Saddam's scrawl taken off flag
2008-01-13 22:08
Baghdad - Saddam Hussein's handwritten praise to God will be dropped from the Iraqi flag and the symbolism behind its three green stars will be changed, according to a bill presented to parliament on Saturday.
The Iraqi flag still bears the ousted dictator's handwritten "Allahu Akhbar" (God is Greater) while the three stars officially symbolise unity, freedom and socialism - the slogan of Saddam's Baath party.
Under the new flag law, given its first reading by parliament on Saturday, the praise to God will be printed - in yellow - in the Kufi form of Arabic script while the stars will now represent peace, tolerance and justice.
"The Iraqi parliament read the Iraqi flag law for the first time in its session on Saturday," said Naseer al-Isawi, a Sadrist lawmaker.
"The law will be applied following the second reading in four days' time," he added.
The new law would apply for a year, after which it would be looked at again, he added.
Saddam was toppled by the US-led invasion of 2003. He was executed on December 30 2006 for crimes against humanity.
- AFP