February 1, 2002

Dear Sir,

I was very sad to attend a meeting on the Public Boundaries Commission at Cathedral Hall last night and to find the atmosphere invaded with 'Pay back time'.

Any right and fair thinking person recognises that there have been great injustices in the past that must now be addressed and rectified, but, to try and replace these injustices from the past with unjustices in the future does not bode well for this lovely little Island.

We must stop looking back. Yes - learn from the past and move on to a better future for all.

South Africa is a tragic example of the above. If they continue on the path they are on, they will cripple the country and bring it to its knees, socially and economically.

It seems to me last night that there were people who thought we were objecting for the sake of objecting or to protect ourselves. This is categorically not so. All we are asking is that we are heard and that we are allowed to state our views in order to intelligently guide our future.

That we have been denied a Constitutional Conference or Referendum is an enigma to me and according to Dr. Farrell at City Hall Cathedral, almost a first.

There are cachets that need understanding.

First past the post, does this mean that if I get 49 votes and the other person gets 50 - my 49 gets discarded?

Proportional Representation?

One man one vote of equal value?

Constituencies: how many?

Surely less than 40 means less representation and double the work visits for the representatives; they hardly get to everyone now!

What do all these mean to the man in the street? I for one need help to understand - could we not have some of these questions answered in a simply laid out form in the newspaper?

I have an uncomfortable feeling that there is a hidden agenda and cannot understand why I feel I am being rushed/pushed into a situation without my thoughts concerning My Contribution, Boundaries, Constituency, are properly heard aired.

Could it be that the powers that be, are afraid of a referendum or a Constitutional Conference? What would it reveal? Is it not our right to be allowed to find out?

DIANA WILLIAMS

Pembroke