region

Colombia to alter its coat of arms

Panama will be removed from the design more than 100 years after its independence.

More than 100 years after declaring independence from Colombia, Panama will finally be removed from that country's coat of arms.

Panama has appeared on the shield since 1843. Despite becoming independent early in the 20th century, the shield remained unchanged.

But there is now a proposal in the Colombian legislature to change the shield, replacing Panama with the San Andreas archipelago.

Panamanian officials are not surprised by the change, which they actually requested back in 2002. Vladimir Franco, director general of Asuntos Jurídicos of the Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, said that the issue was not a priority in terms of the country's foreign policy, but that it is a welcome change.

"This is not going to have any impact on our relationship with Colombia," he said.

Colombia's international affairs committee of the Legislature began discussing the issue in 2007. The idea of replacing Panama with San Andreas was put forward by representative Luis Felipe Barrios. The measure was approved by the committee and has now been forwarded to the full Legislature for consideration.

Panamanian historian Carlos Mendoza was not surprised by the initiative.

"There is no reason that Colombia should have the isthmus on its shield, except for memories," he said, "The country has every right to replace Panama."

The isthmus of Panama appears in the Colombian shield with a sailboat in each of the two seas, which shows the sovereignty of the country on both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, according to Colombian history.

The vice president of the Comisión de Relaciones Exteriores de la Asamblea Nacional, Abraham Martínez, also said the change is not political, but rather a matter of "historical correctness."