System Of A Down singer Serj Tankian previously called out numerous pop artists for helping Azerbaijan “whitewash” their image by performing there. You can add Imagine Dragons to his list.
Earlier this summer, Tankian had a back-and-forth on Twitter with a user that posted a video of a French report noting popular artists that had performed for dictators in certain countries around the world.
The user wrote: “Those people who have never lived in a dictatorship help whitewash the image of dictators and normalize their human rights violations within countries and war attacks against neighbors.”
Tankien responded: “It was not just @rihanna that played in Azerbaijan but a slew of well paid artists along with @F1 shamelessly helping whitewash this fascist racist dictatorship’s image. Every one of these events and artists are responsible for further human rights violations.”
System Of A Down have been vocal in their concerns about Azerbaijan in issues pertaining to Armenia. Tankian recently shared a story about how he reached out to Imagine Dragons to reconsider player a concert in Azerbaijan.
“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,” he wrote.
“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.”
Tankian continued: “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. F*ck that! That’s not right.”
Tankian has also started a petition asking the band to reconsider.
