Iraq PM rebukes Kurds over flag [View All]

[sabra]

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/6750BA88-AEC6-4D73-9CB8-E4C8E4BC2A5B.htm

Iraq PM rebukes Kurds over flag

Iraq's prime minister has issued a stern rebuke to ethnic Kurds after the autonomous Kurdistan region ordered the national Iraqi flag be replaced by the Kurdish tri-colour on government buildings in northern Iraq.

The office of Nuri al-Maliki, the prime minister, issued a statement on Sunday that not only defended the national flag but implied that the Kurds' own banner was illegitimate.

"The present Iraqi flag should be hoisted on every inch of Iraqi soil until the parliament takes a decision about it," read the brief message, which did not refer directly to the controversy.

Al-Maliki is an Arab from the Shia Muslim majority