HE All Bermuda Congress, a grass-roots political movement intent on breaking the mould of Bermuda's two-party Westminster-style Parliamentary system by becoming a third political force, released a preliminary draft of its manifesto yesterday ? indicating that it hopes to shake up what it portrays as a political system that is both stagnant and out of touch with the Bermudian reality.

ABC spokesman Khalid al-Wasi, in releasing the draft, said while the manifesto remains a work in progress the movement will always remain guided by 12 core principles.

To bring higher meaning to the political activity and civic interaction of Bermuda's people.

To develop the form of governance and constitutionality where the people of Bermuda are Sovereign.

To develop a political ideology based on self-evident truths as the sovereign bond between the peoples of Bermuda.

To develop the leadership atmosphere that resonates with an attitude of commitment to reason and responsibility.

To develop a style of governance that is systemically democratic and participatory.

To develop a style of government that is systemically accountable to the electorate.

To develop the socio-economic bonds that give maximum range to the Bermudian economy in a global environment.

To develop clarity and purity of systems that separates the appointment and function of judiciary from the legislature.

To maximise the effectiveness of Bermudians and their options in a global environment.

To ensure Bermudians the right to the natural pursuit of happiness and prosperity.

To ensure the right of the indigent to housing health and social services.

To ensure the systemic equality and human/civic right of all persons as a guarded value unmitigated by political status.

"Over the last half century Bermuda has experienced needed change," reads the manifesto. "Coming from the segregationist era of the first half of the 20th century, we have ever since, been riding the wave of desegregation.

"The Progressive Labour Party, as the first formal political party, and the United Bermuda Party, as a response, are both symbols of differing strategies on managing Bermuda through the issue of desegregation. Each party's ineffectiveness has largely been underwritten by the extremities of some its core support.

"In political terminology, those respective core supporters can be referred to as the left-wing and right-wing elements of the parties. The nature and structure of political parties in Bermuda make parties very vulnerable if not bound to these extreme elements.

"As a result, Bermuda lays hostage to a polarisation and needs to find the means to move on from that which is crippling to the mind and spirit. There comes a time when one must analyse whether or not tinkering and sampling with leadership changes; in house seminars, or even coups can work to bring effective change.

"All of those methods have already been tried with no real success ? a moment of euphoria followed by months of depression. It should be clear by now, not to expect any significant change in our political spheres.

"Perhaps this seeming inability to reform is the reason why there exist a kind of gloom and lack of hope. It is our view that we are faced with the only real alternative in the idea of party elimination.

"The urgency of the time given the options for our future have never been more critical; to quote one chief executive officer, 'We are at a tipping point'. We need a new vision and a new thrust to take the country beyond its current political malaise. The only way for a new idea to gain traction is to have an innocence unencumbered by old baggage.

"Our young people will be the greatest carrier of this new message because they are the ones most alienated by this current political paradigm. All Bermuda Congress is founded on the idea of a new vision, a new way forward. This organisation is multicultural at its base, global in its thinking, and aims to inspire Bermudians to new horizons. We are not aiming at splintering we aim for governance were we can make the people of Bermuda a priority not in word but indeed."

The manifesto goes on to point out that political opinion polls have been constantly tallying 23 to 25 per cent support for UBP and 27 to 29 per cent to PLP with a continuous 40 per cent undecided ? a group "which can preferentially be called the unimpressed".

"It is our view that the unimpressed are the largest single constituency in Bermuda," says the manifesto. "It is also our view that this group are the most ignored and marginalised group. The two parties vie only for a segment of this unimpressed group to make up their needed share of electoral votes.

"We aim to give the unimpressed an ideology of their own and a body that they can identify with which will hopefully save the extremist from their errors. We need to save Bermuda from the extremists in our community who contribute to social instability and hopelessness.

"Our aim will be to mobilise the Bermudian public to seek an enlightened political system of democracy that enhances human freedoms. We recognise the important and integral role that Bermuda has played in the world through out its history, in spite of its political darkness.

"We believe that we can continue to play a vital role which can only become magnified when we begin to lead ourselves with a political ambition with ideals that could be the model for our contemporary world."

The ABC manifesto goes on to argue that the UBP and the PLP are, in fact, the two greatest obstacles to further racial progress in this multi-ethnic community.

"Bermuda, with its unique history, has an almost unparalleled opportunity to move forward in this new millennia on the issue of race, ethnicity and cultural differences," reads the manifesto. "If we meet the challenge appropriately, we have the potential to resolve our race issues under the spirit of 'kinship' as opposed to the cold atmosphere of racial tolerance.

"We need not burden this document on the manifest reality of the race issue over the centuries, suffice to say, like most of the Western societies that it was during the last half of the 20th-century Bermuda seriously began to make strides on the road to equality and understanding.

"The UBP and the PLP currently are both the greatest obstacle to further progress. Progress among Bermuda's mix of people has an economic component which propels the sense of equality. The black community being the historically beleaguered sector of our society has since 1965 had a significant cofactor sapping its ability towards progress, ideologically maintained and kept in place by the two parties. The black community is the only community split by our current political design.

"The political divide in the black community that separates labour from merchant is one of the greatest current challenges to its own economic progress. The political ethos generated by the PLP and reinforced by the UBP cuts deeper than a simple division of classes.

"The ethos is ostensibly akin to a religious belief that seeks to redefine our racial identity along the lines of our political choices. The PLP solution to this perpetuated divide, which has its genesis in their 1965 split, is that all blacks, if they are truly black, should join the PLP. The UBP response is to label the PLP as 'new racists' while they (UBP) continue their own brand of separation by picking what can be euphemistically called the 'UBP type black'.

"The racial divide acts a resistor to political involvement of our young people. Bermuda's social structure has changed dramatically over the last 40 years. Social integration of our educational system along with the longer associations through universities has created a generation of young people whose life experience is multicultural and for the most part, entirely different from that of their parents.

"Rather than take on the conflict of the past, most of the young persons of any ethnicity or race prefer to live outside the bubble of our political structures. The political environment for our future would be better if the world going forward is seen through their eyes.

"The ABC provides an opportunity to rid the country of the two main ideologues perpetuating race and inter-race divide. As first steps its aim is through voter starvation remove the UBP which is encumbered by its history and in spite of an apparent face of integration has a 'culture' that feeds on, celebrates and ostensibly appreciates a division aimed at scooping a minority but strategic section of the black community.

"Bermuda needs a clean start and opportunity to develop a multicultural, biracial organisation on the basis of pure democratic ideals and good responsible governance.

"Most Bermudians want to work together and need to do so with a sense of pride and integrity. The idea intrinsic in this ABC approach is that ultimately the race politics must end and give way to an issue driven political atmosphere.

"The only moral authority legitimising the PLP, seemingly, is that the UBP exist. Every argument of the PLP is predicated by what the UBP did for 35 years if not 350 years. With the UBP gone the PLP will ideologically fold because it has no natural ideology asides from its reaction to the UBP.

"The whole political machinery could become more efficient as a tool servicing the entire community with politicians being challenged as a result of their position or strategy as opposed to their choice of party or race."