Syria adds Kurdistan flag to Erbil fair ad following pressure

4 hours ago

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Syrian authorities on Wednesday added the Kurdistan flag to an advertisement for a Syrian products fair in Erbil after pressure from Kurdish officials.

The Syrian Exhibitions and International Markets Foundation (SEIFE) published a post and an image on its Facebook account on Tuesday, inviting people to participate in the "largest exhibition of Syrian products." The image featured Iraqi and Syrian flags as well as the Erbil citadel. It did not include the Kurdistan flag or the name of the Kurdistan Region.

The exclusion of the Kurdish flag angered authorities in Erbil, who warned through Rudaw that they would not allow the fair to be held in the Kurdish capital unless organizers used the Kurdistan flag in their advertisements. Shortly after Rudaw’s Kurdish service published an article on the issue, Syria’s fair affairs body deleted the Facebook post. The advertisement was later reshared, this time with the Kurdistan flag placed between the Iraqi and Syrian flags.

The event is scheduled to take place from January 23 to January 26.

Syrian authorities have not explained why they initially omitted the Kurdistan flag or the name of the Kurdistan Region from their social media post.