Ruling AKP seeks official state emblem for Turkey

ANKARA

Efforts were made to design an emblem in 1927, but did not yield any official results.

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has proposed to designate an official “state emblem” for the Republic of Turkey, stating that such an emblem would contribute to the “institutional personality of the state.”

In a bill introduced to the Parliament Speaker’s Office, a group of AKP deputies stated that after a state’s flag, an official state emblem is one of the most important symbols for every country, adding to its reputation, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported late on Dec. 9.

According to the bill, among 203 states within the international system, only the Republic of Turkey and the Dominican Republic do not have state emblems.

The emblem used by the Ottoman Empire was abolished along with abolition of the Ottoman Sultanate and the subsequent declaration of the Turkish Republic in 1923, the deputies stated. Efforts were made to design a “Turkey Emblem" in 1927, but did not yield any official results, and no explanation for this was made at the time, they added.

According to the bill, a 12-member parliamentary commission will be founded to decide on the emblem and the commission will function for three months.

The first two months will be used for preliminary work while the last month will be used to finalize the emblem’s design by an expert working group, Anadolu Agency reported.

Eventually, if and when the commission approves the emblem, a proposal to have it approved as the official state emblem of the Republic of Turkey will be debated and voted on at a General Assembly session at Parliament.