Ostboland-Seratof flag debate

The Ostboland-Seratof flag debate (Seratofian: Östberga-Sératofas Vánzjinggje) (: Östberige-Seratien debatten om flaggorna) regards to the state of both the Ostban and Seratofian sharing visually similar civil flags, which has in turn led to several major incidents in the official and international level. As a result, Seratof amended its state flag for all official purposes in 2009, thus defacing the old civil and state flag with the coat of arms. The debate continues to rage on in Seratof, where more conservative legislators believed the act to cater to foreign interests, and have pushed for a reintroduction of the old state flag in all official settings. In 2007, Ostboland mandated stricter standards on the commercial display of its flag, and if necessary to use a slightly darker shade of to ensure it was not confused with Seratofian designs. There was a brief push in the early 1990s to add a to the Ostben flag, but this effort was defeated by a coalition of secular parliamentarians and the monarchy under King Gustav V.

Graphically, the Seratofian and Ostben flags have very striking differences in terms of composition, ratio, and symbolism. Telling them apart, especially when up close is fairly simple. However, when seen from afar, especially during hazy weather, the flags are said to bear resemblances to one another. This fact has led to various groups or individuals to mistake the two countries for each other. Controversially, in 1992 the published a report which concluded that, looking at the Seratofian and Ostban flags from 100 ft away, an ordinary viewer could potentially confuse the flags of both countries. AVA members from Seratof and Ostboland, insulted, resigned from the association in mass protest, causing a divisive split in the organization which was not mended until 1999.

The dispute was largely seen to have been settled in the mid 2000s by between the two countries. In 2007 the Ostben Riksdag passed the Commercial Flag Uniformity Act, requiring all depicting the Ostben flag to be of the exact same  and  as those set out in the Flag Code of Ostboland. In 2008, legislators from the ruling Social Democrats in Seratof pushed for an amendment to the state flag by defacing it with the coat of arms, with one of the reasons cited during debates being the differentiation and the regrowth of Seratofian pride in the international level. The bill was narrowly passed and came into effect on the 1st of January 2009.

History
The Ostboland flag is thought to have originated as a bicolor of orange and white in the early 14th century as the standard of the Monarchy. In the mid 15th and 16th centuries, the flag became a tricolor of orange, white, and light blue. However the current design of the Ostben flag, with a blue stripe on the top and bottom, originated during the Constitutional Revolution of 1808, with the dark shade of blue popularized by and reformers.

The Seratofian tricolor was thought to have originated during the duchy of Žablja, when Duke Arljandövgas hoisted his bicolor standard of blue and yellow forth into battle during the great northern expansion campaigns during the early 9th century CE. The flag soon quickly rose to become an official and popular symbol of the monarchy, and later the duchy as a whole. Under the Heltic Empire, displays of the bicolor flag and its derivatives were prohibited. During the peasants revolt of 1397, a precursor to the current Seratofian flag was first thought to have been flown as a symbol of revolt bearing the same bicolor tone although with alternating stripes, leading to its eventual adoption by the Kingdom of Seratof. White stripes separating the yellow band from the rest of the flag were finally added in 1929 as a symbol of peace upon the creation of the Republic of Seratof.

Historians are still debating exactly how or why so many cases of mistaken identity between the two countries started to emerge in the mid-to-late 20th century, but most agree that one primary cause is the collapse of the Samot-Seratofian Empire, which had a flag unmistakably distinct from Ostboland. Still, even after the Revolution in 1926, there seems to have been little confusion between the flags of the new Republic of Seratof and the Kingdom of Ostboland. Historians now focus on the rise of, , and. In the mid 1940s, the rate of misidentification between the two flags was under 8%, by the mid 1960s, that figure had risen to over 36%.

Design
The Seratofian civil flag consists of three horizontal blue, yellow, and blue stripes separated by two thin white fimbriations.

The Ostban flag consists of three horizontal blue, orange, and blue stripes, separated by two thin white fimbriations.

The rectangular pattern designs are said to be completely different.

1966 NördskCorp "Car Swap" Scandal
In 1966 the Ostben manufacturer, NördskCorp, was rumored by to be highly over-leveraged and thus its stock price began to slide. The Board of Directors at the time, however,. However, one of NördskCorp's subsidiaries in Agrana y Griegro was known to have deliberately manipulated its annual reported earnings and committed other eggregious. Juan Bautista Alonso, a CPA in the accounting division, had decided to become a and present incriminating documents to the Ostben Ambassador in Agrana y Griegro.

