Bermuda Premier Ramps Up Push For Independence

David Burt 

Premier David Burt has marked the 50th anniversary of the introduction of universal adult suffrage in Bermuda by issuing a fresh rallying cry for independence in this British Overseas Territory, reports JAMAICA OBSERVER.

Independence has long been the goal of his ruling Progressive Labour Party (PLP) — even though it was ruled out in a 1995 referendum — and on Tuesday Burt pledged to lay the platform for breaking ties with the United Kingdom as he lamented being under British rule.

Burt, who is also finance minister, told the House of Assembly it was “unacceptable” to have “decisions made thousands of miles away that impact our customs, our institutions and our livelihoods”.

Speaking during celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of universal adult suffrage, Burt told fellow legislators it was left to Bermuda to “finish the story by writing our own chapter called independence.

“Fifty years on, the story awaits an ending chapter. The question is, will today's teenagers have to wait until they collect their pension cheques to read that chapter?”

“This constitution has been tested from within our island and without. Every meaningful test of the 1968 document teaches us that it is imperfect, that it is unfinished, and stands to be better cast in the image of Bermuda today.”

“The class of 1968 taught us to be better, and their example should influence all of us to finish the work that was started,” Burt said, adding that independence required a solid foundation of constitutional and electoral reform and “our charge after this ceremony is to collectively build that foundation.”





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