The story of changing the national flag

Kyrgyzstan's parliament has just passed a decision to change the national flag.

The national flag of Kyzgyzstan has long been a yellow circle on a red background. There are six red stripes intersecting the yellow circle and the edge of the yellow circle is 40 winding yellow stripes. These short yellow stripes are separated from the remaining yellow area by a red circle. For a long time, this national flag image has been chosen by the Kyzgyz people because the image of the national flag is considered a symbol of the sun on the steppe. The six red stripes cutting across the yellow circle represent the image of traditional tents of nomads on the steppe. This explanation sounds very reasonable and easy to understand for outsiders. According to that, the national flag very specifically and clearly represents some of the characteristics and identities of Kyzgyzstan.

According to the Kyzgyz people, the sun is very important to the lives of the people, very close to them and gives them many things. They consider the sun as a source of their life and the embodiment of prosperity, wealth, abundance and happiness. Until now, it has been like that for many years for the people of this country and in this country.

Now, the Kyrgyz parliament has decided to change the appearance of the national flag. Everything remains the same except for the 40 yellow stripes that are fluttering on the outside. In the new national flag, they are no longer fluttering but straight and pointed. The parliamentarians who argued for this change said that the national flag must be changed to avoid being misunderstood that the image on it is not the sun but a sunflower. The country may have a national flower, but the sunflower is not the sun and cannot replace the sun in the perception and expectation of a symbolic image of prosperity and development. The difference between the old and new national flags is very small, so small that those who do not pay attention and are noticed may not even be able to distinguish it at first glance, but the meaning is completely different.

Some people think that the deputies are too superstitious. Others say that they are so spiritual that they are fanatical. There is also no shortage of people who sympathize with the idea of “changing the national flag to open a new era” for Kyrgyzstan. Whether it is right or wrong, agreeing or disagreeing depends on each person’s perception and interpretation.

From a cultural and historical perspective, this change in the national flag must be evaluated from a different perspective. The question is whether the new national flag now represents the image of the sun, then up until now it has not been the sun but only a sunflower, or the old national flag still represents the image of the sun but can easily be mistaken for a sunflower. If these questions cannot be answered, then it will certainly be inevitable that we will have to reconsider, and even rewrite, the country's cultural history. The desire for a new period of prosperous development for the country is very legitimate, but the history, culture and society of a nation do not suddenly appear but have a development process, have origins and roots, have identity and characteristics.

Therefore, the change of the national flag for Kyzgyzstan is, in name, only an amendment to help clearly distinguish between the sun and the sunflower, but in essence, it is a political decision that creates a special milestone in history, culture and society.

THUC LINH

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