EU ups call for end to death penalty, Trotman non-committal

Political leadership is needed to take the driver’s seat in the abolition of the death penalty here and in the region, a forum organised by the EU and Britain heard on Monday but Governance Minister Raphael Trotman was non-committal on the topic.

Ending the death penalty in the Caribbean lies in the hands of the governments, according to Fernando Ponz Canto, Deputy Head of the Division for the Caribbean European Exter-nal Action Service who says that the European Union (EU) will not pressure countries to move in this direction.

Canto made those comments during a press conference held moments before the start of the opening ceremony of the Carib-bean Regional Conference on the Abolition of the Death Penalty. The conference which ended yesterday was held at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre.

“We are here not to tell you what to do at all. We are here to support you in your decision but also to exchange ideas”, he told reporters.

He said that the Delega-tion of the European Union (EU) and the International Commission against the Death Penalty feel very strongly that death penalty is not the right way.