The local and international business community are ready to play a constructive role in the national dialogue on Independence called for by Premier Alex Scott.

Both Chamber of Commerce president Charles Gosling and David Ezekiel, the president of the Association of Bermuda International Business Companies gave their thumbs up to the Premier?s proposal.

?The subject is going to come up and it is good that he is looking for an open discussion,? said Mr. Gosling. ?The subject of Independence does not belong to any one political party, it belongs to the people of Bermuda. They are only going to make a learned decision if they have actually gone through the process and part of the process is to have open discussion.?

But he predicted some Chamber members will see it as a political not a commercial issue.

?If we can play a constructive role I think we are going to play it. But if we are going to become the stooge for any one group I prefer that we do not take part.?

?We will disseminate whatever information is required to our members and encourage dialogue and we will at the appropriate time solicit the views of our members in order to provide full information to government as to how the business community feels,? said Mr. Ezekiel.

Mr. Gosling said his personal view was that Independence will come at some point and the country has to deal with it. ?And we have to ensure that this is an enhancing process, a nation building process and is not something which is going to be divisive and ultimately destroy the island.?

He added: ?If we can get over the black, white issue, the haves, the have nots, the Royalists as opposed to the Independence groups and stuff like that. If we can get beyond that then I think that this could be a good process even if it doesn?t lead to Independence. And an open discussion if it is truly open discussion could go either way. It in fact could be a role similar to the Truth and Reconciliation in South Africa. Because some of those issues are going to be brought up.?

Mr. Gosling said he could understand if the Premier?s call is greeted with cynicism in some quarters because of credibility issues over the Berkeley project and the need to craft a vision which has been absent from his first Throne Speech and the latest Budget. ?I would say the Premier is trying to give that vision and hoping to put the first five or six years of the Government?s performance behind him. It?s going to have the effect of motivating a large group of people who were not satisfied.?

But his overall reaction was positive. ?It?s an issue which has been very dear to the party from the very beginning. I guess it?s moved from one which they are prepared to fight an election over to one which they are now willing to have open discussion. I would hope that it would remove a lot of cynicism and scepticism that people may have in receiving this,? Mr. Gosling said.

Mr. Ezekiel said that while Independence was rejected before there was always room for more information and more discussion. ?As long as people make a decision on an informed basis that ?s all one can ask for,? he said.

?As long as at the end of the day, given the undertaking that he has made, that no one is going to be taken where they don?t want to go there?s absolutely no reason for the public discussion not to be had. Other countries have had this discussion, some of them have gone one way and some the other and if what this does is test the waters once again I think it?s appropriate.?

But he said there was the risk of making international business nervous.

?All open discussion comes with some risk. You may get a period during the discussion that business or the international sector gets nervous, but that I think what the Premier is saying is that people don?t envision the end game until we get there.?

He also appreciated the Premier?s call for people on the extreme ends of the debate to be patient with each other.

?I think what the Premier is asking for is for people to avoid getting polarised too early in the discussion and at some stage there will be a chance for people to cast their vote in whatever form that takes but the danger is that the battle lines get drawn too early and results in a lot of inflamed dialogue which isn?t good,? he said.