I AM disturbed by the Progressive Labour Party regime's fondness for ambiguity, hypocrisy, duplicity and secrecy.

Since today is US Independence Day, I thought it would be entirely apropos to remind Bermudians of something James Madison, one of the authors of the American Constitution, said: "I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of the freedom of people by gradual and silent encroachment of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations."

These are truly words worth remembering.

DAME Lois Browne Evans does not talk about Jamaica any more although during the socialist Manley years it was one of her favourite topics of conversation, a Caribbean role model Bermuda should emulate.

Self-government was introduced in Jamaica in 1944 and gradually extended until Jamaica achieved complete Independence from Britain on August 6, 1962. At one point the Jamaican currency used to be on a par with the US dollar - today it's worth about 3 cents to the dollar. Those Jamaicans who, on paper, were US dollar millionaires in the 1960s and '70s lost 97 per cent of their investments and holdings. Hardly an enviable rate of return!

The poorest and most vulnerable members of Jamaican society, of course, have been completely wiped out by the country's seemingly endless downward economic spiral.

I was therefore not surprised to come across a poll that appeared in at the end of last year that showed 53 per cent of Jamaicans now wish they had never gone Independent!

FOR very many years Dame Lois Browne Evansthe Progressive Labour Party for all intents and purposes. Her socialist philosophy and authoritarian tendencies dominated the party and led to its two great purges - the first in the mid-1960s, the second in the mid-'80s - when a slew of moderate, progressive politicians like Arnold Francis, Walter Brangman, Gilbert Darrell, Austin Thomas and Lionel Simmons were all summarily expelled for having the temerity to disagree with her.

Although she has announced she will not be contesting the forthcoming General Election, Dame Lois has also said that she will continue to act as a consultant and adviser to the Progressive Labour Party in the event it is re-elected.

Since it could be argued that both Premier Jennifer Smith and Col. David Burch are Dame Lois' philosophical heirs, her continuing influence on this Government's policies and programmes should give Bermudian voters serious pause.

When faced with catastrophic issues, Dame Lois and her two political prot?g?s either ignore them (the Bermuda Housing Corporation scandal, crime, the death rattle of Bermudian tourism) or demonise any individuals who speak their minds and criticise their track record (examples are legion: take your pick). In other words, their guiding political principle could be summed up as: "Think like me and I'll leave you be . . ."

This triumvirate is fond of trotting out confrontational phrases - "We don't care what you think" (Col. Burch), "Defy us at your peril" (Jennifer Smith), "Agree with us or else" (Dame Lois). Or else ? you should be asking yourself. Because when push comes to shove, their anti-democratic impulses overwhelm transparency, accountability and the other norms of Parliamentary Government.

Anyone who wishes to understand both Dame Lois and the peculiar political viewpoint that animates both her and her two heirs should read Randolf Williams' excellent biography. It is very revealing.

The book concludes, predictably enough, with a misty-eyed Dame Lois looking dreamily at a future Bermuda, an Independent Bermuda where all vestiges of the "old" Bermuda (presumably including the accountability and responsibility of elected officials) have been dispensed with.

Mr. Williams notes that her dream for Bermudian Independence commenced when she was on hand to witness Nigeria's Independence. She was so emotional, in fact, she wanted to live and work in Nigeria. Years later her husband expressed "relief that she did not given the violent coups that have haunted that country - and, sadly, most of Africa - since then, he felt she would be dead by now." (Page 54).

The reality is that the PLP could have won power in Bermuda decades ago - under the old constituency boundaries, against the "old" UBP - except for the fact that the firebrand socialism of Lois Browne Evans' philosophy scared the hell out of the voters.

If the PLP had embraced the democratic socialism of, say, Britain's Labour Party, Canada's New Democrats or the Barbados Labour Party, they probably would have been swept to power by a coalition of black and white Bermudians: working class people and those in the middle classes have a lot more in common with one another - regardless of race - than they do with rich people. And there are a lot more middle class people in Bermuda than there are rich people.

But instead of doing the sensible thing the PLP repeatedly squandered the opportunity to forge a multi-cultural voting base by opting for the racially exclusive, militant Third World socialism of the type preached by their icon Frantz Fanon (whose violent rhetoric was recently cited approvingly by the Education Minister Paula Cox, much to my horror. With children running wild in schools, attacking teachers and security guards, why is she invoking this apostle of violence?).

By default, the UBP became an alliance-of-convenience for those from all racial and social backgrounds who opposed the PLP's doctrinaire philosophy. And as a result the PLP was consigned to the role of permanent Opposition until the United Bermuda Party self-destructed in the 1990s and, at much the same time, the shrewd, able Frederick Wade remade the PLP into a genuine political party rather than the spearhead of a socialist revolution no one in Bermuda was keen to see come about.

