On 28 May 2012 I congratulated Loreen – the Swedish winner of the Eurovision song festival – as she was the only of the contesting artists who stood up for human rights. During her visit to Baku she visited human rights defenders at risk during a meeting the NGO Civil Rights Defenders arranged. The Government of Azerbaijan tried to downplay the issue by saying that music and human rights have to be separate, but it is shocking that a number of musicians seem to agree with this position.
The New-York based Human Rights Foundation, on 3 September 2013, reports that the American musician Kanye West performed at the wedding of President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s grandson last Saturday night in Kazakhstan. He reportedly received $3 million for the private engagement in the oil-rich former Soviet state, which has been autocratically since 1991. West’s lucrative private performance comes on the heels of a similar concert given by Jennifer Lopez for the dictator of neighboring Turkmenistan earlier this summer, which sparked a worldwide media interest. At the time, Lopez claimed ignorance of Turkmenistan’s notorious human rights abuses. West is not the first global celebrity to be approached to play in Kazakhstan: in 2011, Sting refused to play a private concert there, citing concern over the repression of workers in the country.
Related articles
- Kanye West performs for Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev (washingtonpost.com)
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 
September 4, 2013 at 15:56
sting was niet altijd zo princieel…
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/lostinshowbiz/2010/feb/22/sting-uzbekistan
September 4, 2013 at 16:17
quite right – I forgot. perhaps he is learning!?