Baghdad, Jan 21, (VOI) – A member of parliament from the Unified Iraqi Coalition
said that it was decided on Monday to vote on changing the Iraqi flag draft law
on Tuesday.
This came during a meeting between the heads of the parliamentary committees and
the parliament's chairmanship.
"The meeting between the heads of the parliamentary committees with the
parliaments' chairmanship tackled two main issues; changing the Iraqi flag draft
law and the 2008 budget," Haydar al-Abadi told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq -
(VOI).
"Four suggestions have been presented for the flag's new form; the first to
eliminate the three stars, the second to change the (God) handwriting, the third
is to write (God) in blue, and the fourth suggests leaving the flag as it is but
changing the concepts of its symbols," he explained.
"These suggestions will be presented on Tuesday in the parliament and members
will vote on them," he noted.
Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani had urged the central
government in Baghdad to speed up changing the Iraqi flag ahead of the Arab
parliamentarians’ conference to be hosted in Arbil in February 2008.
Barzani affirmed that the Kurds "would never raise the current flag because it
still carries the three stars symbolizing the (former) Baath Party."
Meanwhile, the MP said that "discussions about the budget are still underway."
He said that "the economic committee did not attend today's meetings. We only
know they are outside of the country."
Iraq's budget for 2008 is USD 47 billion, and the government of Kurdistan region
demands dedicating 17% of it to the region.
