Calypsonians urged to be responsible

CALYPSONIANS were yesterday advised that while they had the right to comment on issues in their country, they must also bear in mind their obligations to exercise responsibility. The advise was given by Duke Pollard, Caricom’s director of legal drafting, at a public consultation on the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) for artistes, artists and sportsmen and women at Crowne Plaza, Port-of-Spain. However, there were few persons for whom the consultation was aimed at in attendance. Approximately 50 persons attended, including designer Claudia Pegus, Paul Keens-Douglas, promoter Vijay Ramlal and sports promoter Anthony Harford.

Pollard, also an author and lecturer, explained to the participants that they would benefit from the CCJ by means of getting “free movement” in the region. He said the CCJ, which was twofold, would be the final court of appeal for criminal matters and would be the “institutional centrepiece” for the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME). Regarding the latter, Pollard said the treaty to enact the CSME would enable all skilled workers, including artistes and media workers, the right to travel freely within the region. But he warned them that their rights did not exist in a vacuum and they had obligations. Focusing on calypsonians in what appeared to be a message for Cro Cro and his “Face Reality” social commentary, Pollard said while artistes had a right to make social commentary on their society, be it in TT or countries in the region, they must temper that right with responsibility.  

A number of persons have criticised Cro Cro for the lyrics in “Face Reality,” which deals with kidnapping and attacks politicians and the business community. Former Attorney General Keith Sobion, who also addressed the consultation, said it was daunting to address artistes and sports persons because someone told him “you can’t really deal with them, they are taken up in their own world and are not interested in the CCJ.” He pointed out that our arts and culture were not fully appreciated and wondered aloud if writers like Shakespeare had written lyrics like those of Cro Cro, if  “we would have a problem as a nation, region and how we would access the statements of calypsonians in the context of a nation.” Sobion added that because artistes were seen as “close-closeted in a kind of way,” they sometimes adopted an attitude “that if you don’t like what we have to say, either you do without us and doh interfere with us.” Sobion said “they seem not to relate with the rest of society.”