Staunch Independence supporter Rolfe Commissiong accepted a Queen?s Birthday Honour on Saturday despite being a member of a group that supported a teen in 1994 who allegedly called Her Majesty a ?syphilitic whore? and ?the living symbol of the brutal, racist imperialistic power struggle that enslaves our people?.

Mr. Commissiong was one of 11 Bermuda Independence Commission (BIC) members to receive Queen?s Certificates and Badges of Honour on Saturday for preparing the BIC Report.

However, in April 1994, Mr. Commissiong was a member of the ?Bermudians Concerned About Democracy In Bermuda? group ? also made up of Progressive Labour Party backbencher Nelson Bascome, businessman Manders Ingham, and spiritual leader Ahtur Eliyahtsoor Ben Israel ? who said they supported then-19-year-old Bermuda College student Jhon Gibbons.

Mr. Gibbons was arrested 12 years ago in connection with a flier released the day before the Queen arrived here for a two-day visit on March 9, 1994.

It was previously reported that the flier called on black high school and college students to boycott the Queen?s visit.

Bermudians Concerned About Democracy In Bermuda said in a 1994 statement that it had ?deep concern? about the arrest of Mr. Gibbons as it trampled on freedom of speech.

It also hinted at raising money to pay for his legal fees, however, it was not known yesterday if Mr. Gibbons was ever charged.

However, Deputy Opposition Leader Michael Dunkley said yesterday Mr. Commissiong was a hypocrite for accepting the Queen?s Birthday Honour.

?Actions always speak louder than words and in this case this is very evident,? Mr. Dunkley said. ?My first thought was that he would never accept it. This is so hypocritical.?

The Deputy Opposition Leader said it was common for Progressive Labour Party (PLP) politicians to ?do as I say, not as I do? going back to the Honour given to Dame Lois Brown Evans who ?took it without hesitation?.

Mr. Dunkley also questioned why BIC members made the Queen?s Birthday Honours List for working for a short period of time, when there were many others in the community doing very important work who had not been recognised.

?The Premier is trying to pander to the group to get their support,? Mr. Dunkley said.

However, Mr. Commissiong called Mr. Dunkley?s comments puerile and said even if Bermuda went Independent, the Queen would probably still be retained as a Head of State.

?Independence simply means a change in the long standing relationship between Great Britain and ourselves,? Mr. Commissiong said. ?It represents continuity rather than a break with Great Britain and it is an evolutionary step rather than, as many would have felt I alluded to 20 or 30 years ago, a revolutionary step.?

He stood by his position of support for Mr. Gibbons in 1994, however.

?One of the hallmarks of a functioning democracy is a robust culture of freedom of speech, even speech some find offensive,? he said.

He said on a personal level, the acceptance of the Queen?s Honour had some resonance and poignancy for him, as both his mother and father received awards four or five years ago for their work during the anti-racist campaign of the Theatre Boycott.

?I look forward to the day in an Independent Bermuda a grateful state bestows its citizens with awards for service to Bermuda,? he said.

PLP Senator Walter Roban said yesterday Mr. Commissiong?s acceptance was a personal choice.

PLP spokesman Scott Simmons echoed his remarks.

?Bermuda?s highest award happens to be Britain?s award,? Mr. Simmons said.

In January 2001, Mr. Commissiong told the Kiwanis club that one version of Independence saw it becoming a Monarch-less state.

?Taken to its logical conclusion an Independent Bermuda would then become a Republic, rather than retaining the Queen via a Governor General as head of state, as was the case for many of our sister islands in the Caribbean,? Mr. Commissiong said.

Three years later in June 2004, he told this newspaper he was inclined to favour Bermuda becoming a Republic.