Kyrgyzstan moves to rid national flag of likeness to 'fickle' sunflower

A man wearing a Kyrgyz national hat poses with national flags before a rally marking the Day of Flag and the Day of Kolpak in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan March 4, 2013. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov

BISHKEK (Reuters) - Kyrgyzstan's parliament voted on Wednesday to tweak the design of the national flag after critics, including President Sadyr Japarov, said its central element looked like a sunflower which in the local culture symbolises fickleness and servility.

The Central Asian nation's flag, adopted in 1992 after it gained independence from the Soviet Union, depicts a yellow sun - which doubles as the pinnacle of a traditional Kyrgyz yurt tent - with 40 rays on a red background.