Alonso knew the Ostben Ambassador favored eating at a local cafe in the afternoon, and thus planned to intercept the Ambassador in his car. Unfortunately, the cafe was also a favorite local eating spot of the Seratofian Ambassador. Alonso, waiting at the restaurant, noticed a diplomatic car, saw the flag, and assumed he was entering the vehicle of the Ostben Ambassador. Unfortunately, the moment Alonso stepped in the car, he was detained by Seratofian Security for violating Seratof's, and all of his belongings were seized. The Seratofian Ambassador, upon seeing Alonso take a seat across from him is supposed to have quipped:.

Witnesses on the scene immediately called the Agranan Royal Police to report a potential. Unfortunately, all of the mistook the Seratofian flag on the car for the Ostben flag. The Agranan Police thus accidentally showing up at the wrong embassy to take a statement. Realizing their mistake, the Agranan authorities condemed Seratof and demanded Alonso's release. Alonso was released after a 24 hour hold.

During his detention, Alonso's documents were reviewed by the Seratofian authorities. Unfortunately, the incriminating documents were copied, and then leaked by to major industrialists and financers in Seratof, who began a massive  of NördskCorp shares. It is estimated that Seratofian investors made hundreds of millions by crashing NördskCorp's stock price. Meanwhile, the full details of Alonso's documentation were not known to the Ostben authorities until early 1967, by which time NördskCorp had gone bankrupt. When interviewed by the Agranan police on why he walked into the Seratofian ambassador's car, Alonso is reported to have said:

1976 Embassy Hostage Crisis
In 1971, the Seratofian People's Party under the leadership of Marijón Matlássa gained control through a  overnight, effectively transforming the country into a  state overnight. The SPP intended to create a purer form of Seratof and assimilate all other ethnic groups inhabiting the country into Seratofian culture and through various controversial programs and covert activities. A major target of the assimilation programs were the Seraheltians who came to the region during the Heltic Empire and ruled over the Seratofians for more than four hundred years.

Upon conversion into an in 1974, these programs were undertook on a much more massive scale, primarily starting with children who were now all educated under the  rather than their own, progressing to the gradual prohibition of Seraheltic culture, language, and religion. Dissidents were sent in exile to the island of Sobruza, in which the population grew to be dominated by the Seraheltian community after a few years. In an effort to protect Heltic interests in the region, the invason of Sobruza occurred and halted any more radical activities set by the government.

The news of the Seraheltians being detained and concentrated on an island spread quickly to other states, and Seratof was condemned by many international parties, most prominently other Heltic nations or nations with substantial Heltic populations such as Modrovia, Velselexo, and Thalaky. Protests against Seratof in those countries culminated in 1976 upon the release of the controversial documents by Modrovian authorities, with many of the Seratofian ambassadors receiving death threats and terror notes from unknown sources.

However, shortly after many of the ambassadors received their threats, the Ostban embassy in Karlovi, Modrovia was held hostage by a group of Heltic extremists. They managed to successfully breach the embassy gates, overpower the guards, enter the compound, and hold Ambassador Samuelsson and the entire Ostban diplomatic core hostage. A standoff with local police ensued for over 8 hours. The Karlovi police established communications with the extremists demanded the hostage takers to state their reason for their attack. The leader of the group responded by saying: "this attack was done in solidarity with our Heltic brothers in Seratof."

The Karlovi Police Chief, Calajn Iacobescu, pointed out to the extremists that they had, in fact, raided the Ostban embassy, and not the Seratofian embassy. Upon hearing this, the extremists immediately surrendered to the local police forces and were brought in for questioning. When asked why they mistakenly attacked the Ostban embassy, all of the hostage takers stated that they saw the flag of Ostboland flying in the bright sun and thought that it was the Seratofian embassy. The act was also condemned by Ostboland, Seratof, and the rest of the international community.

Ironically, the Seratofan embassy was just up the street.

1992 AVA Report
The is an international society of vexiollogy that comprises other national and regional associations of flag scholars, designers, collectors, conservators, educators, merchants, manufacturers, historians, and hobbyists. Since the mid 20th century, the AVA has held annual meetings for which cover vexillological topics, research, and other relevant vexillogical news. The AVA publishes a report at the end of every conference which then goes into the Journal of Anterran Vexillology. In 1992, many of the AVA delegates at the conference were fascinated by the that the flags of Ostboland and Seratof were highly similar.

