Gay activist groups Homosexuelle Arbeitsgruppen Basel (HABS) and the Stop Murder Music (SMM) Bern in Switzerland are demanding that deejay Capleton publicly apologise for bashing homosexuals at a concert to be held in the country.
Capleton was scheduled to perform in Kaserne, an alternative music venue in Basel Switzerland on Thursday, November 6 when the concert was cancelled due to the efforts of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender/transsexual) rights group HABS. Efforts to contact Capleton or his management were futile.
According to www.ukgaynews.org, HABS together with SMM Bern, opposed the concert because Capleton has "performed songs encouraging violence against lesbian and gay people, in violation of his commitment to abide by the terms of the Reggae Compassionate Act (RCA)".
Homophobic Hatred
In the report, Peter Tatchell, UK co-ordinator of the Stop Murder Music campaign commented, "the Stop Murder Music campaign gave Capleton a chance to continue his career unimpeded if he agreed to stop inciting the murder of lesbian and gay people. He signed the RCA and promised to abide by it. But he has carried on as before, stirring up homophobic hatred and violence. We feel tricked, betrayed and cheated."
Tatchell continued, "congratulations to the Swiss campaigners for getting his concert pulled. Performers who promote the killing of other human beings should not be rewarded with concerts, money and stardom. This is the latest of scores of concert cancellations secured by our SMM activists around the world.
We have targeted eight Jamaican dancehall singers whose lyrics glorify, encourage and promote the murder of lesbian and gay people. Their incitements are criminal offences."
HABS and SMM Berne are demanding a public apology as well as a renewed statement from the artiste in support of the rights and welfare of gay, bi and transsexual people.
Anti-gay songs
In July 2007, artistes such as Beenie Man, Sizzla and Capleton, who had previously released anti-gay songs reportedly signed the Reggae Compassion Act, in a deal brokered with top reggae promoters and Stop Murder Music activists.
Under the RCA, artistes are not to perform what it calls 'murder music' which might incite violence against homosexuals. However according to gay activists, Capleton has broken the RCA on different occasions, including at last Christmas' GT Taylor Extravaganza held in Black River.
When the STAR watched a video of the performance of Sizzla and Capleton on stage at GT Taylor Extravaganza last year on the popular Internet site www.youtube.com, the two artistes were seen making disparaging comments about homosexuals.
On the show Capleton loudly proclaimed, "all who a bun b———— and sodomite hands up".
The HABS are hoping to cancel more concerts in Switzerland and other European countries such as France where the artiste has a number of shows this week.
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