Reggae band ‘Big Mountain’ boycotts Sri Lanka over 'systematic violence'

Picture: UT San Diego The American reggae band ‘Big Mountain’ have refused an invitation to perform at a reggae festival in Sri Lanka, citing concerns over “systemic violence” towards “indigenous populations” in the country. The band stated that whilst they were keen to spread their message of peace, a performance in the country at such a time would serve to “gloss over or legitimate”their concerns of violence that transpired during the war in the country. In a statement published on their Facebook site yesterday, the group said: "We are declining this invitation, however, due to our concern with the violence that has transpired there as of late and that has been described as part of Sri Lanka’s “civil war.”  "Whilst we would be honored to help convey a message of peace and reconciliation,we also feel that to play a concert of this type, at this moment in time, would help to gloss over or legitimate conditions of systemic violence that have transpired in that region and towards indigenous populations in particular." See the full statement released by lead vocalist Joaquin Quino McWhinney below. The name of our band, Big Mountain, derives from a struggle that pitted two Native American communities against one another in a struggle over a sacred piece of land.  That struggle was being manipulated by a large and powerful mining corporation in search of profit and at the expense of all native peoples of the region.  Troubled by that manipulation and inspired by the struggles of our own Native American ancestors to resist the oppression of European colonizers and wealthy corporations, we recorded a song of the same name and that contained the chorus of “on top of Big Mountain, there is no room for Babylon.”  By that, we meant that there is another way, a de-colonial ethic, a way to live that is not entangled within the perpetual war, violence, exploitation, and environmental degradation that was introduced in the western hemisphere by European colonizers.    We were recently invited to perform songs like Big Mountain at a reggae festival in Sri Lanka.  We were encouraged by this invitation as it provided yet another opportunity for us to share our de-colonial message with our brothers and sisters in humanity.  We are declining this invitation, however, due to our concern with the violence that has transpired there as of late and that has been described as part of Sri Lanka’s “civil war.”  Whilst we would be honored to help convey a message of peace and reconciliation, we also feel that to play a concert of this type, at this moment in time, would help to gloss over or legitimate conditions of systemic violence that have transpired in that region and towards indigenous populations in particular.  Joaquin Quino McWhinney Lead Vocalist for Big Mountain