THE airline link between Bermuda and Cuba is a private enterprise, as opposed to a Government move to do business with the Castro regime, Premier Alex Scott told departing US Consul General Denis Coleman this week.

Mr. Scott said yesterday he had met with Mr. Coleman on Tuesday to discuss concerns made public by the US Government representative on the island's relations with Cuba.

The Premier also emphasised that he "did not appreciate" learning of Mr. Coleman's comments through the media rather than directly from him.

United Bermuda Party leader Dr. Grant Gibbons said communications had been poor between the Government and the US Consulate. As a result, Mr. Coleman's only way of attracting the Government's attention had been through making strong statements via the media.

Mr. Coleman said in a television interview last month that by allowing a regular charter flight between Bermuda and the Communist island, the Bermuda Government had broken a promise that its relations with Cuba would be only cultural.

Bermuda last year signed a memorandum of understanding on cultural affairs with Cuba, which caused great controversy because it came shortly after the Cuban government rounded up and imprisoned 75 dissidents without trial.

Mr. Coleman added that Bermuda was effectively "fostering economic relationships with Cuba" and "sticking a finger in the eye" of the US, whose policy is to isolate the Fidel Castro regime.

"I expressed how we, as a Government, regarded the proposed flights between Cuba, Bermuda and Spain as a private enterprise," Premier Scott said.

"If we had tried to instigate that ourselves, we may actually have annoyed or frustrated the marketplace."

The Premier added that he regarded good communications between Bermuda and the US as very important and he intended to take steps to improve them and that the US Consulate would be hearing from the Bermuda Government "on a more regular basis".

Mr. Scott added: "I did not appreciate the comments (from Mr. Coleman) that I read in the paper, when they had not been made to myself."

Dr. Gibbons said yesterday: The message I have got, loud and clear, from thr US Consul General is that the Progressive Labour Party Government has not taken taken advantage of their presence here.

"The only way he felt he could get the Government's attention on issues such as relations with Cuba has been to make strong statements in the press, as he did recently."

Dr. Gibbons said around 80 percent of our tourists came from the US and most of international business relied on US customers or on relations with the US on critical issues such as tax.

"Mr. Scott has been more interested in flying off to meetings in the Caribbean than in having a real interest in working with the US Government on issues that relate directly to Bermuda."