The President of the at the time, a Jungastian researcher by the name of Cássio Belluci Magalhães, formed a  of 25 of the world's leading researchers to study scientific reports, mathematical ratios, polling data, the history, the manufacture, public display, and the symbolism of the two flags to determine if an  really could not tell the difference between the two flags. Magalhães hoped that this committee would finally and and quash the ongoing. Unfortunately, the 25 member committee published a report which, in effect, reignited the entire controversy.

The working committee's report, titled The Stripe Misjudged: The Ostboland and Seratof Flags - A Case Study in Color Psychology and Line Representation, a 126 page document, was published at the end of the AVA conference. The report started by saying that all trained vexiollogists could tell the difference between Ostboland and Seratof's flags, which featured their own unique "ratios, hues, and proportions." The flags histories were long and established enough that citizens of both countries held their flags in high regard, and would be insulted if shown the other's flag. The report also noted that "reasonably informed" citizens of other countries could tell the difference.

However, the committee infamously decided that "from 75 to 100 ft away, especially in or  with poor, an ordinary viewer may mistake the shade of Ostben  for Seratofian  or vice versa. We cannot discount the possibility." They also noted that at the time, commercial manufacturers and businesses were using the same flag ratios when displaying the Ostben and Seratofian flags. Thus, the committee concluded that it was possible to confuse the Seratofian and Ostben flags; the committee recommended the flags be made "more distinct" from one another "for the ordinary, uninformed person."

Upon reading the report, members from Seratof and Ostboland were grossly insulted. Members from both countries resigned from the association in mass protest and published a joint statement condemning the report as an act of gross, "flag desecration", and an insult to vexillology. However a number of other members rallied to the committee's side, and blamed the Seratofian and Ostben for wildly overexaggerating the reports findings. There were calls for President Magalhães to resign, and at one point Magalhães admited he received multiple  and suspicious packages.

The report was publicly explosive in both countries, and caused a great, but brief, fervor. One newspaper headline read in Anglic: "For our flags, only the elites know the difference, change them to comfort the dumb plebs, experts declare". The report provoked something of a between Ostboland and Seratof as each country briefly blamed the other for the case of mistaken identity. There was a campaign in Ostboland the early 1990s to add a to the Ostben flag to recognize the country's, but this effort was defeated in the Riskdag. One prominent opponent of the change was the reigning King of Ostboland at the time Gustav V, who made an off the cuff remark related to the AVA report.

""They want us to change centuries of tradition in one stroke? Idiots. I mean really - who can't tell the difference between yellow and orange? Blind men and lunatics.""

- King Gustav V of Ostboland.

In Seratof, the idea of a flag change was very poorly received. In protest of the report made by the AVA, Seratofians throughout the country voluntarily hoisted and placed the Seratofian flag in a multitude of locations. and also took part in the act by providing citizens with flag to "flood the streets" with flags. The event was known as "Blue March" in reference to the primarily blue Seratofian flag that dominated the scenery for the rest of the month. Several politicians also publicly voiced their anger toward the report, most notably the then President of Seratof Ämran Tolje who made an extraordinary official televised appearance one day after the reports were released.

"[...] "This is a great slander to our national pride and heritage! How incompetent must an organization be to say that our flags need to change just because the other one has a 'visually similar flag when seen from afar?' No! Our flag will not change, and it is high time that we all proudly wave and fill every corner of Seratof with our standard.""

- President of Seratof Ämran Tolje.

In 1999, the published a statement apologizing for the report, and announced that the resigning members had returned to the organization.

2005 world cup controversy
During the 2005 AIFA Anterran World Cup in Teutonia, an incident occured just before the match between Seratof and Alvakalia was to be played. After both the Seratofian and Alvak players entered the field to stand for their, the anthem of Ostboland began playing as the "Seratofian National Anthem." Thousands of angry Seratofian fans vehemently booed and shouted, with many of them leaving the stadium as a form of protest. The anthem was stopped after the first stanza, and the actual Seratofian anthem was quickly shortly thereafter. Alvakalia won the match (and would go on to finish third in the cup), with many Seratofian fans blaming the incident for their team losing. The AIFA Organizing Committee provided an official apology to "Seratof and the Seratofian people as a whole" for such mistakes. The Organizing Committee promised a thorough investigation towards how the two countries' anthem could be mixed up.

