Independence issue, the chairwoman of the Portuguese Bermudian Organisation said yesterday.

Ms Anna Faria was responding to a report in The Royal Gazette on Tuesday which said Government position papers now being debated by the United Bermuda Party caucus proposed offering citizenship to certain long-term residents if Bermudians opted for Independence in a referendum planned for this summer.

The article mentioned long-term Portuguese residents in particular, some of whom would reportedly be at risk of becoming stateless in an Independent Bermuda.

It is the position of the United Kingdom Government, supported by the Bermuda Government, that a move to Independence should leave nobody in a former dependent territory stateless.

"We are concerned if the UBP decides to use the carrot and stick approach of offering status to long-term residents, particularly highlighting Portuguese,'' Ms Faria said.

"Comments like these serve only to create tension and animosity toward the Portuguese long-term residents,'' she said. "Many blue-collar workers already feel that the Portuguese presence in Bermuda threatens their livelihood.'' The PBO had been negotiating for three years with Labour and Home Affairs Minister the Hon. Irving Pearman over the plight of long-term residents, "but after three years Government has made no move to rectify the situation,'' Ms Faria said. "Government is losing credibility.'' If Government cared, "they should act now,'' not after Independence, she said.

Ms Faria said the long-term resident issue was not solely a Portuguese issue.

The UBP caucus was to continue debating the position papers yesterday afternoon following other extraordinary meetings on Tuesday, Monday, Saturday, and Friday. The papers are to be tabled in the House of Assembly tomorrow, when a date for the referendum is to be announced.

Opposition Leader Mr. Frederick Wade, meanwhile, said the papers were merely "essays'' which did not bind the Government to anything. He also accused the UBP of floating "trial balloons'' through the news media.

"It's the worst kind of political carrot and stick that I've seen,'' Mr. Wade said. "It's a cheap shot, and people are seeing right through it.'' Instead of position papers, the UBP should produce a Government policy paper called a White Paper, Mr. Wade said.

The Royal Gazette also reported that the position papers would opt for the least costly approach to Independence, while most of the constitutional positiions taken would be the same as those set out in a 1979 White Paper on Independence.