PM congratulates Yazidis in Georgia on New Year holiday

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Wednesday congratulated the Yazidi community in the country on Aida Sarsale, the New Year holiday celebrated by the minority group.

• PM congratulates Yazidis in Georgia on opening of “only” Yazidi church in the region

In his message, the head of the Government described the community as “loyal and hard-working”, and praised their commitment to the country’s advancement.  

Your community, distinguished by its loyalty to the country and hard work, makes a significant contribution to the progress and advancement of our common homeland. I wish peace, prosperity and happiness to you and your families”, said the PM. 

The Yazidis in Georgia are descendants of the communities that fled persecutions in the Ottoman Empire in the 19th and early 20th centuries. A 2014 census put their number in Georgia at about 12,200, or 0.3 percent of the country’s total population.