Police urged: use Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001
By OutRage! News Service 2 November 2004

“Burn all white people,” says top Jamaican reggae star, Sizzla Kalonji.

Racist singer, Sizzla, is on a five-city UK concert tour from 3rd to 8th November 2004 - including Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, London and Milton Keynes (dates and venues below). Sizzla is notorious for his racist outbursts, most notably his incitement to murder white people at the 1998 Reggae Sumfest Festival in Montego Bay, Jamaica (details below).

The racist performer has also urged his listeners to kill gay people. One of his songs, Boom Boom, says: “Queers must be killed.” Another, Pump Up, says: “Shoot queers.”At a concert, in Chicago in April 2002, Sizzla boasted to his audience that he personally kills homosexuals: “I kill sodomites and queers, they bring AIDS and disease upon people…shoot and kill them”.

Sizzla (real name, Miguel Orlando Collins) has released records inciting the murder of lesbians and gays.
His hit tune Pump Up has the line: “Shot batty bwoy, my big gun boom”. (Shoot queers, my big gun goes boom).
Battybwoy is a derogatory Jamaican patois insult, similar to faggot, poof and queer.See full details and references for Sizzla’s “kill gays” lyrics and stage comments at the end of this news release.“Sizzla has refused to apologise for his incitements to murder white people and to kill lesbians and gay men,” said Peter Tatchell of the gay human rights group OutRage!.“His ‘kill gays’ songs are still in circulation. He has not withdrawn them. He is still profiteering from his murder music.“We urge sponsors, promoters and venue owners to cancel Sizzla’s concerts on the grounds that he incites racist and homophobic violence.
“His encouragement to kill white people stirs up racial hatred and violence.
“Sizzla’s songs promote the murder of gays and lesbians. His performances may lead to public disorder and to homophobic and racist hate crimes.

“OutRage! is also urging the police to stop the concert, using their powers under Section 17, sub-section 179(a) of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001. These powers allow the police to order the closure of a licensed venue if they believe:
‘(a) there is likely to be disorder on, or in the vicinity of and related to, the premises and the closure of the premises is necessary in the interests of public safety’.

“Many of Sizzla’s fans share his violent homophobia. There is a real danger they may attack gay people innocently passing by.
“Some of Sizzla’s concert venues are very close to gay bars and clubs. We fear his fans may threaten, intimidate and even assault gay people entering or leaving these venues.

“No one would give a platform to a singer who advocated killing black or Jewish people. A performer who brazenly encourages the murder of whites and gays should not be rewarded with concerts and financial success.“Securing the cancellation of Sizzla’s concerts is very important. By hitting him in the pocket, it will help pressure Sizzla and other anti-gay Jamaican singers to abandon their murderous incitements. Once they start losing money, they will soon drop their violent lyrics. Driving homophobia out of Jamaican music will have a huge positive impact on Jamaican culture and attitudes – to the benefit of all Jamaicans, gay and straight.

“In a free society, Sizzla has a right to criticize homosexuality. But he does not have a right to advocate the killing of lesbians and gay men. He has over-stepped the mark,” said Mr Tatchell.“Free speech does not include the right to encourage the killing of other human beings. Incitement to murder is a criminal offence. We want his tour cancelled because he endorses violent hate crimes, not because he insults gay people.“Inciting murder is a criminal offence under UK law. He is a threat to public order and could provoke hate violence against white people and lesbians and gays.“The Metropolitan Police and Crown Prosecution Service are currently conducting a criminal investigation into Sizzla Kalonji and seven other reggae singers on the grounds that their lyrics commit the criminal offence of incitement to murder,” added Mr Tatchell.“Sizzla Kalonji does not merely express his disapproval of homosexuality,” said Brett Lock of OutRage! and co-organiser of the Stop Murder Music campaign.

“He calls for all homosexuals to be killed and incites his listeners to murder gays and lesbians. This goes way beyond an acceptable expression of opinion. Lesbian and gay people have a right to live their lives free from threats to kill them.”
“OutRage! is urging concerned members of the public to write to the venues, sponsors, local councillors, the police, their MPs and community leaders to register their protest.
“No club would host a singer who promoted killing black or Jewish people or attacking religious minorities or the disabled. We ask the venues to adopt the same stance towards singers who incite the murder of white people and lesbians and gay men,“ added Mr Lock.

