Kurdistan President Says Willing To Raise Flag With New
interpretations
Arbil, Jan 13, (VOI) – Iraq's Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani said that his
government is willing to raise the current Iraqi flag as long as a new
interpretation of its meaning is offered to represent post-Saddam Iraq.
"Kurds are always ready to raise the Iraqi flag as long as a new interpretation
or change is provided to represent new Iraq. I have not been acquainted with the
change that has been made to the flag thus far, but the old flag did not
represent Iraq, but the Baath (Party)," Barzani said in a joint press conference
with Italian Deputy Foreign Minister Gianni Vernetti in Arbil city on Sunday.
On Saturday, the Iraqi parliament discussed a proposal to make changes to the
current Iraqi flag in response to strong protests from Kurdish leaders who argue
that the flag symbolizes the former Iraqi regime. The color of the phrase 'Allah
Akbar' (God is Greater), written on the center of the flag, has been changed
from green to yellow and the meaning of the three green stars was changed from
their representations of the three tenets of the Baath party motto: unity,
freedom and socialism, to peace, tolerance and justice.
In September 2006, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) banned the raising of
the national Iraqi flag beside the Kurdish flag on state-run buildings, raising
tensions on the Iraqi domestic political scene. Barzani urged the central
government in Baghdad to speed up changing the Iraqi flag ahead of the Arab
parliamentarians' conference in Arbil, scheduled for February 2008, affirming
that the Kurds "will never raise the current flag because it still carries the
three stars symbolizing the (former) Baath Party."