Sadly, its taken his successors just four-and-a-half years to completely strip the PLP of the veneer of respectability that Mr. Wade worked so hard to give the party.

I am very concerned that the PLP's first term in Government has shown they are prepared to abandon the forward-looking, inclusive policies that Mr. Wade championed in favour of returning to their bad old ways.

Again, please refer to Mr. Williams' biography of Dame Lois for a full account of these tendencies. Bermuda's first Premier Sir Edward Richards decried the PLP as "that bunch of radicals" and said he could never have entered the political arena under the red banner Dame Lois held high (Page 99). He knew what he was talking about. Sir Edward had taught many in the PLP leadership and knew them all professionally and personally.

Expecting "that bunch" to change their behaviour and views is perhaps unrealistic. The history of the PLP resembles a long-running Broadway play: the actors change but the roles, the dialogue and the scenery all remain the same.

As they continue to search for an election agenda with just two weeks remaining until Bermudians go to the polls, I think the PLP will probably resort to bombarding us yet again with the exhausted clich?s, vacuous slogans and the racially inflammatory language of the 1960s. They will recycle all of the old ideas and nostrums because they have no new ones.

Indeed, with the "New" Bermuda exposed to be nothing more than a less polished, less civil version of the "old" Bermuda, they are going to have to rely on suckering Bermudians into voting for them again because they cannot provide any genuine reasons:

Among the appeals we will probably hear are:

"The PLP needs a second term to deal with all of the problems they inherited . . ."

Wrong! Dead wrong! To claim such a thing would be to engage in the wholesale rewriting of Bermudian history, to deliberately obliterate the past.

Whatever the UBP's failings (and, God knows, there were plenty of them during its last term in office), the PLP inherited a well-run island with a multi-million-dollar Government surplus and one of the highest standards of living in the world. By way of contrast, the PLP - which had 30 years to develop a plan for a "New" Bermuda and five years to implement it - has done little except to spend more money and realise fewer returns.

Look, for example, at the tens of millions of tax dollars wasted trying to draw visitors here from Argentina (?!?) and Spain when our chief catchment area remains the US East Coast: Just spending more money isn't the solution. And how much more experiments with failure do we need?

In an attempt to play the race card and heighten social tensions, the PLP will likely whine and carp, bleat and bray, that they are only criticised because they are black (Ren?e Webb has already claimed this).

Wrong! Dead wrong! Bermuda has had plenty of competent black leaders over the last 30 years: Premiers Sir Edward Richards and Sir John Swan, Mayors Cecil Dismont and Lawson Mapp, Stanley Ratteray, Jim Woolridge, Russell Levi Pearman, Sir George Ratteray, Jerome Dill, Clarence James, Gerald Simons, Gloria McPhee - the list is almost endless.

What the PLP refuses to recognise is that the real difference between Bermuda's two political parties is fundamentally ideological - not racial. And perhaps even more important than the red-tinged complexion of PLP politics is the of this Government. Most of the judgment calls I've heard being made about the PLP are based on Dr. Martin Luther King's precept: it's the content of their character (or lack thereof), not the colour of their skin, that's being called into question.

Indeed, it is insulting to people of colour to suggest they are captive to one party ("party," as Dame Lois calls the PLP) and cannot think for themselves.

The sad but unavoidable reality is that most of the problems around the globe are caused by politicians who exploit race, tribal differences, ethnicity and religion in an attempt to divide and rule multi-cultural communities.

Just look at the Middle East, the former Yugoslavia, great swathes of Africa, Sri Lanka and Northern Ireland. The list goes on . . . In all of those countries and regions power-crazed villains have caused untold misery for the masses, manipulating and plundering the state for their own advantage while keeping the people divided, mistrustful and fighting among themselves.

Bermuda has been a lucky and resilient island in recent decades - but that luck and resiliency probably cannot survive a second PLP term in Government.

It's time for all Bermudians to write the as-yet unpenned final chapter of the second edition of Dame Lois' biography - by firmly rejecting her divisive vision for our future. have to provide an alternative ending.

NOW that the Premier has announced the next General Election will be held on July 24, every eligible voter must ask himself or herself: "Exactly what has the PLP done over the last five years? Are we really better off or not?"

In order to answer this important question we must look at the positive side of the question as well as the negative side.

On the positive side, and in no particular order:

1) The fast ferries have been a benefit to those who live at the West End and to some tourists, however their wake (waves) are eroding the shore line and damaging some docks.

