COMMENTARY

Bermuda: Independence or not?

by Sir Ronald Sanders, a former Caribbean diplomat, now corporate executive, who publishes widely on small states in the global community

Tuesday, March 8, 2005

Should Bermuda – a small island, British Overseas Territory – proceed to independence or not, and, what should be the process by which such a decision is made?

These are two elements of a question that is being explored by members of the Bermuda Independence Commission (BIC), established by the government of the ruling Progressive Labour Party (PLP) led by Premier W. Alexander Scott.

A poll conducted last month in Bermuda revealed that 65% of those polled are against independence and only 35% are for it. The views expressed in the poll are based largely on very politically charged arguments made by both the ruling PLP and the main opposition, the United Bermuda Party (UBP). 

It is not surprising, therefore, that the BIC is concerned particularly with how to educate the people of Bermuda about the gains and losses of independence for Bermuda. The decision about independence is far too important to be made only on the basis of political rhetoric.

Bermuda is Britain's oldest colony. Since February 2002, it has been designated as a British Overseas Territory and is self-governing with a very high degree of control over its own affairs. Bermudans are entitled to be both Bermudan and British citizens with the right to live and work in the European Community as a whole.

The island is often linked to the Caribbean, although it is approximately 1,000 miles away from the region. Its links to the Caribbean are recent and few. The most significant of these are its associate membership of CARICOM and its participation in both the Caribbean Hotels Association and the Caribbean Tourism Organisation.

Its population of 65,000, comprising white and black people, enjoys one of the highest per capita incomes in the world, equivalent to that of the United States of America. Its unemployment level is low at about 5% (2002 figures), and it has enjoyed an average growth of its economy of about 2% over the last six years. This is really quite remarkable since Bermuda has virtually no natural resources and virtually no industry.

The territory derives its income from financial services and tourism. More than 500,000 tourists, mostly Americans, visit the island every year, and over 13,000 offshore companies are registered there. Other contributors to its success are: a stable political climate, successful courtship of foreign investment, good legal machinery, and sound macro-economic policies.

Britain is responsible for the island’s defence and external relations and plays a role in its internal security arrangements. Therefore, these burdens do not fall to the Bermudan government and tax payers as they do in the independent small countries in the nearby Caribbean. 

Why then, on the face of it, should Bermuda want independence from Britain? Of the British Overseas territories, it enjoys more self-government than any other, and it does not have to bear the cost of its external relations and defence. Indeed, as one of its former Premiers, Sir John Swan, famously put it in 1982: “With the Americans to feed us and the British to defend us, who needs independence?”

The answer to this question is complex. In part, it relates to the racial divide in the country. For the most part the white population opposes independence while a significant number of the black population (though not an overwhelming majority) support it. The PLP obviously feels that there is some political mileage to be derived from an independence platform.

To be fair, however, independence has been discussed in Bermuda since the mid-1960’s when Britain was anxious to be rid of all its colonies and successive British governments, both Labour and Conservative, had set themselves on an active campaign to do so.

In fact, the 1968 Bermuda Constitution was drafted in contemplation of Bermuda moving to independence shortly thereafter and the PLP had actually proposed it that same year. The present Premier and Leader of the PLP is obviously a firm believer that Bermuda should be independent. 

In the 1970’s, having successfully opposed independence, the UBP turned around and advocated it, but decided to hold a referendum on the question in 1995.

On the day before the referendum was due to be held on 15th August, a hurricane rushed through the island. The referendum was eventually held on 16th August with only a 59% turn-out, but 73% of the voters opposed independence, and there the matter rested until late last year when Premier Scott raised it again.

This time, Mr Scott declared that there was no need for a referendum on the issue; in his view what is required is the education of the public about independence. Thereafter a general election would decide which political party leads the country to sever its status as a British Overseas territory. Thus, he created the BIC charged with the task of providing such information.

In response, the opposition UBP, through its leader Grant Gibbons, refused to nominate a member of the BIC and insisted that a referendum must be held to determine the views of the electorate.

Then, last month a British Minister in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Mr Bill Ramell, wrote to the Heads of Government of the Overseas Territories indicating the British government’s preference for a referendum.

Mr Ramell will be hard-pressed to defend this position, since in all of the nearby Caribbean countries independence has been granted without a referendum. 

But, Mr Ramell’s position, while important, is not the critical factor in whether Bermuda should hold a referendum or not. The more vital consideration is the attitude of the Bermudan electorate, and current polls indicate that 65% of them want a referendum.

If there were an active clamouring for independence by the majority of Bermudans, then their right to such independence would dictate the decision regardless of the economic or financial consequences. But, there is no such outcry; instead there is doubt. 

These circumstances cannot be disregarded, and they strongly suggest that a referendum is not only desirable but prudent.

Such a referendum should not deter the work of the BIC; instead it should encourage it. For a referendum should be held only after the most thorough education of the electorate on what advantages and disadvantages independence will bring. 

Once the principle of holding the referendum is agreed, the UBP should reconsider its position and nominate members to the BIC. The UBP has a responsibility to the Bermudan people to participate fully in the education process about such a momentous decision.

After all, becoming an independent nation is no trifling matter for a small state regardless of how relatively prosperous it might be. Caribbean and Pacific small states can readily attest to the high and increasing costs of maintaining security and participating in international affairs, as well as to the lack of human resources to carry out the tasks.

Not surprisingly, the member states of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), even though they are doing so as a ‘Community of Sovereign States’ are moving toward streamlining the functioning of independence in their individual and collective interest. 

If years of experience has taught CARICOM countries that ‘going it alone’ is not a viable option in today’s global community, Bermudans should be given the right of a referendum to choose their path. And, they should be fully informed of all the benefits and pitfalls that surround the question of independence on which they are asked to decide.

(responses to: ronaldsanders29@hotmail.com) 

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