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On November 29, Kyrgyzstan’s parliament handed the primary studying of a invoice that will redesign particular parts of the nation’s flag.
Article 3 of the regulation “Concerning the state symbols of the Kyrgyz Republic” lays out the size of the flag and its design elements. The flag includes a “spherical photo voltaic disk with forty evenly diverging rays of golden coloration, with a picture of a pink Kyrgyz yurt tunduk positioned contained in the photo voltaic disk.” The invoice, proposed in September, requires altering the design of the rays. Ulan Primov, one of many invoice’s authors, mentioned it was straightforward to confuse the rays for a sunflower.
The phrase “sunflower” in Kyrgyz can be utilized derogatorily to indicate fickleness or an absence of independence. In a speech in opposition to the invoice, deputy Mirlan Samyikozho stooped to a little bit of title calling when he mentioned, “Whoever says that the solar rays are like a sunflower is a sunflower themselves.”
There have been three proposed modifications to the flag: the primary pitched by parliament again in September, edits by the president’s workplace in October, and a ultimate model that was voted on this week. The entire proposed flag designs embody a yellow tunduk inside a solar with forty rays in opposition to a pink background.
Parliament’s first effort straightens out the rays, which within the unique are curved (and, if one squints, could possibly be seen as petals on a sunflower). The president’s workplace tweaked that by plucking every ray from the strip of yellow across the tunduk. The president’s model has alternating lengths of rays, which, although it might extra precisely symbolize the solar, may insinuate that a number of the forty tribes that the rays symbolize are stronger or extra highly effective than others. Maybe anticipating such criticism, Jogorku Kenesh’s ultimate markup has the entire rays measuring at equal size.
Deputies additionally elevated the variety of slats on the tunduk from three to 4. Nurlan Shakiev, who has been the speaker of parliament since October 2022, defined throughout deliberations, “They mentioned that solely the wealthy, affluent Kyrgyz had 4 tunduk rods within the yurts, whereas the poor had three.”
Within the November 29 vote, 66 deputies voted in favor of a brand new design (effectively, 65, provided that deputy Mirlan Samyikozho claimed somebody pressed the “for” button whereas he was away). Eight deputies voted no, 10 abstained, and 6 didn’t vote altogether.
Erlan Kokulov, a member of the Yntymak social gathering, criticized the method for missing democratic integrity. “We rushed once more. We couldn’t ask questions. The flag shouldn’t be solely ours, but it surely belongs to each citizen,” Kokulov mentioned. “This challenge ought to have been resolved by a referendum.”
Elections are costly, although, and it’s unlikely the design can be put to a proper vote.
Azattyk, the Kyrgyz-language department of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, performed an off-the-cuff survey concerning the proposed modifications to the flag on YouTube. As of November 30, 38,000 folks had voted, with 80 % supporting the unique design. Some 13 % appreciated the president’s pitch. Solely 5 % accredited parliament’s ultimate markup.
This isn’t the primary time Kyrgyzstan’s lawmakers have tried to alter the flag, which was adopted in 1992 simply days after the nation joined the United Nations as an impartial state. In 2011, parliament arrange a committee of 15 deputies to debate the flag’s design. Abdyrakhman Mamataliev, the deputy who chaired the committee, recounted {that a} mild blue flag would evoke much less violent photos than pink, a coloration that symbolizes blood. Mamataliev additionally known as for bringing again the Soviet-era tricolor flag, however swapping out the hammer and sickle with a tunduk.
In comparison with these modifications, tweaks to the form of the solar rays appear minor. International locations change the main points and ornamentation of their flags on a regular basis. In 2021, France shifted the blue of their tricolor to a barely darker navy. In 2022, Honduras modified the stripes and stars on its flag from darkish blue again to turquoise. Primov, one of many invoice’s authors, cited the frequency of modifications to flags in the USA and Spain to justify the Kyrgyz design change.
In an interview with Kabar on October 25, President Sadyr Japarov mentioned that whereas he’s “removed from superstitious,” it’s nonetheless necessary to “hope that to any extent further, we can be a developed an impartial nation, just like the rays of the solar on our flag getting into by the tunduk.”
Common individuals are not so certain concerning the transformative energy of the flag’s design change, although. When native media outlet Kaktus performed avenue interviews in Bishkek again in October, folks not solely mentioned they like the unique design, however that they suppose this entire invoice is a distraction from precise societal issues. Respondents cited rising taxes, inflation, home violence, and crumbling roads.
“I don’t get it. If we modify the flag, then everybody can be fed, they received’t shut off electrical energy within the winter, homes can be heat, and meals can be cheaper?” Avazbek Amanbekov, a world class champion kickboxer, posted on his Instagram tales. “Are we actually going to compete below a unique flag now?”
The invoice has handed solely its first studying and nonetheless must be voted on two extra instances earlier than it goes to Japarov’s desk to be signed into regulation. It could possibly be that this invoice fizzles out of style, just like a failed try to penalize those that use photos of the flag that don’t precisely match the specs laid out by regulation.
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