2) The Hotel Concessions Act has permitted some hotels to upgrade their premises, often in return for building condominiums as adjuncts to their operations; but I gather that all have not yet received their refund and some have built condominiums but not the promised guest accommodations.

3) The introduction of the "one man, one vote" fulfilled a longstanding PLP pledge (although all votes will only be of equal value under a proportional representation voting scheme, a concept which the PLP firmly rejected). However, the process adopted by the PLP was not the normal procedure to follow to amend our Constitution and this upset a great number of people - and set a very dangerous precedent as regards any future changes.

4) The Smith Government has tried to match the improved ferry service with an overhauled bus scheme as well.

On the negative side, again in no particular order:

1) The PLP, shortly after gaining power, allowed their Ministers to have larger cars, and one must ask: Why? In fact, if a Minister needs a car, then he should use one from the Government car pool.

2) The Premier quickly let it be known that if she is invited to any reception then the hosts must have champagne on hand - and this is from the Premier of a Labour party! Sort of adds new meaning to the derogatory old phrase "champagne socialism", doesn't it?

3) The Smith platform has said that her Government would operate "in the sunshine of public scrutiny", be an open Government. In actual fact, the Smith Government has withheld so many reports that one can only assume the contents were damning in the extreme.

4) Premier Smith will not accept anyone challenging her position despite provisions of the PLP constitution that allow for such contests. Those who do take her on end up losing their Ministerial portfolios and being exiled to the backbench.

5) Since the Premier is never seen in public she is not able to get the feel of what the public want, are thinking or are concerned about. She is invisible as she has sequestered herself in her Cabinet Office or in her police-guarded home.

6) The Premier and her Ministers have undertaken extensive air travel, usually first class (if not they have on occasion asked the airlines for free upgrades for the Ministers). When one compares, the amount of current air travel is about twice that of the previous Government. Was this all necessary? Or would a few long-distance phone calls have achieved the same results? Incidentally, who gets the benefit of the free air miles which were achieved when travelling at Government expense?

7) The Premier stated categorically in the House of Assembly that there were no pending changes planned for the Bermuda Constitution. Yet all along she was planning to amend the boundaries. What can you believe?

8) The Smith Government privately approached a few exempted and local companies to purchase a $5 million private home for the Tourism Ministry, then initially denied that was, in fact, the case. Fortunately, the companies in question turned her down flat and news of the aborted sale leaked (incidentally the proposed sale was being brokered by the real estate agency that employs the Premier's close friend Dale Place Young, wife of the notorious "Man With The Golden Paint Brush" Paul Young from the Bermuda Housing Corporation scandal).

9) The PLP had promised that, when they got in power, they would cut Government running costs. Instead they have increased the civil service by over 100 people.

10) The Smith Government seem to have a policy of not accepting any blame for their errors and are quick to say: "We make no apologies." They have also employed surly threats such as, "Defy us at your peril" or "We do not care what you think" or say that they will only give public contracts to "those who look like me". Where is CURE on this last comment?

11) Our Tourism Minister has spent millions of dollars over the last five years, yet the tourist arrivals have gone down year after year. You will recall that the then-Minister said, when he was elected, that he would turn around tourism in 100 days!

12) The PLP Government assured us that they were capable of running the Government, yet they end up spending millions of dollars on hiring consultants, put them up at the best hotels, where the consultants entertain and, no doubt, put the costs on the hotel account which is, in the end paid by us. Did the PLP Government advertise locally before hiring these outside consultants? I did not notice any such adverts.

3) Government introduce special parking for Cabinet Ministers' GP cars at the airport. Why are they suddenly so "special"?

14) Our Government Members of Parliament feel that they do not have to stand in line at the airport for the Immigration and to clear Customs, like you and I have to do.

15) A Minister "makes no apology" for keeping an aircraft on the tarmac for over an hour in Jamaica, pretending to be the Premier to delay the flight's scheduled departure.

16) The Tourism Minister has now decided she will not release the monthly figures of visitor arrivals and departures to the public, which has been done for years and is needed by our retail and hotel industries. Perhaps they are so bad she does not wish to reveal them.

17) Why did the Smith Government allow a US citizen to sit in the House, when he had confirmed, as per Section 30 (1) of the Constitution, that he had not pledged allegiance to any foreign power? After this was brought to the public attention, he renounced his US citizenship. But no action was taken against this Minister even though the information on his nomination papers was clearly incorrect.

18) The PLP Government wish to force the GPS system on the taxi drivers, the majority of whom are dead set against the system. Is this to improve the taxi service? Or to benefit the investors in the GPS system?

