National Flag Day celebrated in Chisinau 20 years after adoption of tricolor

Moldovan officials laid flowers at the Monument to Ruler Stephan the Great and Holy on the National Flag Day – the Tricolor's Day that was celebrated for the first and last time on April 27, 1990. The members of the first legislative body said that today's celebrations represent Moldova's return to the authentic democratic values and that from now on everyone will known the importance of the flag, Info-Prim Neo reports. For the first President of Moldova Mircea Snegur, the National Flag Day is as important as the Romanian Language Day marked on August 31 and the Independence Day celebrated on August 27.“Twenty years ago, we proposed adopting the tricolor as national flag. Many persons were then against, but we convinced them and adopted the flag,” Mircea Snegur said. He spoke about the significance of the flag's colors: blue – the purity and blueness of the sky, yellow – the fertility of the land and the people's goodwill, red – the revolutionary spirit for defending the rights and freedoms. Petru Munteanu, a member of the first Parliament, said the tricolor is a symbol of the national dignity. “We took to the streets with the tricolor and sought language and alphabet. The three colors show who we are and where we come from as the past generations fought in the area where the tricolor is used – from Timisoara to Transnistria,” he said. Pantelei Sandulachi, the chairman of the Association “Parlamentul 90”, who was also a member of the first legislature, said that attempts were made during 20 years to make this holiday forgotten and removed from the calendar of holidays. “When the Communists came to power, they said the tricolor was a fascist flag. That fact concerned us. By restoring Moldova's Declaration of Independence and making the National Flag Day an official holiday, we return to our real roots. Maybe many things will now be solved easier,” Pantelei Sandulachi said. Prime Minister Vlad Filat and Deputy Speaker Serafim Urecheanu also laid flowers at the monument. The Premier said that by marking the National Flag Fay, Moldova comes closer to the states with values, where such holidays are observed. The national flag is is an official symbol of the sovereignty and independence of Moldova. The holiday was included in the calendar of official national holidays after the Government and the Parliament adopted a relevant bill earlier this month.