Panton

President of the Court of Appeal Justice Seymour Panton has expressed alarm about what he said was the increasing number of extrajudicial killings.

"I am and I have been for a considerable time appalled at the number of killings that are taking place, courtesy of the hands of persons who are paid by the state and who are using weapons provided by the state," Justice Panton said Monday at the launch of Caribbean Rights, a publication by the Independent Jamaica Council on Human Rights.

"Something is seriously wrong in our country where agencies of the state are killing nearly 20 men per month," Justice Panton told the gathering at the Institute of Jamaica, Kingston.

He noted that he was further stunned by the nonchalant response of those in authority.

Does not feel good

"It does not feel good. It is not and cannot be good for so many young men to die in this manner," the newly appointed president said.

"This sort of thing, in my view, is building walls of resentment and hatred in the minds of relatives and friends of these victims. And so this will definitely carry over into the next generation and beyond," said Justice Panton.

He noted that it was no longer credible to say that these young men are killed because they are attacking someone, adding that Operation Kingfish has been carrying out operations without fatalities.

"Extrajudicial killings must be minimised with haste and constant exposure of the details is one method of attempting to deal with the problems," he said.

Meanwhile, Dr. Lloyd Barnett, editor of Caribbean Rights, said it was important to have a Caribbean journal on human rights because the nations within the region are faced with similar challenges.

The journal includes articles relating to the Caribbean Court of Justice and its first important case, among other things.

In his remarks, head of the European Union delegation to Jamaica, Ambassador Marco Mazzocchi-Alemanni, said the publication was symbolic to Jamaica and its democratic process and human aspiration.