Judges' decision is final says Dr. Ballantyne
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - THE 2010 Senior Calypso Monarch Finals may be in jeopardy if a decision is not made before its staging on Wednesday (Dec. 29), as one of the calypsonians intends to file an injunction concerning his omission.
Duncan ‘Big Lice’ Wattley told SKNVibes that he believes if an injunction is filed the Carnival Committee would recognise that he is very serious about the issue he has sought to address.
“They cannot implement rules and refuse to adhere to it, because that is not fair. I want the Carnival Committee to make a decision on the issue that I raised. If they say that George ‘Kinta’ Gilbert can go ahead and compete with a song that he sang some years ago, then it means that there would no longer be a need for the rule which states that a song should never be performed outside of the calendar year,” he said.
Wattley pointed out that the issue is not with the calypsonian but with the rules, which indicate that the calypsonian should be disqualified. He said he feels that in desperation of some people’s attempt to exclude him from the Finals, they did not recognise that they were including a calypsonian who had sung a song some years before.
“In their attempt to exclude me, they included a calypsonian who had sung a song some years ago. So now that it has come to light they are finding all excuses in keeping Kinta in,” he said.
Wattley noted that the Carnival Committee’s determination would either further enhance or assist in destroying the art form.
“Rules are rules and regardless of who it hurts, it should and must be upheld in the fairness of the art form,” Wattley said.
Wattley, known for his controversial political and social commentaries, said he has already met with his lawyers and they are expected to have the matter legally addressed if the Carnival Committee fails to make a timely decision.
“We are looking at having an injunction put in place so as to determine if my concerns are legitimate,” he said.
Wattley added that he wants to be treated fairly, claiming that he is being discriminated and victimised because of the songs he sings. He declared that he would continue to sing hard hitting social commentaries and stressed that those who attempt at victimising him would eventually realise he is not deterred by their actions.
“Big Lice will continue, and situations like these will only serve to motivate me further,” he added.
Meanwhile, George ‘Kinta’ Gilbert said he was approached by the Chairman of the St. Kitts-Nevis Carnival Committee, Clement O’Garro, who enquired if the allegation were true, to which he admitted but noted it was not sung in a carnival-related competition.
“I have no reasons to lie, and yes I did sing the song before but it was not in any carnival-related competition. I think that the rules need to be changed, as it is my song and I could understand if it was done in a carnival-related competition. But to tell me that because I sung it in something else that it is barred from the calypso competition makes no sense to me,” he declared.
Gilbert said he is very excited that the issue has been put to rest and noted that he is very busy rehearsing and putting his team together for the big night.
He however admitted to having been worried over disqualification from the competition and that had caused him not to be properly focused.
“Now that everything is behind me I can focus on doing well by getting my message out so that the public can understand what I have to say. There are a lot of important issues that need to be addressed and I am hoping that the public can better understand them through my songs,” he said.
Gilbert claimed that his mission is not to win the competition but rather to spread a message. He said that winning however is an added incentive to take the message to a wider audience.
“There are a lot of things that need to be addressed. These issues are confronting us daily and it seems as though no one wants to address them, so I intend to use my songs to do this. Therefore, winning is not my primary objective even though I would like to win,” he said.
Chairman of the Calypso Development Committee Dr. Ken Ballantyne sent a letter to Wattley in which he said, “I note from your letter of complaint your allegation that ‘one of the rules governing the said competition stated that any song used in the competition must not have been used in another competition prior to February of the same year the year in question in this instance being 2010’. Having perused the Lime Senior Calypso Monarch Competition 2010-2011 Performance Contract that was signed by yourself and the remaining semifinalist, I found no reference whatsoever to the February date to which you alluded in your letter.”
Dr. Ballantyne added, “To seek to impute the specific date of February 2010 into the agreement which is silent on that issue would be both legally and ethically wrong. As you have requested, to ensure full compliance with the rules of the competition, without adequately which calypsonian could be guided, it would be a miscarriage of justice to penalize any calypsonian on the basis of an alleged date that never formed part of the agreement.”
The letter further stated, “As the Chairman of the Sub Committee on Calypso Development and legal matters for the National Carnival Committee, I take full responsibility for the oversight and the inadvertent omission of any date of reference, but would not seek to compound the matter further by inserting a date after contracts have been signed to disqualify a competitor. Any inconvenience is therefore regretted and the judges’ decision must stand under these circumstances.”
Attempts to contact O’Garro were futile, but he had noted in an earlier interview that once the song was performed outside the current calendar year the calypsonian would be automatically disqualified.
Duncan ‘Big Lice’ Wattley was named the alternate at the competition’s Semi-Finals held at Carnival Village on Thursday, December 16. As the alternate, he can participate in the Finals should one of the confirmed participants fail to turn up.
