Race and the effectiveness of the PLP Government were the topics of debate in the House of Assembly on Friday night as the Opposition UBP was challenged to apologise for slavery and ?the legacy of the plantation system?.

Speaking on the Floor, Minister of Tourism Ewart Brown, pictured right, alleged that some Members of Parliament who had benefited from the plantation system were still paying ?lip service? to the issue of race.

And if the Opposition truly valued racial equality they would sit down and face the past, accept it, and not try to fix it with ?band aids and perfume? the Minister challenged.

During his passionate speech, Dr. Brown also referred to a statement he made at the last General Election in 2003 ? ?Voting for the UBP would be the equivalent of voting yourself back onto the plantation?.

He admitted to making the statement for political gain, however, Dr. Brown also said he would not apologise for making the statement publicly.

While he said the Island was making progress in discussing the race issue, there was much progress to be made, particularly since whites were reluctant to talk about race and how historical inequalities had impacted the present economic situation of black Bermudians.

?We will never in Bermuda face the race issue until those who are the beneficiaries of the plantation system acknowledge they inherited the benefits of the system. They talk around the issue because they can not confront it,? he said.

As the UBP quipped ?nonsense? during his speech, Dr. Brown said history has caused the division that Islanders still live with today, politically, economically, and socially.

And as large numbers of Bermudians continue to remain at the lower echelons of society, Dr. Brown said there was much progress to be made, but whites must understand the psyche of the black Bermudian.

?We have pain as a people, and we will express that pain, its not your call to tell me to remove the boot from around my neck, you can?t put me in pain and then design my release,? said Dr. Brown.

Shadow Health Minister Michael Dunkley said the PLP record demonstrated how ?lip service? was replacing Government?s promise to achieve economic parity for all Bermudians, black and white.

He said in 1999, seventy-six percent of all people in the workplace were Bermudian, with 24 percent who were non-Bermudian. In 2004, he said the numbers of Bermudians have dipped, with 28 percent of non-Bermudians now holding down jobs on the Island.

Mr. Dunkley said Bermudians had also been chased away from top positions, including the post of CEO at the hospital which is held by Stephanie Reid, a non-Bermudian.

?Show us some positive benefits and stop playing politics,? he said. ?When we raise our concerns all we hear from Government is a complete silence on these issues.?

?I ask the Government to stand up and say this is what we are doing, and then we can make some real progress,? he said.