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Flag of Kurdistan

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Official flag of Kurdistan Ratio: 2:3

The Flag of Kurdistan Kurdish: Alaya Kurdistanê,[1] also called Alay Rengîn ("the colorful flag") first appeared during the Kurdish independence movement from the Ottoman Empire. It is said to have been created in the 1920s by the organisation of Xoybûn (Khoyboon).[2] An earlier version of this flag was flown by the break-away Republic of Ararat in Turkey during the period 1927-1931. It was later the flag of the Soviet-backed Kurdish state known as the Republic of Mahabad in 1946. It is flown by the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraqi Kurdistan. The flag is banned in Syria.[2][3]

The main Kurdish characteristic of the flag is the blazing golden sun emblem at the center, which is an ancient religious and cultural symbol among the Kurds. The sun disk of the emblem has 21 rays, equal in size and shape. The number 21 holds importance in the ancient Yazdani religious traditions of the Kurds.[4]

The Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iraq (KDP), which has used this tricolor flag for more than a half century, explains the symbolism of the colors as following:

  • Red symbolizes the blood of Kurdish martyrs and the continued struggle for Kurdish freedom and dignity.
  • Green expresses the beauty and the landscapes of Kurdistan.
  • White expresses peace and equality.
  • Yellow represents the source of life and light of the people.[5]

Design

Construction

The diameter of the sun disk is 0.5 without the rays and 1.0 with the rays (considering the 2x3 dimensions of the flag). The rays are keen-pointed at the end, with their sides made of straight lines. No space separates two adjacent rays at their base which touch on the disk, thus leaving no part of the sun disk exposed. The sun emblem is situated at the geometric center of the flag. The sun is placed in such way the vector going through its uppermost odd ray is perpendicular to the length.[6]

Old flags used by Kurds

Some Kurdish principalities and states such as Soran or Kingdom of Kurdistan had their own flags.

Controversy over use of Iraqi flag in Iraqi Kurdistan

Pre-2008 official flag of Iraq, banned in northern Iraq due to its pan-Arab / Ba`thist symbolism
Old version of Iraqi national flag, flown under Abdul Karim Qassim, which was allowed to be flown in Iraqi Kurdistan when the 2004-2007 Iraqi national flag wasn't.

In 2006, Massoud Barzani, president of the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq, banned the raising of the 2004-2007 national Iraqi flag beside the Kurdish flag on the regional government buildings, raising tensions among Iraqis domestically, and also internationally (notably with Turkey).[7]

Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's office made a brief statement regarding the incident:

The present Iraqi flag is the only flag that should be hoisted on any part of Iraqi soil until the parliament takes a decision about it according to the constitution.[8]

Shortly after, Barzani attacked Iraqi Arab leaders over their opposition to his order banning the Iraqi flag from government buildings. During a speech in the Iraqi Kurdistan's parliament, he said:

Those who condemn it are chauvinists, running away from internal problems. They are losers. They are not rulers or statesmen. They are unable to run their region and they seek to make Kurdistan just like their regions. The time of threats is over, no one has the right to force his will on the Kurdish people.[9]

The Turkish foreign minister (now president) Abdullah Gül, in an interview with NTV Turkey, said:

Those who are doing this must see how dangerous this course is, if Iraq is willing to accept a flag that is not its own to fly on its own territory, it's over.[10]

However, after the 2008 Iraqi flag changes (the adoption of a temporary flag without green stars for a period of one year), the new Iraqi flag was flown above the Kurdish parliament. Kurds hoist reworked Iraqi flag

See also

References

  1. ^ "Nefel".
  2. ^ a b "The National Flag of Kurdistan"., Kurdish Institute of Paris.
  3. ^ "Kurds and No Way". SchNEWS. 2005-05-06. Retrieved 2008-02-06.
  4. ^ Dr. B. A. Eliasi. "The National Flag of Kurdistan". Encyclopaedia Kurdistanica. Retrieved 2008-02-06.
  5. ^ "The Party's Emblem: KDP's Insignia". Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iraq. Retrieved 2008-02-06.
  6. ^ "Kurdistan Regional Government (Iraq)". Flags of the World. Retrieved 2008-02-06.
  7. ^ "Kurdish Leader Bans Iraqi Flag in Northern Iraq".
  8. ^ "Iraqi national flag should be hoisted across Iraq: PM".
  9. ^ "Kurdish leader attacks Arab politicians over Iraqi flag".
  10. ^ "Turkish foreign minister says flying Kurdish flag in northern Iraq 'dangerous'".
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