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Israel withdraws from Azerbaijan conference after Algeria writer threatens to boycott

October 16, 2018 at 1:09 pm

Algerian researcher Ahcene Tlilani [Twitter]

Algerian researcher Ahcene Tlilani said yesterday that the organisers of the 5th Baku International Theatre Conference in Azerbaijan have informed him that the Israeli delegation would withdraw from the conference attended by Arab, Islamic and foreign delegations.

Tlilani wrote on Facebook that organisers urged him to attend and present his lecture on post-drama theatre in the Algerian and Arab context.

“To confirm this, they have sent new invitations that do not include Israel’s name in the list of participating countries,” he added.

“Was the Azerbaijani Ministry of Culture under pressure? Or was it the Israeli delegation that withdrew voluntarily after learning of the participation of many Arab delegations?” Tlilani asked in his post.

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On 7 October Tlilani announced that he would boycott the 5th Baku International Theatre Conference scheduled to take place on 5-6 November after receiving an official invitation which included Israel in the list of participants. In response, Tlilani sent a written letter of protest to the conference organisers to condemn the inclusion of Israel.