South Sudanese national flags were hoisted upside down in Egypt during President Salva Kiir’s visit to the country on Monday sparking angry social media reactions from citizens of the world’s youngest country.
The flags, displayed at several places including the Cairo airport, major roads and all the places visited by the South Sudanese president, were hoisted upside down with the green stripe on top instead of the black stripe.
South Sudan flag in Egypt during president Salva Kiir visit to Egypt pointing upside down.Sarcasm or grave mistake? pic.twitter.com/pDXEZjFLOv
— Justin Maker (@justin_maker) January 10, 2017
Twitter and Facebook was buzzing with most of the criticisms directed at South Sudanese diplomats for not noticing the mistake to correct it before the arrival of the president.
A government official reacted on Wednesday saying it was a mistake and not a deliberate action to humiliate the people of South Sudan.
“Although it is too humiliating to see our beloved country’s Flag hoisted upside down at the airport and the main streets in Cairo, it might have not been a deliberate action, intended to humiliate South Sudan and its people. It could have been a human error, but it is a significant mistake. It is a shared blame in my opinion,” Riak Gok Majok posted on Facebook.
As at Thursday, there was no official government statement on the diplomatic goof from both Egypt and South Sudan.
The national flag of South Sudan is made up of six colours arranged with a black stripe on top representing the people of South Sudan, followed by red stripe representing the blood shed for the country’s independence, and then a green stripe representing the country’s wealth.
Thin white stripes separate the three major stripes to represent peace. A blue inverted triangle with a yellow star in the middle covers the stripes at the left end of the flag to represent the waters of the Nile River and unity respectively.
Meanwhile, citizens of the country are demanding apology from Egyptian authorities and punishment of South Sudanese diplomats among other demands.
Dear government of President Kiir, please clearly and categorically tell us why our flag was hoisted upside down in #Egypt. #SouthSudan
— Kush (@Avram44) January 11, 2017
