attack on his party's call for a boycott of Government's Independence referendum.

Denying "a rumour'' that he had changed his position on the PLP boycott call, Mr. Perinchief described his party's position as "retrograde'' and "essentially selfishly motivated''.

For him, the issue "far transcends the mundane and pedestrian ploys that politicians believe they score points with'', he said. "I view Independence in much the same way that some people view their religion, their philosophy on life, their ideology.'' Nobody had the right to choose the timing of Bermuda's Independence for him, he said. "In reality, Independence is taken, not given,'' he said.

Premier the Hon. Sir John Swan is expected to call a referendum on Independence for this summer. A date has not been set. The PLP, saying Government wants "a blank cheque'' on Independence, is urging its supporters to stay home.

Commending Dr. Henry Subair and Mr. Alvin Williams for voicing views similar to his own, Mr. Perinchief asked whether there were "only three people willing to take a principled, as opposed to a political stand''.

If that was the case, the lawyer who ran for the PLP in Pembroke West Central in 1993 said he was prepared to go it alone.

Mr. Perinchief, who was a member of the Black Beret Cadre in the 1970s, said he had "lost comrades in the struggle for Independence, both here in Bermuda and abroad''.

Many of Bermuda's "so-called leaders on both sides of the political fence'' had not thrown off their "neo-colonial ... straitjackets'' that held them in subjugation, he said.

Attacking the PLP's position that nothing would change if Bermuda went to Independence under Sir John and the United Bermuda Party, Mr. Perinchief said he would be "prepared to go to Independence with the devil'', and then address other concerns.

"Where are the freedom fighters?'' he asked. "Where are the real men?'' The PLP's "gradualist stance'' on Independence was "dangerous and ultimately self-defeating'', Mr. Perinchief said.

It did not matter whether Sir John or Opposition Leader Mr. Frederick Wade was the first black leader of an Independent Bermuda.

In a two-step process, "the PLP could have defeated John Swan and brought about a general election they would have won hands down'', Mr. Perinchief said. Any move toward Independence would have "split asunder'' the UBP.

Mr. Perinchief said race and class were at the basis of the Independence debate.

Whites generally did not want Independence "because ... they have always been independent in the sense that they have shaped this community politically, culturally, economically, and philosophically''.

Whites had "cultural affinity'' with the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, viewing the UK as "their saviours in the event the natives get restless''.

Blacks who oppose Independence "feel comfortable with how their masters have run the Country and are essentially lazy, contented, well-fed slaves''.

Well-off blacks, whose jobs were not threatened by foreigners, saw no urgency and believed Independence was alright if it came gradually, he said.

Foreign-born whites were usually born into independent countries and looked upon it "as a matter of course''.

Independence was "one further step towards liberation from the hegemony of European mores and values'', he said adding, "I'm not prepared to wait.''