Kurdish flag

The Kurdish flag (also flag of Kurdistan, Kurdish: "Alaya Kurdistanê", [cite web|url=http://www.nefel.com/articles/article_detail.asp?RubricNr=1&ArticleNr=1439|title=Nefel] 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).cite web|url=http://www.institutkurde.org/en/kurdorama/the_national_flag_of_kurdistan.php|title=The National Flag of Kurdistan, Kurdish Institute of Paris.] 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 and Iran.cite web | url=http://www.schnews.org.uk/archive/news496.htm | title=Kurds and No Way | accessdate=2008-02-06 | work=SchNEWS | date=2005-05-06]

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. [cite web | url=http://www.kurdistanica.com/english/culture/ncharacters/flag/kurdish_flag.html | title=The National Flag of Kurdistan | author=Dr. B. A. Eliasi | work=Encyclopaedia Kurdistanica | accessdate=2008-02-06]

Traditions among Kurds hold that the colours of the Kawa blacksmith's apron are now the colours of the Kurdish flag. [cite web | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/yourlondon/unitedcolours/features/kurdish_newyear.shtml | title =Newroz - Kurdish New Year | publisher = BBC] 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. [cite web | title=The Party's Emblem: KDP's Insignia | url=http://www.kdp.se/?do=emblem | publisher=Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iraq | accessdate=2008-02-06 ]

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. [cite web | url=http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/iq-krg.html | title=Kurdistan Regional Government (Iraq) | accessdate=2008-02-06 | work=Flags of the World]

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

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 (most notably with Turkey).cite web|url=http://www.zaman.com/?bl=international&alt=&hn=36213|title=Kurdish Leader Bans Iraqi Flag in Northern Iraq]

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

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:

cquote|Those who condemn it are chauvinists, escaping from internal problems. They are losers. They are not rulers or statesmen. They can't run their region and they want 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.

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

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. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7238114.stm Kurds hoist reworked Iraqi flag]

References

External links

* [http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/iq-krg.html Flag of the Kurdish Regional Government in Iraq, from FOTW]
* [http://www.institutkurde.org/en/kurdorama/the_national_flag_of_kurdistan.php The National Flag of Kurdistan] Introduction, historical background, description of the national flag on The Kurdish Institute of Paris website.
* [http://www.krg.org/download/Kurdistan_flag_3457x2355.gifHigh resolution (".gif") version of the Flag (RGB, 40 KB)]
* [http://www.krg.org/download/Kurdistan_flag_RGB.pdf Vector version of the Flag (PDF, CMYK, 193 KB)]
* [http://www.krg.org/download/Kurdistan_flag_CMYK.pdf Vector version of Kurdistan Flag (PDF, RGB, 205 KB)]