Several of Kyrgyzstan’s top athletes have announced that they will not compete with the changed national flag, which was approved by parliament in support of President Sadir Japarov’s idea. In the first reading, 66 deputies voted for changing the flag, but only eight voted against it.
As a result, elite athletes have joined many citizens and legislators who believe that changing the flag is not justified. Zholomans Sharshenbekov, the world champion in Greco-Roman wrestling, has been particularly active against the change of the flag. “I have the old flag. I don’t plan to buy a new one. In the future, I will only compete under the old flag,” says the athlete, who won seventh place at the Tokyo Olympics, reports the media describing the Olympic movement “Inside the Games”.
Wrestler Zholomans Sharshenbekov refuses to compete under the new flag. (Photo: ddp/abaca press/ Vida Press)
The world kickboxing champion Dastan Sharsheev also joined this opinion, declaring that he, like 99 percent of the Kyrgyz population, does not recognize the new flag. “Since I was 19 years old, I’ve been racing under this flag that you see behind me and I consider it an honor,” he said in a video statement. “Our flag is our history and our future. There is no need to change it,” Sharsheyev added.
Objections to the sudden changes in the state’s symbolism were also voiced by football stars Azamat Baimatova and Mirlan Murzayev “I know only one thing. My dear flag will always be in my hands and in my heart,” said Baimatov, who once played 5 games for FK “Ventspils”.
Meanwhile, one of the leaders of the national team, Murzayev, who has spent a long career in Turkish clubs, expressed the following: “I have become the champion five times, and every time I celebrated by waving this flag. Our old, beloved flag.”
The change of the flag is not big, but the public is against it. The old version is on the left, and the new version is on the right. (Photo: Screenshot from x.com)
Despite public opposition and the stance of several prominent athletes, the government continues to support changing the flag. Deputy Prime Minister Edil Baishakov responded by saying that all Kyrgyz athletes will use the new flag in future competitions, including the Asian Martial Arts Championships and other international tournaments, including the Paris Olympics.
The president himself had to explain that the changes are very minor. “We’re not making it blue or white, we’re just making small changes,” Japarov said at the People’s Assembly meeting. The president had previously mentioned that the “wavy” rays of the sun on the flag made it look like a sunflower. When the sun’s rays are “straightened out,” he declared, “the sun will shine and smile upon us, and from then on, ‘we will be a developed and independent country.’
Japarov is quite a passionate supporter of the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, so the “sunflowers” argument could be related to indulging the aggressor. As you know, sunflowers are a symbol of Ukraine.
2023-12-25 21:11:00
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