Date: Thu 07-Sep-2000

Coalition: We do not want to be second class citizens

By Matthew Taylor

A newly-formed coalition of long term residents say the Government's recent

Green Paper on the issue will keep them as second class citizens.

At a press conference yesterday Portuguese community leader Robert Pires and

representatives of the West Indian Association slammed the discussion

document as vague.

Now the Coalition for the Rights of Long Term Residents called for long term

residents here before August 1989 to be given full citizenship.

And the group are appealing for other expat groups to come forward to put their case to the Government.

They said the suggestion to create a new category of Permanent Residents

Certificates (PRCs) would leave long term residents voteless and with little

chance of buying a property.

Mr. Pires slammed the PRC as little more than a glorified work permit.

He said: ``The PRC would not allow long term residents to purchase homes

unless these fall within the top 20 percent of the housing market or are

designated condominiums currently open to non-Bermudians.

``Thus, home ownership, which is universally accepted as a basic tenet in the

pursuit of happiness and required in establishing economic security, would be

out of reach for all but the wealthiest of long term residents.

``The Coalition has concluded from an informal survey that the vast majority

of long term residents are either working or middle class, making the top

tier of Bermuda's real estate market undeniably out of the reach of most long term residents.''

West Indian Association Vice President Foster Burke said the Coalition doubted whether the proposed Permanent Resident Certificate sufficiently rewarded the community commitment put in over a number of years by long stayers.

And he wondered whether ``the concept of inalienable rights as defined by

international law would by satisfied by giving PRCs to long term residents

instead of Bermuda status) given that the PRC would preclude any possibility of long term residents or their children receiving full citizenship''. ``Particularly unsatisfactory is Government's linking of `discretionary grant

of Bermuda status' to `any change in Bermuda's constitutional status'.'' ``It is considerably difficult to assess Government's position with respect to long term residents due to the inadequate definition of the Permanent Residents

Certificate.

``Essentially Government is asking long term residents to give up any hopes

of citizenship in exchange for a Permanent Residents Certificate with

yet-to-be-determined rights and privileges.''

The Coalition said the Government was aiming to give Permanent Resident Certificates to those who were in Bermuda on July 31, 1989, and had 20 years of living in Bermuda under their belt.

The new category might also be offered to divorced parents of Bermudians, long term divorced spouses of PRC holders, siblings of Bermudians and divorced

non-Bermudians who had married Bermudians and who were said to be outside the

WRC policy.

Mr. Pires said: ``The Coalition would like to make it clear that it is not

proposing Bermuda status eligibility for anyone arriving in Bermuda on or

after August 1, 1989.''

Mr. Burke added: ``This would put to rest the idea that there is going to be

a floodgate of new people. There aren't going to be any new people. ``The

people we are talking about, if they are going to be granted anything at all, have been here for 20 years or more.

Mr. Pires said those residing in Bermuda before August 1989, had a legitimate

right of expectation.

``They were given the expectation up until August 1, 1989 that if all went well they could one day have citizenship.

``To now deny them the right of citizenship after the fact is a breach of those inalienable human rights set by international law to which the Minister refers on Page One of the Preamble of the Green Paper.''

He said the Government's position was that PRCs should not be given the right

to vote.

``But without the right to vote they essentially have no rights.

``The inadequately defined PRC is nothing more than a glorified work permit, and it does little more than eliminate the periodic nuisance of acquiring work permits.

``It grants little beyond this in terms of additional rights to long term residents and is structured so as to permanently relegate them to the demeaning position of second class ``non-citizens.''

He said he had heard heartbreaking tales at the meeting of Portuguese community at Vasco da Gama club on Tuesday night.

He said: ``One man has been here since 1969 and had applied for status four times and was refused while others, perhaps in a more privileged position in

society, were granted it after only being here for five years.''

He said of the long term residents still in limbo: ``It's 21st century indentured servitude.''

Mr. Pires said that before any decision can be made there needs to be more information on how many long term residents there actually were.

``This is an essential detail for the community to consider.''

And Mr. Pires said the Green Paper, released on August 18, had come out in the holiday season when most of the Portuguese community were not on the Island.

He said: ``The fact discussions are happening in such quick succession concerns us because we fear there may be some sort of hidden Government agenda to rush this through.

``It is very unfortunate to rush this through without proper consideration and without all the essential facts.''

A public meeting in Number One Shed, Hamilton, is set for 7.30 tonight.

Mr. Pires said the West Indian Association had contacted him about banding together and other Portuguese leaders had strongly welcomed the idea.  Unanimous backing was then given by the Vasco da Gama club members on Tuesday.

Mr. Pires said: ``It was a full house, standing room only.''

Mr. Burke said: ``It was the feeling of our association that having undergone

this exercise under the previous Government it would be better to push

forward as a united front.''

United front: Portuguese community leader Robert Pires attacks the long term

residents Green Paper. He is flanked by West Indian Association Vice President, Foster Burke and West Indian Association President, Shurnett Caines.