responsible for placing an insulting advertisement about him in The Royal Gazette before last year's General Election.

And he appealed for the "Friends of Pam'' to come forward in the interests of what he said could be a "terrific opportunity'' for them to help bridge the "incredible gap'' between the two races in Bermuda.

Speaking during Friday's motion to adjourn in the House of Assembly, Mr.

Robinson referred to what he called the "sad circumstance'' this week when the person responsible for running the advertisement, Dusty Hind, attempted to make amends for it by offering the MP a gift and asking for his forgiveness.

Mr. Hind failed, however, to name the people who had been responsible for asking the advertisement to be placed in the first place.

"This steadfast refusal of Mr. Hind's to reveal the people behind the ad was explained by him as being on the grounds of ethics. I say that the ad was unethical in the first place,'' Mr. Robinson declared.

"This was a great opportunity for a white man to come forward and acknowledge the errors of his ways,'' he continued, "but I'm afraid this did not happen.

"It is a question of cowardice and I appeal to those people responsible to come forward and identify themselves. They would find that to be a truly healthy thing for the country as a whole.'' Mr. Robinson said he had a true desire to accept Mr. Hind's "request for reconciliation'', but added that when he met with him this week at the Human Rights Commission's office, Mr. Hind "had nothing new to say''.

"I had hoped that this gentleman would have come further along than the position he was in at this time last year. I'd hoped to hear a different story,'' he added.

Mr. Robinson expressed his "astonishment'' at the fact that "some of these `Friends of Pam' are indeed black''.

He labelled these people as having been "brainwashed''.

"It is incredible, after 400 years, how far apart the races have become in Bermuda and I find it amazing that, now, on the verge of the Millennium, so many people attach so much importance to someone's external appearance rather than to their inner integrity,'' Mr. Robinson said.

He referred to a general feeling of racism against blacks in Bermuda.

"There are several sides to the issue,'' he said. "One is this degeneration of black and all things black and the fact that black people are being brainwashed into believing that their skin should look just a little bit whiter.'' He also claimed that blacks harboured a lot more sensitivity about their hair than whites did, referring to the fact that having dreadlocks stirred a certain degree of prejudice in some people.

The reaction from a number of UBP MPs to this was that "ponytails'' were just as much an issue with white people when it came to applying for a job.

And Progressive Labour Party backbencher Wayne Perinchief , who supported Mr.

Robinson's decision not to accept Mr. Hind's apology, said he stood by the idea that hairstyles should be appropriate to the carrying out of certain jobs.

Still upset: Government MP Delaey Robinson with Dusty Hind's unsuccessful peace offering of an African sculpture before him last week.