Bermuda faces racial hostility if it doesn?t opt for Independence, fears former Government Senator Calvin Smith.

He said the autonomy debate was demarcated along racial lines but the Island could not continue to duck the issue.

Mr. Smith said latent racial fears sparked the anti-Independence lobby. ?People who have been on top for a long time are white Bermudians who fear that when we get on top we are going to do the same thing to them that they did to us,? he said.

?I am not talking about beating them up, I am talking in terms of industry and economics.? He said since the PLP had come into power locally-owned areas of the economy had been sold off to foreign interests.

In Dominica, British settlers had left agriculture and gone home after independence, said Mr. Smith. ?It might happen here. I hope it doesn?t. This may be a real fear but it is not being voiced. The only thing being voiced is ?Let?s have a referendum?. One thing we have that very few countries have, even those who have been independent for centuries, is accommodation between the two major races.

?The thing that scares me about Bermuda is if white people don?t wake up and get on board this could end up with racial hostility.

?The black population has been very willing to embrace the white population and go forward with Independence and if this doesn?t happen you might get a lot of things that everybody fears because people seem to think if you don?t have Independence there will be prosperity ? that is cr**. It?s not just a question of going or not going. It?s a question of whether we can get along together and make Bermuda what it should be.?

Mr. Smith, who has organised a forum on the issue at the BIU today, favours having an Independence referendum combined with a general election to ensure a high turn out.

Otherwise poor PLP supporters would be less likely to vote on a single issue, said Mr. Smith.

He predicted a campaign supporting autonomy would spring up soon. ?It?s on its way. Once the party launches its campaign for Independence you will see a lot of resistance fall away because there are no sensible arguments out there for not having Independence. We have a stronger basis go to independent in Bermuda than some major countries in the world in terms of viability and the rest of it.?

He said although the subject had a limited public profile, in private Bermudians were often discussing Independence.

Mr. Smith believes the UBP?s leadership were silently in favour of going it alone from Britain but were content to sit on the sidelines.

Dr. Eva Hodgson, who is on today?s panel, attacked former Premier Jennifer Smith for displaying reluctance on Independence and hostility to those who raised the issue. This has led to caution, apart from a small vocal group on either side of the debate she said. ?Some of the remarks on both sides show an extreme lack of knowledge. ?In either case the people who are speaking are very intense about wanting it or not wanting it.?

She said whatever the result the debate would be healthy for Bermudians. ?We are a very un-intellectual community, we don?t think much. We have been trained not to talk and not to express a point of view therefore, in general, we don?t do it.?

Fellow panellist and long-time Independence advocate Arthur Hodgson agreed the discussion exercise would be an end in itself. He said there was a lot of emotion and interest surrounding the issue but not a lot of knowledge.

Mr. Hodgson said it was a large issue in terms of principle but he doubted whether the consequences of the decision would be viewed by outsiders as making a tremendous change.

?It?s rather like the PLP victory in 1998. From many points of view it was a major change but anyone flying in from America would not have noticed any difference in Bermuda before and after.?

Calvin Smith?s son Chris, an executive with AT&T Wireless and a former president of the Bermuda Jet Ski Association, is also on Tuesday?s bill.

He said he wanted to know all the facts before deciding on the issue which he said was huge.

Without that, he said he inclined to not bothering with change. He said: ?If we are going to do it, it seems like a really big deal. Why are we doing it? What do we get out of it? What are we getting out of not doing it??

Mr. Smith wanted to know whether Bermuda would keep British law or draft its own.

?Are there checks and balances in place? There is now, there won?t be then. Is that going to be good in a community this size??

He said crime and transport were immediate priorities before looking at Independence.

Other panellists at the free debate starting at 7.30 p.m. are Dr. Pauulu Kamarakafego and Frank J. Parker, Professor at the Wallace E. Caroll School of Management of Boston College.