System Of A Down frontman Serj Tankian has as soon as once more hit again at Think about Dragons for his or her controversial gig in Azerbaijan.
Final month, Tankian made headlines when he criticised Think about Dragons for his or her choice to go forward with their controversial gigs in Israel and Azerbaijan, stating that he has “zero respect for these guys”.
The dispute came to visit a present that Dan Reynolds and co performed in Azerbeijan’s capital metropolis, Baku, which some argued could possibly be perceived as being an endorsement of the nation’s authoritarian President Ilham Aliyev.
Tankian had despatched the group a letter final summer time urging them to drag out of the Baku Olympic Stadium present. Within the letter, he said that continuing with the gig “would assist whitewash the dictatorial regime’s picture”.
The likes of Brian Eno, Thurston Moore and Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters additionally took the time to share an open letter final August asking Think about Dragons to again out from the gigs. “Performing in Baku below these circumstances, no matter intent, can solely assist the federal government of Azerbaijan cowl up its crimes,” a bit of it learn.
Earlier this week, Reynolds opened up concerning the band’s choice to proceed with the gigs, telling Rolling Stone: “I don’t consider in depriving our followers who wish to see us play due to the acts of their leaders and their governments. I feel that’s a very slippery slope. I feel the second you begin to do this, there’s corrupt leaders and warmongers all around the world, and the place do you draw the road?”
He additionally addressed Tankian’s feedback, sharing: “I feel I simply stated it. It’s a slippery slope, and I’m by no means going to deprive our followers of enjoying for them.”
Final night time (July 4) the ‘Chop Suey!’ singer took to his official social media accounts to hit again at Reynolds’ assertion. He restated Reynolds’ rhetorical query and wrote: “Respectfully, I draw the road at ethnic cleaning and genocide.”
He continued: “Azerbaijan’s dictatorship with widespread assist was already right into a 9 month hunger blockade of Nagorno-Karabagh certified as Genocide by former @icc prosecutor @luismorenoocampo after they determined to play Baku. Would they play in Nazi Germany? Why don’t they wish to play in Russia? As a result of it’s not widespread?
“They assist Ukraine however not Armenians of Artsakh? The one ‘slippery slope’ is the farce ethical equivalency on the coronary heart of this hypocritical perspective. I’ve nothing in opposition to this man nor his band. I simply hate artists being taken benefit of to whitewash Genocidal dictatorships.”
Beforehand criticising the band for performing in Azerbaijan, Tankian instructed Metallic Hammer: “Look, I’m not a choose for folks to inform bands the place to play, or the place to not play… I get that they’re doing it for cash, that they’re artists, that they’re entertaining, all of that.
“However when there’s a authorities that’s about to commit ethnic cleaning, when Azerbaijan was ravenous the 120,000 Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, and never permitting any meals or drugs in… you recognize, as an artist, if I discovered that out, there isn’t any fucking method I might have gone and performed that present. However some artists do. And I don’t know what to say about these artists. I don’t respect them as human beings. Fuck their artwork, they’re not good human beings, so far as I’m involved.”
He continued: “If you’re that blind to justice that you’ll go play a present in a rustic that’s ravenous one other nation, illegally, in accordance with the Worldwide Court docket of Justice, in accordance with what Amnesty Worldwide is saying, what Human Rights Watch is saying… In the event you nonetheless go and play that nation, I don’t know what to say about you as a fucking human being. I don’t even care about your music. In the event you’re a foul human being, I don’t give a fuck. In order that’s the place I’m at with that. I’ve zero respect for these guys.”
Elsewhere, the metallic icon lately spoke to NME and shared his ideas on the present state of affairs in Palestine, in addition to the motion to boycott firms with ties to Israel.
“It’s vital for the youth to lift their voice, as a result of we aren’t dwelling in a simply world,” he stated. “I feel in some circumstances, pure activism is taken hostage by sure fringe parts of society, together with within the US – sure anti-Semites who’ve gotten into that world. Nevertheless, I feel nearly all of the activists and their intentions are pure, and I feel what they’re doing is vital.
He continued: “When it comes to the Hamas invasion of Israel, I wish to say that was clearly a terrorist act and they’re conflict criminals and need to be punished. However, the Netanyahu authorities’s response can be – as we will see with the variety of civilians which have died – a conflict crime.”
In different information, Tankian lately expanded on the which means behind the lyrics “sacred silence and sleep” from System Of A Down’s 2001 traditional ‘Toxicity’.
