PM Barzani extends Akitu greetings on Assyrian new year

The prime minister said one of the Kurdistan Region’s “bright aspects is the peaceful coexistence among  religious and ethnic communities.”
Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani delivering remarks at a Newroz party in Erbil, March 20, 2023. (Photo: KRG)
Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani delivering remarks at a Newroz party in Erbil, March 20, 2023. (Photo: KRG)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Saturday extended his greetings to those celebrating Akitu, the Assyrian new year.

“I extend my warmest congratulations to the Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Syriacs in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq,” PM Barzani said, hoping the new year will bring peace, security, prosperity, and an end to suffering.

The prime minister said one of the Kurdistan Region’s “bright aspects is the peaceful coexistence among  religious and ethnic communities.”

As an ancient Babylonian feast, reprinting the rebirth of nature, the festival is celebrated by the members of the Chaldean, Assyrians, and Syriacs every year in the world.

As one of the oldest festivals in the world, Akitu has been celebrated in Iraq for nearly 7,000 years. Wearing traditional clothes, members of the group organize several social gatherings and events to mark the day.

Iraq and the Kurdistan Region are home to thousands of Christians, who have suffered from numerous atrocities, the latest of which was in 2014 at the hands of the so-called Islamic State, mainly in the Nineveh Plains.

Thousands have fled their places of origin and sought sanctuary in the Kurdistan Region, where they live in peace and free from oppression.