Krista Henry, Staff Reporter

After 16 years, of being held in Osoppo, Italy, Rototom Sunsplash is being forced to relocate to a new venue in Spain next year.

Rototom is a large European reggae festival which has taken place in Rivellino Park at the foot of the Italian Alps every summer for the last 16 years and was modelled after the traditional Reggae Sunsplash that was held in Montego Bay, Jamaica in the 1980s and early '90s. The event offers 10 days of reggae, ragga and dancehall from Jamaican and overseas acts.

According to information sent from Sabrina Trovant, Rototom Sunsplash's art director, the 2009 edition of the event attracted 160,000 persons from 106 countries. While the July 1-10, 2010 festival had been scheduled to take place in Osoppo, the festival and its organisers have been accused of facilitating the use of drugs, marijuana specifically, and are being charged for breaking the country's Article 79 of the Fini-Giovanardi Law. This effectively placed a stop order on the festival in Italy, forcing organisers to relocate.

The website www.statewatch.org explained that the Fini-Giovanardi Law was introduced in Italy in 2006 and contains extracts from a draft law drawn up by Gianfranco Fini, who is now the president of the chamber of deputies in Italy's Lower House of Parliament. The law promised to revolutionise the treatment of drug offences, heralding the mass criminalisation of drug users.

Lessening of distinctions

Some of its contents included the lessening of distinctions between soft and hard drugs, and between dealing, trafficking and personal use, with extremely high sentences applicable to the latter.

Trovant explained the situation to The Sunday Gleaner saying, "According to the charges, Rototom Sunsplash 'facilitates' the use of cannabis, merely for the fact that it is a reggae festival. Indeed, the accusations state that 'Rastafarian ideology provides for a close link between reggae music and marijuana' and consequently, since the festival was attended by 'persons who, in the context of the musical event and relative cultural environment, devoted themselves to the use of drugs, in particular hashish and marijuana'."

She continued: "A similar interpretation of the law could target anyone who organises even the simplest reggae gig in Italy. For this reason alone, they could be charged with 'facilitating marijuana consumption'." According to Trovant, this is the first instance in which the law has been applied to a music festival.

The Rototom Festival has reacted to the situation by hiring a team of lawyers and has also set up a series of initiatives to inform the public about the situation. They have set up an online campaign on the festival's website; they have published messages from prominent figures such as politicians, priests, intellectuals, journalists and artistes, including Bunny Wailer, Linton Kwesi Johnson, radio jock David Rodigan, Easy Star All Stars, Zion Train, lecturer Carolyn Cooper from University of the West Indies and others. Last week, Italian singer Alborosie released a song titled Free Rototom in support of the festival. The Italian organisation Forum Droghe (Drugs Forum) is also promoting a petition on their website.

The organisers also had a demonstra-tion concert on November 13 under the theme 'Don't Put Bob Marley on Trial', which featured various artistes. Trovant concluded, "After 16 years in Italy, we are forced to move the festival to Spain, where the general atmosphere and politics are more tolerant. Details of the new location will be soon announced, probably before the end of January. We will come back to Italy only in the event of a political change that will be probably only in 2013 with the new elections."