COTT stops top chutney artistes from performing

Five of the top chutney stars who were prepared to participate in the National Chutney Foundation of Trinidad and Tobago’s (NCFTT) competition were served with an injunction which prevented them from performing last Saturday evening at the Triangle in Rio Claro. The documents were sent by the Copyright Organisation of TT (COTT).

Singers Devanand Gatoo, Drupatie Ramgoonai, Krishendath Singh, Vedesh Sookoo and Nigel Salikram were served court orders which were obtained by COTT from High Court Jugde Gregory Smith prohibiting the singers who are registered with COTT from entering the competition. The court order stated that singers were not allowed to perform in any venue that was not registered under COTT. The document stated that The Triangle Amphitheatre was not registered with COTT. Therefore, COTT members were not allowed to sing any of their registered songs there.

Meanwhile, chief coordinator of NCFTT, Dr Vijay Ramlal said that COTT is doing everything in its power to prevent the semi-final round of competition. Ramlal produced a document which stated that the High Court Action No. 1164 of 2003 which was brought by COTT before Justice G Smith preventing the staging of the competition was not granted by a court, and was therefore irrelevant.     Ramlal said that there is another copyright organisation called Trinidad and Tobago Copy Collections Organisations (TTCO), which is registered under the Ministry of Culture, and which is looking after the artistes’ productions. He noted that many of the artistes have registered with both organisations and are now encountering many problems. Ramlal noted that this action by COTT has caused great financial loss to its own artiste. He also assured the singers that the Triangle Amphitheatre is a legal copyright venue with a licence, and he saw no reason for the injunction.

Gatoo and Drupatie both agreed that they will be contacting their lawyers on the matter. Apart from this, the semi-final competition continued with the other singers including, Boodram Holass, Sarekha Yankaran, Cecil Fonrose, Mohip Poonwassie, Kaminee Maharaj, Adesh Samaroo Shaffiroon Mohammed and others. The first prize in the competition is $100,000 with more than 20 special prizes to be won. The final is carded to take place at Guaracara Park, Point-a-Pierre on May 31.