Attempts in the United States to stop American corporations from using Bermuda and other offshore centres to save on taxes is another reason for Caricom Associate membership, according to former politician Quinton Edness.

Mr. Edness, a former United Bermuda Party (UBP) Cabinet Minister who supports strengthening the links with the regional body, said he is disappointed by his party's “ultra conservative” and “political” contribution to the debate.

And he criticised Government yesterday for “mishandling” the Caricom initiative after it emerged that support from a number of ruling party backbenchers could not be counted on.

Mr. Edness said news of backbencher resistance days before a planned, but later postponed, debate in the House of Assembly seeking lawmakers' support for Caricom membership showed that there had been a “tremendous lack of communication” between Government members.

“They cannot come out and make major policy suggestions and then at the eleventh hour the community finds out they are not even sure about what they want to do,” he said.

He said a rejection of the Caricom initiative would not lead to a reversal of a decision to allow Bermuda to host the 2004 Carifta Games, the annual Caribbean youth track and field festival, but it would be seen as a “slap in the face”. “It would just be embarrassing to have all these people here from the Caribbean when we have said no to associate membership,” he said.

The Opposition opposes Government's Caricom initiatives saying it will be too costly, that Caricom membership has nothing to offer Bermuda and that they don't trust the Progressive Labour Party (PLP).

Mr. Edness said his party's position was typical of a conservative attitude held by some whenever the subject of strengthening ties with the Caribbean came up.

Bermudians of Portuguese heritage have strong ties with the Azores, he argued, and locals of British heritage had similarly strong ties with the mother country. “Why is it that Bermudians who have West Indian heritage should be made to feel that our relationship with the Caribbean should be denied ?”

He pointed out that many white Bermudians had links to the Caribbean and that taxpayers' money is spent on funding the Bermuda Society in the UK to keep a watch on Bermuda's interest.

“Why can we not have a relationship of some kind with the Caribbean region that keeps us in touch with what's going on?”

He added that the UBP position ignored a number of benefits, like assistance in fighting crime, that Caricom associate membership can bring.

“There are a number of major issues and one of them is fighting crime. The British Government is offering all kinds of assistance to the Caribbean region and Bermuda is being left out of that.”

Lawmakers in the US have been pushing for measures to halt the exodus of US corporations to places like Bermuda.

Last week US President George Bush urged American corporations to be better corporate citizens and announced his support for a measure which would disqualify offshore located companies from federal contracts.

“It just demonstrates that Bermuda's relationship with the US can be written off with one stroke of the pen and so much for free trade,” said Mr. Edness.

“It demonstrates that it will be very beneficial to Bermuda to have an alliance with the Caribbean region which would be a quasi political alliance on a number of issues which might impact on the future.”