In Kyrgyzstan there are demonstrations against changing the national flag. The current flag, carried here during a protest in early December, would, according to President Japarov, radiate dependence. Image AFP
Sadyr Japarov, president since 2020, is rapidly making his mark on Kyrgyzstan. He first redesigned the constitution, resulting in an expansion of his own power, and now he is taking charge of the flag.
According to Japarov, the design of the national flag is the reason for Kyrgyzstan’s lackluster development since its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. ‘There are many people who believe that the flag looks like a sunflower. That explains why our country has not been able to get up, because all it could do was stare at the sun,” Japarov recently told state media.
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Tom Vennink writes for de Volkskrant about Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, the Caucasus and Central Asia. He regularly travels to the war in Ukraine. Previously he was a correspondent in Moscow.
The Kyrgyz flag consists of a red plane with a yurt in the middle, a reference to the nomadic roots of the population. The yurt is surrounded by a yellow sun with forty, winding rays – one for each Kyrgyz tribe that the mythical folk hero Manas supposedly summoned to defend the country in the ninth century.
The winding rays of the sun are especially reminiscent of a sunflower, Japorav said. ‘There are even cases of foreigners who, during their visit to our republic, said that large numbers of sunflowers grow here.’
Dependent
Important detail: the president doesn’t like sunflowers. The Kyrgyz word for sunflower (kun karama) has a second meaning: ‘dependent’. And Japarov does not want to be president of a dependent country.
He had a new design presented in which the sun’s rays are bent straight. The design was approved by parliament last week and will be the official flag from Tuesday. “From now on we will no longer be dependent,” said the president of one of the most dependent countries in the world (more than 1.5 million of the 7 million inhabitants work abroad according to the Ministry of Labor). ‘From now on the sun will shine and smile upon us.’
On the right is the new design, which, according to the president, is no longer reminiscent of a sunflower.
Kill wind
Many Kyrgyzs watch with gritted teeth as the president steals the national flag. Some assumed it was a joke and rushed onto the streets of the capital Bishkek when the proposal turned out to be serious. Kyrgyz art historian Altyn Kapalova states on Facebook that Japarov’s straightened sunbeams “totally destroy the composition.”
Critics say the flag change is symbolic of the increasingly chilly winds blowing through the country. Kyrgyzstan has lost its image as ‘the only democracy in Central Asia’ due to repression against opposition politicians and critical media. Parliamentarian Dastan Bekesjev states that there is only one reason for Japarov’s new flag: ‘Someone wants to record himself in history.’
2023-12-24 17:04:29
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