Crawford wants clampdown on banning of dancehall artistes
Published:Thursday | July 19, 2012 | 12:00 AM
Janet Silvera, Senior Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Disturbed about the arbitrary banning of Jamaican entertainers by countries within CARICOM, Jamaica's minister of state in the Ministry of Tourism and Entertainment, Damion Crawford, is urging the nation to take a firm stance against the practice.
Likening the situation to the blocking of patties, beer and other Jamaica-manufactured goods, the state minister, during the Sectoral Debate in the House of Parliament on Tuesday, argued that there was a need to ensure free movement of Jamaican entertainers, including dancers, singers and other acts.
Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, St Lucia and Grenada have been known to impose bans on Jamaican entertainers. The now-jailed Adija 'Vybz Kartel' Palmer was banned from performing in St Lucia and Grenada in 2010, while David 'Mavado' Brooks was banned by the Trinidadians in 2008. That ban was lifted in 2011. Explicit lyrics and promoting violence were among the reasons cited by these CARICOM countries.
Crawford described the issue as "a sore point currently being faced by our industry".
"We must stand against the arbitrary banning of our entertainers from performing on shows in some of these countries on the basis of lyrical content."
He also urged his fellow parliamen-tarians to stand firm on the across-the-board adherence to the Treaty of Chaguaramas by all member states.
Protecting services
In a media release Wednesday, the Ministry of Tourism stated that despite the state minister's comments, he was quick to highlight his support for CARICOM and the broader One Caribbean movement, adding that "this is in no way suggesting support for lewd and crude lyrics".
The minister noted that over the years, Jamaica had enforced treaties almost solely for only tangible goods.
"We police the blocking of patties, beer and other manufactured items while seemingly ignoring the enforcement of these treaties for services," he lamented.
Crawford said, "I wonder when was the last time we reviewed the content of some of the products we import from these same countries banning our service export."
While encouraging the continued efforts to promote the export of the nation's tangible goods, he reminded the House that Jamaica is a net exporter of services, adding that an increased effort must be placed in the protection of the service sectors.
The minister added that "One of the few ways Jamaica will benefit even from the Economic Partnership Agreement is through services in general and entertainment in particular."