Iraq parliament approves new flag

Iraq's parliament has voted to change the country's flag.

The three stars that represented Saddam Hussein's Baath Party will be removed, as will a line of script allegedly in the former Iraqi leader's handwriting.

The move is aimed at addressing the concerns of Iraq's Kurds, who have refused to fly the flag since the fall of Saddam Hussein.

They say it is too closely associated with a regime that repressed and killed their people.

But the change - passed by 110 votes to 50 - is only temporary, as a design for a new flag will be sought after one year.

Agreement over the flag is another sign that the Iraqi parliament is moving forward on difficult issues, says the BBC's Jonny Dymond in Baghdad.

A measure that should allow former Baath party members to rejoin the bureaucracy and military was passed 10 days ago.

Changing times

The new flag retains the three colours of the old one - red, white and black.

But the stars that represented the ideology of the Baath party - unity, freedom and socialism - will be removed.

The Arabic inscription "Allahu Akbar" ("God is great") in green will be written in a script that makes clear it is no longer in Saddam Hussein's handwriting.

"The new flag has no signs of Saddam's regime and is a sign that change has been achieved in the country," said Humam Hamoudi, a prominent Shia politician and member of the powerful Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council party.

BBC News

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