Bermuda should decide the question of Independence by a referendum, not a General Election, a former Caribbean diplomat has argued.

And former High Commissioner for Antigua and Barbuda Sir Ronald Saunders has also highlighted the burden of extra costs that ?going it alone? can bring.

Writing for the website Caribbean Net News this week, Sir Ronald said that Independent Caribbean countries were having to forge closer ties as the increasing costs of their sovereignty began to take effect,

?Becoming an independent nation is no trifling matter for a small state, regardless of how relatively prosperous it might be,? Sir Ronald Sanders, now a corporate executive, wrote.

?Caribbean and Pacific small states can readily attest to the high and increasing costs of maintaining security and participating in international affairs, as well as the lack of human resources to carry out the tasks.

?Not surprisingly, the members of the Caribbean Community (Caricom), even though they are doing so as a ?Community of Sovereign States?, are moving toward streamlining the functioning of independence in their individual and collective interest.?

In his article, found at www.caribbeannetnews.com/2005/03/08/sanders.shtml, Sir Ronald praised the formation of the Bermuda Independence Commission, saying the decision of independence was ?far too important to be made only on the basis of political rhetoric?.

?If years of experience has taught Caricom countries that going it alone is not a viable option in today?s global community, Bermudians should be given the right of a referendum to choose their path.

?And they should be fully informed of all the benefits and pitfalls that surround the question of Independence.?

Polls suggesting that nearly two thirds of Bermudians are against Independence are based on ?very politically charged arguments?, he said, arguing that educating the public on the pros and cons of Independence was especially necessary in Bermuda.

It is for those very same reasons that Sir Ronald said a referendum was necessary to decide the question in Bermuda.

?If there were an active clamouring for Independence by the majority of Bermudians, then their right to such Independence would dictate the decision regardless of economic or financial considerations,? he said.

?But, there is no such outcry; instead there is doubt. These circumstances cannot be disregarded, and they strongly suggest that a referendum is not only desirable but prudent.

?Such a referendum should not deter the work of the BIC; instead it should encourage it. For a referendum should be held only after the most thorough education of the electorate on what advantages and disadvantages Independence will bring.?

However once a referendum is agreed upon, he said, the UBP will have to get on board and nominate a member of the BIC.

?The UBP has a responsibility to the Bermudian people to participate fully in the education process about such a momentous decision.?