BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 29. Baroness Caroline Cox, a long-time Armenian supporter known for her anti-Azerbaijan and Islamophobic views, is fuming over the cancellation of an event targeting Azerbaijan, The Times writes, Trend reports.
The event was originally scheduled to take place at the unofficial headquarters of the Conservative Party in London in early February.
What was Baroness Cox aiming to talk about at this event? Once again, she was on the lookout for a platform to throw accusations at Azerbaijan, specifically focusing on the so-called "ethnic cleansing" of Karabakh Armenians.
Clearly, this wasn't her first rodeo - Baroness Cox had been handed similar assignments before and handled them quite adeptly. Everyone knows about her anti-Azerbaijani and anti-Turkish stance, as well as her income, a chunk of which comes from well-known anti-Islamists.
"She has also campaigned vigorously against Islamist extremism and sharia. In 2009 Cox invited Geert Wilders, the Dutch populist whose party one the most seats in the country’s November general election, to show an anti-Islamic film in the UK. He was initially barred from entering the country but the next year Cox was able to host him at a screening in the House of Lords," The Times writes.
However, this time around, Baroness Cox didn't manage to pull it off. The Azerbaijani diaspora in London stepped in, resulting in the shutdown of the event.
But it's not just our compatriots in the UK who have spoken out against. For instance, Lord Kilclooney, a senior member of the club, supported the cancellation of the anti-Azerbaijani event, pointing out that it would be one-sided.
"Freedom of speech ought to have included both points of view and the impartiality of the club must be preserved," he said, adding that he had visited Azerbaijan and Karabakh "many times". Kilclooney also noted that Azerbaijan is "a free democracy in which all religions flourish including Christians and Jews".
Baroness Cox has once again shown a seriously weak political instinct and a pretty poor grasp of what's happening in the world. Just in case she missed the memo, Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of making peace like never before. Engaging in provocations and organizing whole events centered around anti-Azerbaijani rhetoric doesn't really make any sense anymore. If clinging to this topic is all that's keeping Baroness Cox relevant, maybe it's time for her to explore something new to stay in the game for someone, at least.