The Iraqi government proposed on Tuesday to restore Iraqi National Day for the first time since the US invasion in 2003, Al Jazeera reported.
The country will now likely mark 3 October as its National Day in remembrance of the day it gained independence from Britain in 1932 and become the 57th member of the League of Nations, ending years of dispute.
“The cabinet designated October 3 of every year as Iraq’s National Day to celebrate and mark the independence of Iraq and the end of the British mandate,” Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi’s office said.
Prior to the US invasion of Iraq, the country celebrated 17 July 1968 as its national day, as a result of it being the time in which the Baath party came to power following a bloodless coup.
The day was subsequently proposed to be observed on 9 April, signifying the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime. Objections to the decision left the country in disagreement for years over which date would be chosen as the official national day.
The Independence Day from Britain of 3 October was proposed in 2008, but parliament failed to pass it.
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