19) The Smith Government gave the late David Allen special medical privileges by allowing him to enrol in the Government Employees Health Insurance plan, when he never paid any monthly premiums. In fact, Mr. Allen declined to join the plan. This cost the plan over $100,000 for his medical bills. No public health company would have allowed such a thing to happen.

20) Our Premier does not talk to the public for advice, but hires prophetess Alicia Perry to advise her or read her palm. And who paid for this great advice, I wonder?

21) Our Tourism Minister agrees to use stock photographs of Hawaii to promote Bermuda and then, when the deception was revealed, says there's nothing wrong with being deceptive to both Bermudians and viewers of American national television.

22) A Minister is prepared to use his Parliamentary privilege to "name and shame" individuals and companies who did business with the Bermuda Housing Corporation. Does he not have sufficient proof of any wrongdoing? Will he use the same privilege to "name and shame the members" of his own Cabinet who presided over this catastrophe?

23) Oh yes, the BHC! This has been a disaster involving gross mismanagement and graft yet the Smith Government is not prepared to address the situation. This scandal has cost the taxpayer millions of dollars and nothing has been done about it. In the public sector heads would have rolled, and the culprits been brought to the courts. Paying $400 per foot for construction of a small apartment building is outrageous!

24) We have a Premier who thinks nothing about disregarding protocol and long established procedures and asks the Governor to step aside so she can open the Ag. Show. She also snubs the Governor by announcing to the public that she is calling an election before she has advised Government House, as she should have done.

25) One then asks why was the date of the election so quickly set? The PLP did not have their campaign team in place, their election platform isnot finalised and they have been scrambling to find candidates for all 36 districts. In fact, they seemed to have trouble attracting candidates. Could it be that the General Election was called to avoid having the Auditor General's 2001/2002 report tabled in the House, when it would then be made public? Surely if the report was positive the Premier would have loved to have it published. But if it was not positive - and it covers the period of the BHC scandal, the Berkeley Institute project, etc. - then she would wish to hide the findings from the United Bermuda Party and the public. Is this operating in the sunshine of public scrutiny?

26) The public is still awaiting to hear the real benefits of joining the Caribbean Community (Caricom) as well as the real costs. Not just the membership fee but also the costs of the travel, entertainment, support services, etc.

27) Why has the Smith Government given buses and ferries to Cuba? Why not support one of our fellow member countries in Caricom, who might appreciate the gesture more?

28) Why has the PLP Government quietly entered into a "cultural agreement" with Cuba? Again, work with your fellow Caricom members - but not an isolated, pariah Communist state. This is a real snub to our major neighbour and trading partner, the USA.

29) Of course, the Berkeley school project is another disaster which was doomed from the very start. Yet our Works Minister buries his head in the sand and says all is fine and they will finish on time or have a small delay. If Pro-Active has, in fact, paid the performance bond premium of $700,000, why do they not just present the cancelled cheque and show the transaction going through their bank account? Since this has not happened one must assume that, if the premium is not paid, then there is no protection from the non-existent performance bond. So where is the $700,000 which was paid to Pro-Active ? Why can't the PLP Government just be honest and tell us, the taxpayer, the complete and full story?

30) Where is the $25 million surplus which the PLP inherited from the UBP when they took over as Government?

31) The Smith Government has allowed in larger cars for taxis when our roads are over crowded now and bigger and faster bikes to kill more people. We should have smaller cars and bikes!

32) Term limits on work permits sounds like a good idea but this is a real concern of our international companies who are the major source of our foreign income. If the Labour Minister is really concerned about a flood of applicants for long-term residents, then when issuing or renewing a work permit Government says that the applicant will not be eligible for a permanent residence permit status. We must allow guest workers who are highly trained, educated and experienced to remain in Bermuda.

33). Etc.

Think about it. Do we really need five more years of mismanagement, greed, corruption, poor planning, greater spending, increased crime? Another five years of allowing the drug lords to run free, of not considering the need for affordable housing, where the concerns of our senior citizens are not addressed and the most expensive public school system in the world does not produce quality students?

Obviously the PLP did not learn anything about running the Government over the 35 years when they were the Opposition and they want five more years.

The PLP were given a chance to run Bermuda and they simply "blew it" . . . On the other hand, the UBP seems to be campaigning on the basis of integrity, openness, mutual respect and fairness.

The choice seems fairly clear to me.

I WAS disappointed - but not entirely surprised - by the contents of Alvin Williams' on Bermuda's flirtation with Fidel (, June 27).

