Opposition Senate leader Kim Swan challenged the Human Rights Commission to investigate recent accusations that the Bermuda College has been discriminating against Bermudian applicants for the position of president.

In the Senate yesterday, Sen. Swan demanded that the HRC ?step up to the plate and address this injustice that has been served and launch a public interest inquiry?.

Sen. Swan said: ?We have heard of the recent discrimination against Bermudian applicants ... that they are were treated differently from those people from overseas.?

American Dr. Charles Green was recently named to replace Dr. Michael Orenduff as College president.

Last week, reported that Government admitted to treating local applicants differently ?because selection panel members did not ?feel comfortable? interviewing their peers?.

Of the selection panel?s eight members, five interviewed the foreign applicants while only three ? none with tertiary or post-graduate experience ? interviewed the Bermudian applicants.

Last week, the United Bermuda Party called for an independent inquiry into Human Resource management practices at the College, which Sen. Swan repeated yesterday saying: ?I would have thought that by now the HRC would have launched an inquiry into these discriminatory practices.

?The HRC can launch a public interest inquiry when it is felt discrimination has taken place and human rights have been violated.

?We all know that when a human rights violation has occurred, and the party who is complained against is from the Government, that the Human Rights Commission has to write to it.?

Though Sen. Swan noted that this can be both a lengthy and costly process, ?it is their (HRCs) mandate to protect the human rights of all, and I hope partisan politics can be put aside.?

?We call once again on the HRC to step up to the plate and do what it is mandated to do ... It is the right thing to do, and it needs to be done.?

Yesterday, a representative from the HRC told : ?If something was brought to our attention, we would launch an inquiry.

?All that I can tell you now is that nothing (regarding the College) has been brought to the our attention at this point.?