WASHINGTON: A US lawmaker critical of COP29 host Azerbaijan said he was nearly assaulted when he attended the climate talks in what he called an orchestrated attack by the government.

“It was no question that if it wasn’t for the fact that security that the embassy hired protected me, I would have been in the hospital,” Representative Frank Pallone told reporters on his return to Washington on Monday.

Pallone, a Democrat from New Jersey who is an outspoken supporter of Azerbaijan’s rival Armenia, said he first sensed trouble when he was confronted by hostile and seemingly coordinated questions by local media during the UN-led climate conference taking place in a Baku stadium.

“It was sort of like an exercise in what despots do,” Pallone said. “In Azerbaijan there is no free media. The media is totally controlled by the state,” he said. “You know this was orchestrated by the government. That’s what this was all about. In order to make a point that we don’t want you here and we don’t want you articulating concerns that you have,” he said.

Pallone said around 50 “thugs” then waited for him outside his hotel, with the local police refusing to take him through a back entrance but the US embassy-provided security shielding him. “It was clear that they wanted to assault me,” he said.

Published in Dawn, November 20th, 2024