In fact, his attempts to justify Bermuda's recent diplomatic overtures towards the Communist dictatorship are actually undermined - not bolstered - by the two historic examples he invoked of Bermuda pursuing an independent course in terms of its relations with other countries.

In the case of the Gunpowder Plot, Bermuda's very survival was in jeopardy during the Revolutionary War. If the Americans had either blockaded Bermuda or denied our ships access to their harbours, the island would have starved. So the island entered into a one-off alliance of convenience with the American rebels, exchanging access to British gunpowder for Bermudian access to East Coast ports. Self-preservation was at stake.

Similarly, the decision to allow St. George's to be used by blockade runners during the American Civil War also involved Bermuda's economic survival during a period of extreme dislocation and upheaval. And, in fact, Bermuda had the full support of the British for this adventure. Britain needed Confederate cotton to supply its mills in the north of England and in return supplied the Confederacy with gold and guns.

Where does Mr. Williams think the blockade runners' cargoes of cotton were ultimately bound for? Bermuda was a transshipment point for the blockade runners, not the final destination. The use of Bermuda by blockade runners was not a deviation from British foreign policy during the American Civil War; rather it was a clear of that policy. And this allowed Bermuda to survive the economic rigours and hardships caused by the bloodiest war in American history not only unscathed but enriched.

In marked contrast to the two examples he cited, by cosying up to Castro this Government could well be Bermuda's survival in jeopardy.

What genuine benefits will accrue to Bermuda by engaging on a "cultural" relationship with Communist Cuba?

None.

However, there are tremendous risks involved - not the least of which is endangering our relationship with the US, a relationship that provides Bermudians with a lifestyle that is the envy of the world.

And that's precisely why news of this secretly negotiated "memorandum of understanding" was leaked instead of being released to the public through official Government channels: because the Progressive Labour Party was desperately trying to keep news of this controversial diplomatic initiative under wraps until after the General Election.

What else is being kept from us, I wonder?.

In fact, Mr. Williams overlooked (or ignored) a far more recent, far more relevant example of Bermuda custom-tailoring its overseas relations to suit its own ends, one that might have actually added weight to his somewhat torturous arguments.

In the 1980s then-Premier Sir John Swan cajoled Downing Street into giving the Bermuda Government the right to independently pursue what was to become the US/Bermuda Tax Treaty.

The terms of this precedent-setting treaty were negotiated directly with Washington by the Bermuda Government rather than through the auspices of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office.

Sir John and members of his Cabinet spent years engaged in arduous shuttle diplomacy with both the Reagan and Bush White Houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives, finally winning Bermuda tax benefits for Bermuda that had earlier been granted to Barbados by the Americans.

The US/Bermuda tax treaty is, in fact, the cornerstone of Bermuda's present economic prosperity. Without it, this island would have had to go back to farming onions and fishing when the tourism industry went into terminal decline in the 1980s.

Treaties can be rescinded, Mr. Williams. And how would it benefit the great majority of Bermudians to see their present prosperity taken away at the stroke of a US Congressional pen? What would the economically (and morally) bankrupt Castro do to make up the shortfall in Bermuda's revenue stream? Ship us unrefined sugar cane and cigars on one of our own retired ferries?

T was with great interest that I have your series of stories about the Black Beret Cadre published under the title "Bermuda:The Secret Files".

The Berets, like the Progressive Labour Party's hero Fidel Castro, believed in transforming society through violent revolution rather than peaceful evolution. In fact, it is well known that any number of former Berets went on to join the PLP to continue the militant struggle through political means, presumably inspired by the same para-military rhetoric and philosophy.

Since I have not yet seen my PLP Parliamentary candidate, I will have to pose the following questions to him through the medium of your newspaper.

Which members of the Berets exchanged their battle fatigues for and now sit in Parliament? People have a right to know before they vote.

Since these days the PLP is dancing around the question of Independence, refusing to give people a straight answer, will they clearly spell out their position prior to the General Election? Or do they hope to bring Independence about - like constitutional change - through stealth? Voters should be relentless in pursuing an answer to this question.

A friend of mine in the civil service says he has been instructed to archive (read "shred") all Government minutes, memos and and documents if the United Bermuda Party wins the election. Within 24 hours.

If this is true, then the PLP Government is clearly not to be trusted. How can there be any continuity between administrations if the entire record of the PLP's almost five years in power is either put under lock and key or turned into confetti? Is it that afraid for others to know how they conducted the people's business? Do they have so much to hide?

I don't expect answers to any of these questions will be forthcoming from the PLP in the next few weeks. But that shouldn't prevent voters from asking for them.