Racial slurs from the Progressive Labour Party in its General Election campaign were not only wrong, but also criminal, it was claimed in the Senate yesterday.

United Bermuda Party (UBP) leader in the Senate Kim Swan called on Government to join with the Opposition in setting up a code of conduct to ensure good behaviour during debates, elections and campaigns.

He said, as a black Opposition member, he had been insulted and upset by comments from Government referring to him as an ?Uncle Tom? and other names, which he claimed were uncalled for and un-Christian like.

And Sen. Swan even accused a ?political clergyman? of urging his constituents not to trust him on racial grounds on the run up to the election because he supported the UBP, which had its roots in the old white establishment.

?I?m not going to allow another election to be based on that type of racial rhetoric,? said Sen. Swan.

?We are going to do something. Together, we can do things. If a Government feels it can allow persons to (refer) to a person who is black in the UBP as an ?Uncle Tom?, not only is it wrong, but it?s criminal.

?I get rather annoyed. You should take a look at me a little differently ? a black man that sits on the other side of the divide. We, together, can help our people to get out of the racial quagmire.?

Sen. Swan was referring to a proposal put forward by UBP leader Grant Gibbons in the House of Assembly on Friday, suggesting that both parties get together to set up a code of conduct to prevent future poor behaviour.

Dr. Gibbons said the proposal was as a direct result of racial slurs made against black members of the UBP on the run-up to the election, in which Opposition candidates were referred to as ?shysters? and people with ?suntans?.

Sen. Swan said during his life he had suffered racial setbacks, but did not believe that bearing grudges would solve any problems.

?I owe it to everyone who brought me up that I can still look at people from another race with love and give them their due.

?Until political leaders take on that kind of love, we are always going to be imprisoned by our own. We will continue to (hold) our people in the past to the point where they can?t take advantage of their opportunities.

?We are pauperising them without realising that we are.?

And Sen. Swan said instead of preaching racial division, everyone should be preaching love.

He said he had a dream that one day in Bermuda political parties would not be divided on colour, and that people would not be identified because of their race. But, instead, he said politicians should be judged on how well they represented the people.

?I have a dream that both parties will have diverse representation,? he added.