An undercover memoir released in late 2005 alleged that a Teutonian operator who was running late and rushed onto the was not paying attention to the teams playing, and mistook the Seratofian flag spread on the field as the Ostban flag, thus playing the incorrect national anthem.

Ostboland Commercial Flag Uniformity Act of 2007
In Ostboland, debate over changing or modifying the flag continued in the Riksdag in the early 2000s. A special was set up to further explore the confusion over the Seratofan and Ostban flags. The committee concluded that of both countries could easily tell the differences between the two flags regardless of distance. The committee largely concluded the problem was with outside Seratof and Ostboland, and especially with reproductions of the  made by. The committee found that one company, for example, produced all of its on the same production line using the, despite the Seratofan and Ostban flags being of entirely different proportions. Another company which made used two shades of  to differentiate the Seratofan and Ostban flags.

A MP from the Center Party, Chris Wallin, began raising the issue openly in the Riksdag in 2005. In 2007 Wallin's private member's bill, the Commercial Flag Uniformity Act, was selected for debate. The Prime Minister, Karl Järnberg allowed a  on the issue claiming that "greedy profiteers" were "despoiling the beauty of our national icons" and that some measure was necessary "." The Riskdag passed the bill overwhelmingly. It was one of the last bills debated in the 2007 session, and the last act King Christian III signed before his first period of due to an ongoing.

The Commercial Uniformity Act (CFUA) required that anyone "making or selling flags or in Ostboland, or any foreign companies licensed to operate in Ostboland making or selling flags or  in Ostboland" had to produce the Ostboland flag in the exact specifications set out in the Flag Code of Ostboland. Any reproductions of the Ostban flag had to be 11:7, and use the exact shades of dark blue and white that were on the Ostban flag. To ensure that vendors did not abuse the shade of Royal Orange, the CFUA required all reproductions to use a shade of orange which was one tint darker than the shade used on actual flags. When asked why this provision was added, Wallin is supposed to have said: "So they get the point: Orange is not Yellow."

Violations of the CFUA mandated a of 200,000 kr ($47,619) per instance. Enforcement has varied and has occasionally lead to unfortunate results. In 2012, an elderly woman named Mrs. Margarete Brevson from Valmad made approximately 1000 flags for all of her neighbors for, but the flags she made were 11.5:7.3. The local magistrates court found her guilty of violating the CFUA and ordered her to pay 200 million kr (approximately $38 m), or 200,000 kr per flag. The case went to the Supreme Court in 2013, which overturned the verdict against Mrs. Brevson due to. It is largely believed that most vendors got the point, and have strictly adhered to the CFUA ever since. The CFUA is still the most restrictive product regulation Ostboland has on the books.

Act No. 17 Year 2008 on the State Flag
Žuljus Badűrjos, a notable SDP and, along with several others of the center-left bloc, voiced their concerns on the parliament floor for the first time on the 19th of June 2008 concerning the flag situation faced by both countries. In an effort to veer away from the relics of the SPP, the bloc pushed for a revised state flag for all official and international purposes. Debates ranging from the substance of the revision to its historical effects raged the parliament floor for the next couple of weeks. On the 30th of June 2008, parliament approved an act signaling the green light for the state flag of Seratof to be revised in an effort to contain incorrect identification through a nation-wide contest.

Submissions were opened to the public from the 1st of July that same year and lasted until the end of October. A special committee on the flag was created on the same day to oversee and regulate the entries given by the public. Many of the submissions were indeed as a part of the resistance towards a flag change by most of the public. Eventually, four designs were chosen, and a was held on the 15th of November asking voters to select their favorite flag using an  system.

Turnout was very poor, and under 25% of the total eligible population voted in the referendum. Under Seratofian law, for a referendum to be valid, more than 55% of the eligible voting pool must vote in such, clearly negating the results. In a last attempt to solidify the act, the government announced a temporary flag which was simply just the defaced with the coat of arms slightly to the  until a new set of flags are submitted and put into contest. However, no second contest was ever organized, and the "temporary state flag" became the permanent state flag, as codified in the Act No. 19 Year 2010 on the State Flag. The temporary flag is still the current state and official flag of Seratof, flown outside the country to represent Seratof and its people.