The Armenian Weekly
October 30, 2024
WASHINGTON—A new informal coalition of individuals and organizations opposed to Azerbaijan’s past genocide — and determined to prevent the next one it has promised to mount against Armenia — has launched a multimedia campaign to boycott Baku. The immediate focus is to raise awareness about past, present and prospective Azeri crimes against humanity and to discourage international attendance at and sponsorship of the 29th Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP29), scheduled to be held in Azerbaijan’s capital from November 11-22, 2024.
A “Coalition to Boycott Baku” mobile billboard in Washington, D.C.The Coalition to Boycott Baku’s campaign is being initiated on myriad social media platforms, television programs and podcasts across America keying off messaging initially presented via mobile billboard in Washington, D.C. on October 28. The display showed the following messages outside of, among other sites: the Azerbaijani and British embassies, World Wildlife Fund, State Department, White House, U.S. Capitol, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Business Council for Sustainable Energy and COP29 sponsors Meta and Amazon:
“Good with Genocide? Get Complicit at COP29.”
“Hate Polluters? Azerbaijan has a cell for you.”
“Friend of Genocide? Greenlight it at COP29.”
“Hate Pollution? Boycott Baku!”
“Good with Genocide? Join the Greenwash at COP29.”
“Love Jesus? Azerbaijan hates Him.”
The Coalition also delivered letters to selected governments, international agencies, environmental groups and sponsors of the 29th Conference of Parties urging them not to attend, underwrite or otherwise enable the legitimation of the Azeri regime, the greenwashing of its past genocide and the greenlighting of its promised one. Among the addressees were: President Joe Biden; British Prime Minister Keir Starmer; U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres; the heads of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank; the leaders of the World Wildlife Fund, the Climate Action Network and Greenpeace; and the top executives of Meta, Amazon and United Airlines. Illustrative examples of the letters can be found here, here, here and here.
The Coalition to Boycott Baku’s goals are to:
- Expose and raise domestic and international awareness about Azerbaijan’s sordid record of crimes against humanity.
- Shame those turning a blind eye to Baku’s actions as a serial perpetrator of genocide.
- Create reputational risk for corporations and organizations who, by enabling Baku’s events and projects, effectively condone Azerbaijan’s past crimes against humanity and greenlight those it is promising.
- Reverse decisions by conference boards and global institutions that have chosen Baku as a future international meeting venue.
- Prevent Baku from carrying out its plans to invade Armenia.
For more information about the coalition and its campaign, visit BoycottBaku.org.