Foreign Flag

Foreign Flag

Violation of a Foreign Flag: International Incident

In the book “International Incidents for Discussion in Conversation Classes”, in relation to this subject, L. Oppenheim wrote in 1909: A political criminal, imprisoned in Port-au-Prince, in Hayti, escapes from the prison and makes for the harbour, with the intention of taking refuge on board a foreign man-of-war lying there. On his way he meets the diplomatic envoy of the state to which the man-of-war belongs, and as the Haytian police are on his heels he asks for the envoy’s protection and safe conduct to the vessel. The latter calls a passing fly and enters it with the fugitive, but is overtaken by the police. Thereupon he takes the flag of his home state out of his pocket and throws the folds of it over the fugitive for the purpose of protecting him. The police nevertheless arrest the man. The envoy sends a report of the affair to his government, which requests from Hayti not only severe punishment of the police for the violation of the envoy’s privileges and the insult to its flag, but also the release of the rearrested political criminal and his safe conduct to its man-of-war lying in the harbour of Port-au-Prince.


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