THE Grand Bahama Human Rights Association said yesterday that it would be “anti-democratic” to charge anyone in connection with the song that refers negatively to Prime Minister Perry Christie and his family.
In a statement, the GBHRA said that while the group finds the song in question to be “offensive and derogatory” the police should not interfere with matters of freedom of expression.
The comments came days after police arrested two men in connection with their investigation into the controversial song after it went viral on social media last week. The men have since been released from police custody “pending the results of an investigation” Chief Superintendent Clayton Fernander said on Sunday.
The two men have since told The Tribune that they had no involvement with the song.
“The lyrics of the song are indeed shocking, offensive and derogatory,” the GBHRA said.
“However, that is not enough to justify interference with the right to freedom of expression, which is guaranteed by the Bahamas Constitution – much less deprive the singers of their liberty.
“Once again, we warn the authorities that the world is watching. The commissioner of police must ask himself what sort of country the Bahamas would like to portray itself as to the international community. Do we really want to be classed among those dictatorships and authoritarian regimes that prosecute singers for their lyrics, writers for the words they use, or artists for the content of their work? Does the Royal Bahamas Police Force really want to be seen as ‘the thought police’ who crack down on and punish those who exercise their constitutionally guaranteed freedoms?”
The GBHRA also said the individuals mentioned in the song who feel they may have been “libelled or defamed” can seek redress through the civil court.
“While we fully condemn the sentiments expressed in the song, particularly the disparaging references to women and those with special needs, the GBRHA urges the authorities to recognise that individuals who may feel libelled or defamed have appropriate redress through the civil courts.
“Regarding the derogatory sentiments against certain groups in the song, it is appropriate for society to respond in outrage, for activists to speak out in condemnation, for all of us to react in disgust. When commonly held standards of decency and propriety are challenged in modern democratic societies, these must be reinforced by the tide of public opinion – not coerced through force and intimidation,” the statement said.
By Sancheska Brown, Tribune Staff Reporter
Click here to read more at The Tribune
