Date: Tue 17-Oct-2000

Moniz says long term residency debate rife with irony

Independence should not be used as an excuse to delay the granting of rights

to long term residents, UBP MP Trevor Moniz has said. He pointed at an oblique reference on the Long Term Residents Green Paper which hinted at this. The document says: ``The decision has been taken by this Government not to reintroduce the discretionary grant of Bermudian status until necessitated by any change in Bermuda's constitutional status.'' Mr. Moniz said: ``So they recognise it's the right thing to do -- they can't get round it, so why else hold it out? ``Behind the doublespeak they have a transparent political agenda. They only want people to vote who are going to vote the right way.''

He said that at the final public meeting on the long term residents issue, held at Whitney Institute, political scientists Walton Brown had said he didn't want non Bermudians to take part in any independence decision. ``I am disappointed in Walton Brown -- he comes across as an intelligent objective educator, but it's clear he's lost his objectivity completely here.''

Mr. Moniz said there were ironies in not allowing non-Bermudians to vote on the independence issue. He said: ``At the first public meeting in Hamilton Paula Cox said she had been born in Canada -- so she wouldn't get a vote. There are a lot of people like this.''