The New Old Flag of Independence
(Syria Files)- Since the Syrian independence, the national flag has undergone many changes over the decades. The flag went through a process of political and partisan exclusions that are neither patriotic nor constitutional, that is until through the revolution the people decided to reclaim their right to choose their own flag.
In Article 6 of the Syrian constitution, drafted by the Syrian National Constituent Assembly, described the flag “as follows length double width, and is divided into three parallel and equal colors, the highest green, white then black, that the white section contains in a straight line three red five-pointed stars.”
During that period, the Constituent Assembly drafted a constitution that was unanimously approved by the Syrian people and is considered one of the most important documents in Syrian history as the first legitimate process that passed through an institution voted for by the people. The flag also represented the legitimacy that came from the people and not from any political party.
After the Ba’ath party came to power in 1963, their first target was the symbol of Syrian constitutional legitimacy, changing the flag that still represents the regime today, until 2011, when the Syrian revolution brought back the flag of independence as a symbol of resistance.
In 1958, Syria and Egypt became a union, and Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser changed the independence flag that united all Syrians and the flag of the United Arab Republic was adopted. This union, however, did not last long and in 1961, Syria went back to the former flag which was seen by many Arab nationalists as a symbol of “separation”.
After the Ba’ath party came to power in 1963, their first target was the symbol of Syrian constitutional legitimacy, changing the flag that still represents the regime today, until 2011, when the Syrian revolution brought back the flag of independence as a symbol of resistance.
Over the past years, the Ba’ath Party has dominated all aspects of political and social life in Syria, trying hard to isolate the Syrians from their constitutional and cultural legacies, pushing its ideology at the expense of the people and their rich history of participating in political life.
The struggle of peoples is what determines their options, because the popular national choice is always more sincere than all partisan options. The Ba’ath party has been determining the choices of the people for decades, but revolution in 2011 broke the cycle, giving back the power to the people who announced to the world their patriotic stance, choosing independence from tyranny by returning to their symbol of independence in the original flag.
In conclusion, the revolution’s flag is the only legitimate flag in Syria, its color is what the people decided upon back in 1950. None of the other flags represents Syria as a whole, nor its constitution.
