Iraqi parliament raises new flag

The new temporary flag of Iraq was raised over parliament for the first time on Tuesday, Reuters reported Tuesday.

According to the article, “Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki presided over the flag-raising outside his offices in central Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone during a ceremony watched by cabinet members and leading dignitaries.” The development of the new flag was in large part in response to demands from Iraqi Kurds, who, as the article notes, “said the old banner was a reminder of the brutality of Saddam Hussein’s rule.” The new flag still has the original phrase “Allahu Akbar” (God is Greatest), however the script has been changed because it was previously in Hussein’s handwriting. The colors of red, black, and white also remain.

The new Iraqi banner will be flown for one year and then a permanent design will be chosen. Kurdish officials had refused to fly the old flag because of its association with the Hussein regime. However many Iraqis do not approve of the new design and are flying the old banner in signs of protest. In Falluja, officials refuse to fly the new flag, with Mayor Saad Rasheed, saying of the new banner: “This is a disaster ... I am using the old flag in my office and at home!”

As the article notes, most Iraqis wish the government would focus more on changes that would better the society as a whole, such as improving basic services like electricity and water.

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