BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – FORMER politician turned calypsonian, Glenroy Blanchette has been successful in his quest to participate in the Eliminations of the Sugar Mas 45 Senior Calypso Monarch Competition.
In a post on his Facebook page tonight (Dec. 5), Blanchette wrote that Attorney-at-Law Marissa Hobson had informed him that the National Carnival Committee had decided to allow him to compete in the competition.
“Justice has prevailed in the recent calypso saga. On the advice of my lawyer, Jason Hamilton, I went to the Carnival Office this afternoon at about 5 p.m. to pull a number for the Eliminations. Upon entering the Office, I w3as greeted by Lawyer Marissa Hobson who told me that the Committee has made the decision to allow me to participate.
“It appears that the decision to re-instate me was a result of her advice to the Committee after she looked at the merits of the matter. As I have said all along, Mr. Noah Mills should let common sense prevail and avoid controversies of this nature.”
Yesterday, Blanchette had issued a statement in which he claimed that Mills was trying to deny him the opportunity to participate in this year's Calypso Competition.
He explained that some 3 months ago the National Carnival Committee, which is headed by Mills, had issued a deadline for registration of calypsonians.
“Immediately thereafter, a controversy developed over a new clause (Clause 6, a.k.a. the censorship clause) in the calypsonian's contract, which caused a huge public outcry against the move to censor calypsos. I did not sign any registration form under such circumstances.
“A few weeks later, the matter was resolved by the removal of the clause. Subsequently, the Carnival Committee issued a media release which indicated that the deadline for registration of all calypsonians was extended to 21st October.”
Blanchette said he went to the Carnival Committee’s office on October 17 and registered, and that he is in possession of signed copies of his registration forms.
The former politician also said that since then he has been singing in the tents as preparation for the calypso competition and that he was even invited by the Carnival Committee to attend the Intellectual Property Rights Seminar held at Sweet Lime on Port Zante on Saturday October 29, 2016.
“I attended the Seminar and was never told that I could not participate in the event,” he added.
Blanchette however stated that on Friday evening (Dec. 2), he received a call from a young lady at the Carnival office who told him that he had to report there on the following Monday to pull a number to determine his position for the Eliminations.
“About an hour later, I received another call from a gentleman from the Carnival Office who indicated that I am not included in the list for Eliminations. I then spoke with Carnival Chairman Noah Mills who also indicated that I am not included in the list of persons who will be participating in the Eliminations.”
As a result of those developments, Blanchette said he had sought legal advice with the intention of getting justice in the matter.
He declared that he intends to pursue all legal options available to him, but hoped that the authorities would allow common sense to prevail and let him sing.
This media house had contacted the National Carnival Chairman yesterday afternoon for a comment on the issue and he indicated that a release would be sent to all media houses. However, it is yet to surface. Calls were also made this evening but they all remained unanswered.
Meanwhile, in Blanchette’s Facebook post, he thanked his lawyer for “the excellent advice he gave me and the great work he did in preparing for any possible legal action against the Carnival Committee. We were extremely confident of winning, based on the facts of the case”.
He also thanked his fans, supporters, well-wishers and the local media, especially Freedom FM, for their support during the controversy.
