A ruling party backbencher is calling for an Island-wide dialogue to develop a national agenda - and believes Independence is the way ahead for Bermuda.

"Nationhood is a very strong factor for national cohesion," said Progressive Labour Party (PLP) MP and independence advocate Wayne Perinchief. In a wide-ranging interview on current political issues Mr. Perinchief told The Royal Gazette that discussion on issues like Caricom membership, electoral reform and British citizenship proved that Bermuda was fragmented into "disparate groups".

"All of these issues have international implications and we should be dealing with it as part of a national strategy instead of on an individual basis... Government should be concentrating on a strategy of nation building and preparing to go for Independence," he said.

"We should be talking about participation and relationships with bodies like the United Nations. Because we have avoided that, we have fragmentation with different groups and everybody going in different directions. Because we don't have a national plan for dealing with international matters we have no national focus."

Mr. Perinchief said : "So I want to open the dialogue with bodies like the Chamber of Commerce and BIBA and others. We need to start a national dialogue on how we deal with these issues." Mr. Perinchief has already criticised Government's bid for the Island to become an associate member of Caricom, saying it was not too different from having observer status. Bermuda should become a full member with voting privileges - a status normally only given to Independent nations.

He added that nation building was a prerequisite for Independence but that there was a "subtle difference" between the two. "You can have a national agenda before Independence."

His party had shied away from the issue of Independence, he said, but that was a mistake.

When asked, he said he received a "muted response" from the party leadership to the issue of nation building.

"As far back as 1997 I raised the issue of our party's philosophy on Independence and nationalism," Mr. Perinchief told The Royal Gazette. He said he believed his party was afraid of the reaction of the international business community if it opened up discussion on Independence. "And also because Sir John Swan failed in his efforts to gain Independence - even though he had a personal agenda - it appears that some elements in my party are not prepared to discuss independence."

Under the leadership of the late Frederick Wade, the PLP - a longtime proponent of Independence - had boycotted the last Independence referendum spearheaded by Sir John. "It was a strategic move... which set the false premise that the Progressive Labour Party is against Independence," Mr. Perinchief continued. "But it appears the present leadership has taken it as a de facto rejection of Independence which it is not."

He said he was supported in his stance by some of the party's older members.

He disagreed, when asked, that the recent passing of a law granting full British citizenship for colonial subjects had weakened the argument for Independence.

"When you stare it in the face the whole process is a return to where we were in 1968. It's being played out for more than it is. At that time there would have been an economic need for people to emigrate to the UK for their development. Now we don't need it."

Besides, he continued, there remained a risk that Europeans would demand, and get the right to live and work in the colonies and the power of the European Union meant that Britain had little chance of keeping its commitment to the colonies.

The island of Martinique, he argued, had been swamped by relatively well heeled citizens from France who had bought up much of the land to the disadvantage of the locals."We could be in that situation," warned Mr. Perinchief.

As it stood now, Bermudians would have the right to live and work in the European Union, but Europeans would not get reciprocal rights here.

"If we should get the challenge of the issue of non-reciprocity by a British person or a European, I dare say Britain would not be in a strong enough position to resist the lobby.

"She may not be able to protect her promise to Bermuda on non-reciprocity given a strong lobby from Germans, Italians, French or whatever.

"In that case we'll be forced, if we don't have Independence, to endure an influx of Europeans coming to our shores. She (Britain) is no longer the master of her own fate."

He pointed to the fact that Britain could not get the United States to clean up the environmental damage done to the former bases.

"She's been a very poor broker there. So why should we trust Britain in this instance ?"