but let's not let the people see us do it.'' Does anyone seriously believe that if we have a five-man board of inquiry into drugs and soccer and hold some of the inquiry in private anyone will ever believe the board's findings? Will Bermuda never learn that democracy has to take place in public? The truth is that if we are going to inquire into drugs in private then we might as well not bother at all because no-one will believe the findings.

It has been said that some people who are involved do not want to testify in public. The Sports Minister, the Hon. Pamela Gordon, is recommending that those who wish to speak in private should be accommodated by the board chairman.

There has been a suggestion from the Minister that some of those who might testify are concerned about vendettas or that the things they say could be interpreted as offensive. We do recognise that there are dangers in testifying about drugs because of the criminal elements involved and the huge sums of money which can be made. However, the same problems apply to testimony in drugs cases in the courts and the courts do not meet in secret. There are some basic elememts of our society which take precedence over all other considerations and open justice is one of them. Surely the rules of a court should apply and if people refuse to testify they can be considered in contempt of the process. Testimony in private is suspect because it cannot be challenged by those testified about and people testifying in private are prone to exaggerate or lie without challenge. We should learn from mistakes and recognise that there is still confusion and controversy over fish pot testimony given in private.

There have been suggestions that Sir John Sharpe should be removed as chairman of this inquiry because he has a conflict of interest as an honorary vice president of the chaotic Bermuda Football Association. It is our information that Sir John's connection with the BFA has been almost nonexistent in recent years and that his title was an honour for past service rather than a sign of involvement now. We have every confidence that Sir John's wide experience and his integrity will serve the inquiry well.

However it would seem to be excessive, if only for the appearance of things, to appoint three members of the inquiry who have ties to the BFA, when the actions of the BFA will be a substantial part of the inquiry. We accept that, as the Minister said on Thursday, these men are highly respected members of the community with a demonstrated interest in football. However, boards of this type should be seen to be above reproach if their findings are to be widely accepted by the public. We also think that where drugs are concerned, women are often more aware of the problem and more sensitive to the problem than men and this should not be an all-male inquiry.

One other aspect concerns us greatly and that is time. This kind of inquiry in Bermuda often drags on until the public loses interest. Since it is vital to take action against drugs and since this is a matter of great public concern, it is important to hurry.