Flag of the British Indian Ocean Territory
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| Image:Flag of the British Indian Ocean Territory.svg | |||||||||
| Use | Civil/State flag and state ensign. Image:FIAV 110010.svg | ||||||||
| Proportion | 1:2 | ||||||||
| Adopted | November 8, 1990 | ||||||||
| Design |
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The flag of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) was adopted on November 8, 1990.
The BIOT flag is similar to the flags of other British dependencies and colonies as it has the Union Flag in the upper hoist-side corner. The palm tree and crown are symbols of the Indian Ocean Territory. The origin or meaning of the wavy lines is unknown, and their existence is a break from the traditional practice of flags of British colonies or former colonies. It is understood that the flag, which was ratified in 1990 is that of the Commissioner and has only semi-official status.
Given that it is impossible for civilians to visit the British Indian Ocean Territory, it is not clear whether the flag is actually used. However, a video was released by the Naval Support Facility on Diego Garcia. It shows a scene were the flag is being flown. <ref>Command Video. Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia. Accessed 28 August 2006.</ref> The only settlements on the Islands are the Anglo-American naval and air facilities.
It appears that the flag is also used by the Commissioner of the British Indian Ocean Territory <ref>Flags of the World - Brirish Indian Ocean Territory. Accessed 28 August 2006</ref>. The Commissioner is based at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London.<ref>CIA - The World Factbook -- British Indian Ocean Territory. Accessed 28 March 2006</ref>.
[edit] Notes
<references/>
Overseas territories: Anguilla | Bermuda | British Antarctic Territory | British Indian Ocean Territory | British Virgin Islands | Cayman Islands | Falkland Islands | Gibraltar | Montserrat | Pitcairn Islands | Saint Helena | South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands | Tristan da Cunha | Turks and Caicos Islands
Crown dependencies: Guernsey (Alderney) | Jersey | Isle of Man
Algeria • Angola • Benin • Botswana • Burkina Faso • Burundi • Cameroon • Cape Verde • Central African Republic • Chad • Comoros • Democratic Republic of the Congo • Republic of the Congo • Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) • Djibouti • Egypt • Equatorial Guinea • Eritrea • Ethiopia • Gabon • The Gambia • Ghana • Guinea • Guinea-Bissau • Kenya • Lesotho • Liberia • Libya • Madagascar • Malawi • Mali • Mauritania • Mauritius • Morocco • Mozambique • Namibia • Niger • Nigeria • Rwanda • São Tomé and Príncipe • Senegal • Seychelles • Sierra Leone • Somalia • South Africa • Sudan • Swaziland • Tanzania • Togo • Tunisia • Uganda • Western Sahara (Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic) • Zambia • Zimbabwe
Dependencies and other territories
British Indian Ocean Territory •
Canary Islands •
Ceuta •
Melilla •
Madeira Islands •
Mayotte •
Réunion •
St. Helena
es:Bandera del Territorio Británico en el Océano Índico he:דגל הטריטוריה הבריטית באוקיינוס ההודי hu:A Brit Indiai-óceáni Terület zászlaja ms:Bendera Tanah Jajahan British Lautan Hindi nl:Vlag van het Brits Territorium in de Indische Oceaan no:Det britiske territoriet i Indiahavets flagg ru:Флаг Британской территории в Индийском океане sv:Brittiska territoriet i Indiska oceanens flagga
