Guyana’s Ethnic Relations Fee (ERC) is asking for a right away ban on the music “Good Like Jesus” by Jamaican dancehall artist Vybz Kartel, citing its lyrics as “blasphemous and deeply offensive” to the Christian group and different non secular teams within the nation.
The lyrics of “Good Like Jesus” comprise graphic sexual references and use non secular imagery in a provocative context.
In a strongly worded assertion issued Wednesday, the ERC condemned the monitor for what it described as a “profoundly disrespectful” portrayal of Jesus Christ, a determine revered not solely by Christians, but additionally by Muslims and Hindus.
In accordance with the Fee, the music threatens to disrupt the fragile stability of interfaith concord that underpins Guyana’s multicultural society.
Whereas acknowledging that freedom of creative expression is a protected proper, the ERC careworn that such freedom “isn’t absolute and should be exercised in a most accountable method with due regard for the non secular and cultural values of all communities.”
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The Fee is formally calling for the music to be banned from Guyana’s airwaves, faraway from all digital platforms accessible within the nation, and prohibited from any type of public dissemination. It’s also participating the promoter of an upcoming Vybz Kartel live performance to make sure that the music isn’t carried out or in any other case promoted throughout the occasion. He’s slated to carry out within the nation on Might 24.
The Fee emphasised that its stance isn’t an assault on creative expression however a mandatory step to protect respect throughout non secular traces. “Any type of content material that mocks, trivializes, or desecrates sacred non secular figures erodes the foundations of mutual respect and threatens the peaceable coexistence of our numerous society,” the ERC said.
The decision for a ban comes simply months after Vybz Kartel visited Guyana, the place he launched his Str8 Vybz Rum model and met with President Irfaan Ali.
The ERC emphasised its broader mission to protect public decency and promote mutual respect amongst Guyana’s numerous non secular and ethnic communities. “Acts of non secular disrespect won’t be tolerated and will likely be addressed with agency and constructive measures,” the Fee said.
In a associated transfer, the Fee additionally plans to handle issues surrounding one other controversial music — this time by native artist Child Skello — which reportedly makes reference to a Hindu deity. Hearings on that situation are anticipated quickly.
The ERC closed its assertion with a agency declaration: “The Fee stays unwavering in its dedication to safeguarding the rights, dignity, and faiths of all Guyanese. Acts of non secular disrespect won’t be tolerated and will likely be addressed with agency and constructive measures.”
