BUJU BANTON - BANTON'S DENMARK GIG MARRED BY GAY PROTEST

BANTON'S DENMARK GIG MARRED BY GAY PROTEST

Jamaican reggae star BUJU BANTON's Copenhagen, Denmark concert was marred by gay protestors last night (11JUL06). The singer, whose songs call for homosexuals to be attacked, was the cause of a massive protest outside the The Rock concert hall where Banton was scheduled to perform. Over 250 protestors arrived waving signs calling for 'zero tolerance for homophobia' and to stop 'murder music' hours before the concert. ANDERS PETERSON, the vice chair of the Danish Gay and Lesbian Association (DGLA), says the group lobbied long and hard to stop Banton from performing, but they couldn't get it cancelled. The Rock's manager, ERIK FRYDENDAHL, says the concert organisers received a promise from Banton that there would be no expressions of homophobia during the show. Frydendahl also said if the promise was not kept, the show would be shut down. MIKAEL BO LARSEN, the president of the DGLA says, "We want to draw the public's attention to this man, who is a declared enemy of homosexuals and who should not be allowed to express himself because he fuels hatred against minorities." Denmark, which legalised gay marriage in 1989, gives homosexual couples the same rights as heterosexuals.