ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Government and political leaders have praised the Kurdish flag as a " symbol of centuries-long Kurdish struggle for freedom" as part of Kurdistan Flag Day.
"This flag is the symbol of struggle and resistance of a nation that has been fighting for hundreds of years for freedom, independence, equality and their own rights," President Nechirvan Barzani said at Diyarbakir Basic School of Girls in Erbil.
The flag was officially adopted on November 11, 1999, with December 17 designated Kurdistan Flag Day by the regional parliament on June 19, 2014.
The occasion is marked in events held at schools across the Kurdistan Region, with students wearing colorful Kurdish clothing and painting their faces with the flag.
"You are the future generation of this country. You will have to very eagerly hold it and take the message to the destination that our beloved ones in the past had struggled for, for hundreds of years," Barzani advised the crowd surrounding him while waving the flag.
"Your weapon is education to build your future and I am sure you carry this flag very responsibly," he added.
The Kurdistan Council of Ministers and the Parliament also held ceremonies in downtown Erbil to mark the event.
In the presence of Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, a giant flag was hoisted in front of the Council of Ministers building by the son and daughter of the late Peshmerga soldier Hujam Surchi.
Surchi was beheaded by ISIS fighters in Mosul on January 25, 2015 after being handed over to the group by local villagers in an August 2014 battle which left 8 of his colleagues dead
MPs, staff and the Parliament’s speaker gathered around a giant flag in front of Kurdistan’s Parliament building to mark the day.
"Throughout history, [the] Kurdish people have had the dream of seeing this sacred flag of Kurdistan flying high on their own land," Parliament Speaker Rewaz Fayaq said. "Fortunately, the dream came true in the wake of the popular uprising of 1991."
Kurdish cities and towns of northern Iraq were liberated from Saddam Hussein's Baathist regime in less than two weeks in March 1991. The liberation led to the creation of the Kurdistan Regional Government in 1992.
"The flag of Kurdistan symbolizes our unity and struggle for peace, liberty and co-existence. On Kurdistan Flag Day, I'd like to salute our martyrs who sacrificed their lives for our sacred flag," said Masoud Barzani, leader of the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in a tweet.
Alaya Rengin, or "the colorful flag" was first used by Kurds in Turkey by the Republic of Ararat, led by the Xoybuns in their 1920s rebellion. It was a short-lived republic established by Kurds in southeast Turkey as a result of a wave of revolutions against the modern Republic of Turkey, fighting for the greater right of Kurds in the country.
In the late 20th century, the flag was adopted by the Kurdistan Regional Government and Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It was standardized through the work of Kurdish scholar Mehrdad MR Izady and fellow intellectuals.
The flag of Kurdistan is unique in the Middle East with its 21-point sun centered in equal bands of red, white, and green.
Flag day was also celebrated at Chrakran Basic School in the Kirkuk's Kurdish quarter of Panja Ali.
Kirkuk is a disputed area, claimed by both the governments of Baghdad and Erbil.
Since the federal takeover of Kirkuk in October 2017, Iraqi forces have confiscated Kurdistan flags, prohibiting them from being hoisted publicly.
"Not just today, we every time teach our pupils that the sacred Flag of Kurdistan is our flag," a teacher at the courtyard of the school, told Rudaw's Hardi Mohammed. "No one can prevent us from hoisting it. We have every year marked the Flag Day," she added.
"I am very thrilled to honor my flag today. My teachers have taught me to respect the Flag of Kurdistan," said a schoolgirl with the flag painted on her cheek.
The flag was also honored across towns and cities of Sulaimani, the region's largest province.
The governor of the province urged unity among all the parties and people of Kurdistan in the face of potential threats the region might face.
"We must be united to protect our country. Our flag has mobilized us in any corner of the word. We are strong only when we are united. Our enemies never defeated us when we were united," Haval Abu Bakir said in a ceremony.
"As the flag has brought us all together, I hope our common objectives, willingness, and unity mobilize us at present time and in the future," Abu Bakir added.
Today's colorful events of Kurdistan coincides with a high-profile meeting which is taking place between Kurdistan Region's president, prime minister, and parliament speaker to discuss current events in the region and rest of Iraq.
"The meeting has an agenda. It is related to current events in Iraq, the situation of Kurdistan and the region as a whole as well as discussing the three presidencies top priorities," Parliament Speaker Fayaq told Rudaw of the meeting.
