Premier Alex Scott yesterday called on the country to enter into a national discussion on Independence.

In the most substantive statement by a Progressive Labour Party (PLP) Premier on the subject to date, Mr. Scott urged people on the extremes of the debate to be patient with each other.

Cabinet and organs of the party will soon begin to study and discuss the subject, he said.

?Today I am suggesting we come of age as a people, and address the subject openly, objectively, and nationally,? the Premier said at the Progressive Labour Party?s (PLP) annual Founder?s Day luncheon.

?It should not become a PLP issue and UBP response. The Unions should not say ?yes? and the Chamber reply ?no?, or vice versa.

The Loyalists, Royalists should be permitted to cover themselves in the flag (Union Jack) and sing ?rule Brittania? forever; while those with a passion for sovereignty should be encouraged to pursue their passion ? and start dreaming of a new standard and humming the strains of a possible new National anthem.?

He said that Bermuda will immediately be a healthier country once the discussion starts.

?In fact we will have taken a significant step closer to the day when we will be able to stand with pride beside other sovereign countries, and nations, as the newest and latest, fledgling democracy,? he continued.

?However, like an infant we must creep before we are able to stand and walk. We must take what amounts to baby steps ? if we are to some day take the ?big? step together as a nation.

?Those who feed on the subject daily must be patient with those who have little appetite for the topic of sovereignty.

?The ?Nay sayers? who see no benefit should at least listen to the ?True Believers? who are convinced that all problems vanish as the first strains of a new national anthem reverberate throughout the land. They will both find that they will have to modify their views and positions if they are to ever live in the real world.?

The Premier said: ?I invite the United Bermuda Party and all other organisations in the community to begin to consider and discuss the subject of Independence.

?It should be sober consideration for all of us that in 1995 when Arnold Francis delivered his paper on the subject there were then 51 countries in the Commonwealth alone who had at one time or the other discussed the subject many, many years ago. It is time for us here in Bermuda to make haste slowly and begin to discuss the topic in earnest.?

Mr. Scott struck a moderate tone, and assured his audience that he was not putting the country on a ?fast track? to Independence, but that ?the train is simply preparing to leave the station.?

But he left no doubt as to where he stood on the matter.

?...There can never be a full blooded, true democracy as long as our country remains as a Colony or an Overseas Dependent Territory,? he said.

?We have experienced first hand that we cannot even manage and staff our justice system, a key institution to a modern state, as long as we are constitutionally tied to a ?Mother Country.??

Mr. Scott paid tribute to the PLP?s founding fathers and five former leaders before turning to Independence.

?Today we stand on the shoulders of PLP pioneers and political giants. It would be remiss of me to come before you on an occasion such as this and not address their dream of seeing this country taste the freedom of Independence,? he said.

?To this end I feel duty bound to honour those Founding Fathers and Leaders who have withstood unspeakable threats, made life changing sacrifices ? unselfishly, and in some cases, yes in some cases they were in service of both party and country when they drew their last breath.?

And Mr. Scott reminded the guests of the last paragraph of the report of the Pitt Commission, of which he was a member, which looked into the causes of the 1977 riots.

?We have noted the statement by the Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs that it is for the people of Bermuda to decide whether or not they wish to become independent. But we consider it our duty to declare our conclusion that only with independence can national unity be forged and pride in being Bermudian fully develop. We call upon the people of Bermuda to act boldly in fashioning their future.?

Sir John Swan had attempted to take the country to independence when he was Premier in the mid nineties, but he resigned his post when the vast majority of the electorate rejected the move in a 1995 referendum which the then Opposition PLP urged supporters to boycott.

But the PLP has always been in favour of Independence.