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Iraqi parliament chooses temporary
post-Saddam flag
22.1.2008
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January
22, 2008
BAGHDAD, -- Iraq's parliament voted on
Tuesday to adopt a new, temporary national flag in a
move long demanded by the country's Kurdistan region
who say the Saddam Hussein-era banner is a reminder
of the cruelty of his rule.
There was rare unity among members of parliament
over the emotional issue, which represents a
symbolic break with the past. A previous attempt to
change the flag,www.ekurd.net
by the interim
government in 2004, was universally rejected by
Iraqis. |
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The debate over a post-Saddam flag was accelerated
by a planned pan-Arab meeting of politicians in
Iraq's largely autonomous Kurdistan region on March
10. Kurdish officials had refused to fly the current
flag, which is banned in Kurdistan.
The new flag will have a limited shelf-life -- it
will last for one year, during which time debate
will continue on what the final flag should look
like.
There was no serious opposition among the Shi'ite,
Sunni Arab and Kurdish blocs in parliament to the
proposed temporary flag -- 110 out of the 165
members present supported the change -- because it
is almost identical to the old one.
It is still red, white and black, but the three
green stars in the centre representing unity,
freedom and socialism, the motto of Saddam's now
outlawed Baath party, have been removed.
The phrase Allahu Akbar (God is great), added in
green Arabic script on Saddam's orders during the
1991 Gulf War, however, remains. The script was
originally in Saddam's handwriting but the
calligraphy was unofficially changed in 2004.
The Iraqi parliament voted by majority on Tuesday
over a draft to modify the nation's flag by removing
the three stars and keeping the words Allahu Akbar,
or God is Great, a legislator from the Shiite
Unified Iraqi Coalition (UIC) said.
Reuters | VOI
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