Serj Tankian urges Imagine Dragons to cancel Baku show

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YEREVAN, AUGUST 17, ARMENPRESS. System of a Down lead vocalist, musician Serj Tankian has called on American pop-rock band Imagine Dragons to cancel their planned concert in Baku, Azerbaijan in order not to “help whitewash the dictatorial regime’s image there.”

“Now it has to be said. A few months ago, it came to my attention that Imagine Dragons had planned a show on Sept 2nd in Baku Azerbaijan. I was sure they were unaware that Azerbaijan’s petro-oligarchic dictatorial regime was starving 120k people in Nagorno-Karabagh which is now being called a Genocide by the former prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno Ocampo. So through representatives, I sent them a kind letter urging them to reconsider playing their show in Azerbaijan as it would help whitewash the dictatorial regime’s image there. I included various articles including one by Amnesty Int’l who I was told they have worked with in the past. There was no response. No answer, no response. As the humanitarian crisis worsens in Nagorno-Karabagh with starvation already being recorded I am forced to publicize this letter and their disregard for this humanitarian catastrophe. Maybe they felt they had a legal liability to play the show, maybe they just don’t care. My whole life I have been an advocate for genocide recognition and have always said there has to be a price to pay for Genocidal regimes or deniers. Another genocide is looming by Azerbaijan and while this happens they get to enjoy an American band from LV. [expletive] that!

That’s not right. Go to my profile to sign a petition to the band on change.org if you care to sign and you can see my letter to the band on my Facebook page,” Tankian posted on social media.