah, his laws and justice. The red stands for bravery, loyalty, truth and the willingness to make sacrifices for the right path of God. The white fimbriations symbolise the pureness of the objects made. The length of the flag is one-and-a-half times the height, other dimensions are laid down according the standards of the expert designers.
(Free translation, summarised, from an article in "Vlaggen", no. 25, 1983, page 371-372, by Mark Sensen)

There is a draft of a law for special autonomy for the province of Aceh. The law will soon be discussed by the central parliament. Including in the draft are a name change from 'Province of Special Region of Aceh' to 'Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam' (NAD); the authority of the Wali Negeri (Sultan-like rank) to design the coat of arms of NAD; and most interesting is the design and usage of 'Alam Aceh', that is the flags/standards of Aceh. If this draft passed, Aceh would be the first Indonesian region to use its regional flags de facto and guaranteed by law. It seems inevitable that Acehnese will hoist their new flag if this draft passed (become a full-operating law), since the demands for both autonomy and independence are very strong there.
Sammy Kanadi, 18 January 2001

The star-crescent placement in the flag of Aceh independentist movement (Indonesia) has its roots back to the 1570s. The Acehnese Head of State asked Ottoman Sultan's protection and the Ottoman Sultan of the time, Selim II, ordered his chief of Navy, Hizir Reis to sail