Independence must be the beginning of real Parliamentary democracy and electoral reform in Bermuda. A simple "yes'' or "no'' vote on August 15 will lock in the existing Constitutional abuses that the Progressive Labour Party has worked to change since its inception.

The PLP has repeatedly stated in successive General Election platforms over the decades that it attaches the utmost importance to electoral and constitutional reform, the establishment of one person, one vote, each vote of equal value, and careful education and preparation for eventual Independence for Bermuda. The two are inextricable. We have stated, and continue to commit ourselves to a policy of proceeding to Independence only if a majority of Bermudians agree to it by supporting such a plank clearly and specifically laid out in a PLP General Election platform.

In contrast, the Swan Group in the UBP launched their bid for an Independence Referendum just weeks after the 1993 General Election in which they did not mention Independence in their "Blueprint'' or at any time in the election campaign.

In the spirit of compromise the Progressive Labour Party proposed a Joint Parliamentary Select Committee to explore ways of achieving these goals and bringing the country together ... rather than dividing it. It called for a carefully researched Parliamentary Green Paper to discuss the issues, and then for Government to issue a Parliamentary White Paper which would firmly commit the UBP to work towards specific goals of electoral and constitutional reform.

The Premier, Sir John Swan and the UBP turned down our offer.

Now, we are all witnessing the result of Sir John's attempt to "go it alone''.

We in the PLP are firmly committed to a policy of abstaining in the upcoming Referendum on Independence, because we are convinced that this country cannot go forward on to something as fundamentally important as Independence on a whim, but rather should proceed on a solid foundation of electoral and constitutional reform that will truly empower "Mr. and Mrs. Bermuda''.

We need only listen to the promises made by Premier Swan and his Cabinet colleagues at a recent press conference that "nothing will change'' the day after Independence to underline how unwise it would be to issue a "blank cheque'' through a "yes'' vote in the Referendum. Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Mandela did not struggle so long for freedom in their countries so that "nothing will change''.

Complex issues such as the electoral system, citizenship, and type of judicial and appeals system, defence and foreign affairs, cannot be reduced so naively to a simple "yes'' vote, especially when Government itself remains so divided on the issue that it cannot even produce a White Paper that firmly commits itself to a specific course of action.

We are convinced that all the ills of our society that presently exist, will continue unless Independence is preceded by all of the reforms that we have outlined. Independence by itself can not change the Government's unresponsiveness to the community's concerns about education, drug abuse and crime, immigration protection, Bermudianisation and employment opportunities, affordable health care and housing, and better provision for the elderly and handicapped. Therefore, under the UBP Government all the inequities in our present electoral and constitutional arrangements will be so firmly entrenched/locked into a new constitution that will not have come from the people. Through two-thirds and three-quarters Parliamentary majorities the UBP Government will ensure that such reforms will become virtually impossible to achieve at a later date.

Only if we progress to Independence as a united country on a basis of true reform, will we ensure that the twin pillars of our economy, tourism and international business, are bolstered by stability rather than instability; and the future of Bermudians, young and old alike, be properly protected.

It is for these reasons that we in the Bermuda Progressive Labour Party urge each and every Bermudian to be guarded and vigilant about their future, and to abstain on August 15, 1995. If Independence is worth doing, it is worth doing properly.

It is very important that voters refrain from voting and abstain ... in order that Sir John Swan and the UK Parliament realise that he has gone about the move to Independence the wrong way -- and Bermudians are not prepared to participate in a clearly flawed process.

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