Kurdistan Democratic Party, who had fled to Mahabad after the 1943 Barzani revolt. Symbolism The Kurdish flag is the most important symbol of cohesive Kurdish identity. Since it was first hoisted in 1946 to represent the concept of an independent Kurdistan (called the Republic of Mahabad and founded in Iranian territory) it has become a symbol of the national identity of Kurds. The main characteristic of the flag is the blazing golden sun emblem (Roj in Kurdish) at its center. The emblem's sun disk has 21 rays, equal in size and shape, with the single odd ray at top and the two even rays on the bottom. The symbolism of the colours is: In the fall of 2006, the Iraqi Kurdish leadership gave orders for Kurdish officials to stop flying the Iraqi flag under decree number 60 "to hoist the flag of Iraqi Kurdistan". Masoud Barzani issued orders that the Ba'athist flag should be lowered and all regions in Iraqi Kurdistan should "hoist only the Kurdistan flag" because the symbols of Ba'athism were associated with the Anfal genocide where 180,000 people lost their lives. When the Ba'athist symbols were removed from the Iraqi flag in 2008, the KRG hoisted the Iraqi flag to fly alongside the Kurdish flag, reported to still be the practice as of March 2013. Flying the Iraqi flag side by side with the Kurdish flag is symbolic of their acceptance of Iraqi federalism. Modern adaptation to international flag standards The flag appeared in Kurdish media throughout the 1990s with MED TV, Kurdsat, Kurdistan TV and their affiliates broadcasting with the flag appearing frequently in their programming allowing it to become a symbol of Kurdish statehood. Other flags used by Kurds Similar flags Due to Iranian roots of the Kurds, the colours used in flags used by Kurds are the same that are used in other Iranian-origin areas like Iran and Tajikistan. Kurdistan Region's flag day Since 1993, the Kurdish Flag Day is celebrated on December 17. References External links Kurds History of the Kurdish people Politics of Kurdistan Politics of Kurdistan Region (Iraq) Kurdish nationalist symbols Kurd