The Kökbayraq (lit. 'sky flag') is a flag used to represent the geographical region of East Turkestan in Central Asia. The flag was originally used as the national flag of the short-lived breakaway state known as the First East Turkestan Republic (1933–1934). The Kökbayraq has a white crescent (young waning moon) with a five pointed star on blue background, it was adopted on 12 November 1933 as the national flag of the First East Turkestan Republic during Declaration of independence.[2] With the exception of the blue background, the flag is identical to the Flag of Turkey.
 | |
| Use | National flag and ensign |
|---|---|
| Proportion | 2:3 |
| Adopted | 1933 |
| Design | A blue field with a white crescent moon and five-pointed star slightly left of centre.[1] |
As of 2024, the public display of the Kökbayraq flag is illegal by the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China.[3] Uyghurs and other East Turkistanis in the diaspora fly the flag as their ethnic flag.
Usage
In modern times it is popularly used as a symbol of the East Turkestan independence movement and is claimed by the East Turkistan Government in Exile to be the national flag of an independent East Turkestan.[4]
The light blue colour (background) is taken from the colour of the sky and is a predominant colour in Turkic culture that represents the sky, essentially the blue represents Turkic peoples. The crescent represents the notion of being victorious (un-defeatable) and is not necessarily an Islamic symbol, in-fact it was the Turks that introduced the crescent into the Islamic world. The star represents the Turkic nation, and is also found on the flag of the White Hun (Hephthalite) Empire and various other Turkic empires and states.[1]
Dimensions
| Letter | Measure | Length |
|---|---|---|
| G | Width | |
| A | Distance between the centre of the outer crescent and the seam of the white band | 1⁄2 G |
| B | Diameter of the outer circle of the crescent | 1⁄2 G |
| C | Distance between the centres of the inner and outer circles of the crescent | 1⁄16 G |
| D | Diameter of the inner circle of the crescent | 2⁄5 G |
| E | Distance between the inner circle of the crescent and the circle around the star | 1⁄3 G |
| F | diameter of the circle around the star | 1⁄4 G |
| L | Length | 1+1⁄2 G |
| M | Width of the white hem at the hoist | 1⁄30 G |
Gallery
The Kökbayraq
Flag of the Second East Turkestan Republic
Flag of the Second East Turkestan Republic with the colors of the Kökbayraq
Protesters with the Kökbayraq in front of the United Nations headquarters in New York City
The Kökbayraq at an East Turkestan independence event in Washington D.C.
Uyghur woman dancing in front of a large Kökbayraq in Washington D.C.
Uyghur man holding the Kökbayraq
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