Belarusians in Philly backed a bill they hoped would get their ‘freedom flag’ recognized by the city. It passed but changed little.
Belarusians in Philly backed a bill they hoped would get the city to raise their so-called freedom flag in front of City Hall, but the bill changed nothing.
Serge Shaliga, who sits on the board of Association of Belarusians in America, hoped he’d be able to raise a giant white flag with a red horizontal stripe next to the U.S. and Pennsylvania flags in front of City Hall Friday, a day before “Freedom Day.” The unofficial holiday marks the 1918 declaration of independence by the Belarusian Democratic Republic.
“This is the only flag of Belarus,” said Shaliga to a crowd of about 20 people of Belarusian descent in front of City Hall Friday, demanding they be able to raise the white-and-red flag.
The problem? The white-and-red flag is not recognized by the U.S. Department of State, and that technicality means City Hall won’t raise it at the northeast apron of the building.
The officially recognized flag is red and green, which people like Shaliga see as a holdover from the time the country was under Soviet Union control.
“We consider it the bloody flag of the former Soviet Union,” said Maryia Astapenka, 33. “We didn’t vote for this flag we have now.”
Shaliga echoed the sentiment. He sees the red and green as the “flag of a dictator,” meaning President Alexander Lukashenko, who has aligned himself with Russian President Vladimir Putin and cracked down on opposition and critics, including journalists. The white-and-red flag, on the other hand, is a sign of resistance against Lukashenko and Putin’s influence.
Shaliga had hoped that a bill that City Council passed unanimously and became law this month would give him a path to raise the white-and-red flag at City Hall, but that was not the case. The bill called “for establishing an application process for reviewing and approving ceremonial flag-raising requests” and for no flag to be raised for more than 30 continuous days.
The city’s current policy under the PHL Honors Diversity Flag Raising Program, which was updated in 2022, remains unchanged by the bill: The city will only raise flags recognized by the U.S. Department of State.
Last week, Shaliga learned his application to raise the white flag with the red stripe was denied. By then, Shaliga and other organizers had already advertised Friday’s ceremony, thinking the bill cleared all previous roadblocks. The group blamed Mayor Jim Kenney, who did not sign the bill. They blamed him for the rejection of their application.
“We followed the rules, we did everything possible, we submitted all the applications, we helped pass the bill in the City Council,” said a frustrated Shaliga.
A city spokesperson said the flag-raising event was promoted before it was approved and that community organizers were given the opportunity to host an alternative event “that could feature the freedom flag and educate the public on its history and significance,” but organizers declined the offer.
To Shaliga and others, the details of the mix-up made little difference given they still couldn’t raise their desired flag.
They gathered in front of City Hall Friday chanting “unfair, unfair, unfair” and “white, red, white.”
The city may not raise their flag officially, but organizers and supporters watched a symbolic flag-raising as Astapenka sang an original Belarusian song she wrote. The song was about raising the white-and-red flag proudly.
According to the city, the purpose of the updated 2022 flag-raising program guidelines was to reduce barriers for applicants.
To Shaliga and other advocates of recognizing the so-called freedom flag, the changes only added confusion to the process.
“I got lost at some point, it definitely should be simplified,” said Shaliga after learning the bill he helped back didn’t advance his goal.
Still, he’s not giving up and hopes to change the city’s stance on the flag-raising issue. By this time next year, he wants the freedom flag flying at City Hall and on the Ben Franklin Parkway.