At the 1998 Sumfest Reggae concert in Jamaica, Sizzla urged his audience to “Burn all white people”:
"Sizzla sported controversy when he made public endorsements at the 1998 Reggae Sumfest Festival in Montego Bay. During his performance he agitated his audience, and in particular the world press, after denouncing Queen Elizabeth II, homosexuals, and even the Sumfest Festival. He saved his most controversial racist diatribe for the finale when he stated, "Burn all white people in Jamaica", this led to a stunned silence from the multi-racial crowd. His attempts to win approval failed, which resulted in a talented performer being regarded as an embarrassment to Jamaican music"
See: http://www.icebergradio.com/artist.asp?artist=24340

“Kill gays” Murder Music lyrics by Sizzla Kalonji

Lyrics in Jamaican patois, with the standard English translation underneath in brackets [ ].

Sizzla - Pump Up

Step up inna front line
[Step up to the front line]

fire fi di man dem weh go ride man behind
[burn the men who have sex with men from behind]

Shot battybwoy, my big gun boom
[Shoot queers, my big gun goes boom]
See: http://reggaesound.com/lyric/main.php?mod=lyric&id=440

Sizzla – Boom Boom

Boom boom! Batty boy them fi dead
[Boom boom (as in gunshots) Queers must be killed]
See: http://www.unitysounds.com/riddims/audio/REDboomb.rm

Sizzla - Get To Da Point

Sodomite and batty bwai mi seh a death fi dem
[Sodomite and queers, I say death to them]

Mi no trust babylon fi a second yah so
[I don’t trust Babylon for a second]

Mi a go shot batty bwai dem widdi weapon ya
[I go and shoot queers with a weapon]
See: http://www.dancehallreggae.com/lyricsview.aspx?songid=1275
At a reggae concert in Chicago on 12 April 2002, Sizzla bragged that he kills queers, and also incited the audience to murder gays and lesbians:
"mi nuh go tek back mi chat... mi kill sodomite and batty man dem bring aids and disease pon people... shot a kill dem, mi nuh go tek back mi chat"
[I wont take back my words…I kill sodomites and queers, they bring AIDS and disease upon people…shoot and kill them, I won’t take back my words.]
See: http://www.chicagoreggae.com/sizzla.htm
A report by Amnesty International, dated 17 May 2004, about a reggae concert in Jamaica earlier this year, documented Sizzla and other reggae stars abusing and threatening to kill gay men.
"Throughout the night, Capleton, Sizzla and others sang almost exclusively about gay men. Using the derogatory terms for gay men - "chi chi men" or ‘battybwoys’ - they urged the audience to ‘kill dem, battybwoys haffi dead, gun shots pon dem. Who want to see dem dead, put up his hand’
[kill them, queers have got to die, gun shots in their head, whoever wants to see them dead, put up your hand]
See: http://¬w..amnesty.se/hbt.nsf/actjamaica?OpenPage
In an interview by Richard Burnett in the Canadian entertainment magazine ‘Hour’ on 19 August 2004, Sizzla said:
"…burn sodomite, burn battyman. Burn all things that are wrong. Burn it... We must get rid of Sodom and Gomorrah right now…”
See: http://hour.ca/music/music.aspx?iIDArticle=3876

Sizzla UK Tour

Murder-music singer Sizzla has a UK concert tour from 3 – 8 November 2004.

3 Nov – Empire – Milton Keynes
4 Nov - Town & Country Club - Bradford
5 Nov - Aston Villa Leisure - Birmingham
6 Nov – Stratford Rex - London
8 Nov - Carling Academy – Bristol

The contact details for the venues are:

EMPIRE
Empire: nicky@empire-mk.co.uk
Manger: Nicky Harris
Telephone: 01908 394 074

TOWN & COUNTRY CLUB
Email: paul@bradfordrio.com
Manager: Paul Mastrantuono
Telephone: 01274 224488

ASTON VILLA LEISURE
Email: bshutt2512@aol.com
Manager: Sue Ryall
Telephone: 0121 246 6040

STRATFORD REX:
Email: bobby_popat@btconnect.com
Events Manager: Sheldon Atkinson
Telephone: 0208 555 9966

CARLING ACADEMY
Telephone: Tel: 0117 927 9227
General Manager: Helen Spillane:
Email: helen@bristol-academy.co.uk
Deputy Manager: Louise Stamp:
Email: louise@bristol-academy.co.uk

ENDS
Further Information:
For more background on the ‘Stop Murder Music’ campaign, see:
http://www.outrage.org.uk/briefing.asp?ID=43