An invitation to attend last week's decolonisation conference in Anguilla was declined because it came too late and Premier Jennifer Smith was already committed to attending Bermuda Day events, according to Ms Smith's aide David Burch.

But the decision, as well as the fact that Bermuda has not yet been represented at any of the decolonisation meetings since the Progressive Labour Party (PLP) came into power, may well risk alienating supporters of the ruling party which has long held Independence as a cardinal goal. The Caribbean Regional Seminar on Decolonization was held in The Valley, Anguilla from May 20-22.

Political scientist Walton Brown reported that delegates there were disappointed at Bermuda's absence and that chairman Earl Stephen Huntley told the conference that he had been unsuccessful in speaking to the Premier despite several attempts.

"For the information of the general public, the invitation to attend the 2003 Caribbean Regional Seminar at The Valley, Anguilla was received on April 23rd," said Senator Burch by email. "In light of the late notice and the fact that the Premier was already committed to events being held over the weekend of the National holiday, i.e. Bermuda Day - the invitation was declined." Bermuda and British Virgin Islands (BVI) were the only colonies of Britain which did not attend the conference.

Rolfe Commissiong, a PLP supporter who has harshly criticised Government for what he says is ducking the Independence issue, told The Royal Gazette he was not impressed with Government's excuse for not attending the conference.

"Again we missed another opportunity as we did with the world conference against racism," he said. "I don't buy the idea that that was a late notice. Even if the Premier could not be there she should have delegated someone from her government to attend. But frankly I think the Premier is opposed to Independence myself. Some may think that is over the top but if people had studied her comments in the past, they have bordered on insults to long serving Progressive Labour Party members."

Mr. Commissiong cited the Premier's public statement soon after the 1998 election that the 1997 Independence referendum had clearly shown that the majority of Bermudians were opposed to full nationhood.

"That was clearly laughable because she is a member of a party that led an abstention campaign not because we were opposed to Independence but only opposed to the method by which Sir John Swan was proposing to take the country to Independence. In the end that referendum became a referendum on Sir John Swan and not Independence. Yet the premier cites that not only locally but internationally for God's sake, on how Bermuda feels about Independence," Mr. Commissiong said.

He added that Ms Smith's standard response when asked about Independence - that the PLP will not pursue it during its first term and probably not during its second - broke a promise made by the late party leader Frederick Wade which said "we will not pursue it at the next election but will then take the issue to the people after the necessary preparation".

Mr. Commissiong fell out of favour with the party leadership after an interview in the Mid Ocean News in 1997 in which he insisted that the party remained committed to Independence. Senator Burch did not respond to other emailed questions related to some of the other concerns expressed in Anguilla. Earl Stephen Huntley, chairman of the UN Decolonisation Committee is reported to have told the conference that he had been unable to speak to the Premier despite a number of attempts.

Deputy head of the Overseas Territories Department Roy Osborne said he hoped that discussions about decolonisation would not be taking place in ten years' time and asked the gathering to speed up the decolonisation process and set a goal of taking at least one or two territories off the UN's list of colonies every year. He also said that Bermuda, which has the most advanced constitution and is practically self governing, was given increased autonomy over the years in the expectation that those decisions were steps to independence.

And he suggested that the UN Decolonisation committee send a delegation to Bermuda to see for itself whether the Island is ready for Independence.

But he also took issue with the fact that Bermuda was even on the list of colonies, saying that its degree of autonomy could hardly qualify the Island as being "under colonial administration".