Middle East News
Iraqi parliament approves new flag to please Kurds
Jan 22, 2008, 15:21 GMT
Baghdad - Iraq's parliament approved a bill Tuesday to change the national flag in response to Kurds' demands by removing three controversial stars symbolizing the Saddam Hussein era.
The new flag, which was approved by 110 out of 165 lawmakers, will have - as the old flag - the same red and black bands across the top and bottom, with a white band between them. But the three stars in the middle, symbolizing the ousted Baath Party, will be removed.
The Arabic words 'Allahu Akbar' (God is great), which were added to the flag by Saddam Hussein just before the Gulf War in 1991, will remain but will be written with the traditional Islamic calligraphy.
The change in the flag came after Iraq's Kurdish Autonomous Region refused to hoist the old flag over government buildings saying it represents a regime that committed a genocide against Kurds in the 1980s.
© 2008 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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NoharnessJan 22nd, 2008 - 15:24:26
This may well be more significant than it seems at first blush. We'll have to wait and see.
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