Bermuda Independence Commission chairman Bishop Vernon Lambe has declined to comment on the impending visit from the UN Decolonisation Committee, saying the BIC would be holding a press conference some time this week.

In October last year Government rejected a proposed visit by the Committee, also known as the Special Committee of 24. ?The Government considered it and said ?not at this time?,? Director of Communication and Information Beverle Lottimore said at the time. ?Because this is such a sensitive issue, we need to have a debate among ourselves to get clarity and understanding of the issues.

?They need to be discussed by us without outside influences. Once we decide how we wish to proceed, then we should consult outside.?

Yesterday, Deputy Governor Nick Carter said the BIC had received the Bermuda Government?s sanction to proceed with a visit from the Committee of 24.

?In (the BIC?s) eagerness to get as much information as they can, they have invited this Committee to the Island,? he said. ?They did so having cleared the ground with the Bermuda Government.?

The British Government had also made it clear, he added, that if the visit was agreed to by the Bermuda Government, Government House would not stand in the way.

?We are encouraged that the BIC are taking an independent mandate (from Government),? Mr. Carter said. ?They are clearly seeking objective information from all over.

?They will have an awful lot of information to present and if they feel the Committee of 24 can add to that information, then so be it.?

In 1999, Cabinet?s liaison to the BIC Philip Perinchief blasted Government for failing to attend a UN conference on decolonisation. ?You might expect that of a UBP Government ? but the PLP has backed Independence for 30 years,? he was quoted as saying at the time. ?You would have expected them to go.?

The Committee will make its first visit to the Island from March 28-31. The goal, according to chairman Julian Hunte, is to examine political, economic and social developments, listen to various sectors of society and familiarise the members of the Bermuda Independence Commission and the public at large with legitimate political options and the role of the UN?s system in the process of self-determination.

?The mission is not going to close a deal on Independence, or commit the United Nations, or represent the Secretary General,? he stressed.?It is going to provide information, inform the population and evaluate the situation. An envisioned interactive approach should maximise the time spent with the people of Bermuda, with the aim of assisting them, as they made an important step towards a full measure of self-government.?

The first visit will involve meeting the members of BIC and the public at large in interactive sessions, as well as inform the BIC of the UN?s mandate in the process of decolonisation.The second visit, from May 30 to June 4, will involve meetings with Premier Alex Scott, parliamentarians and other political figures.

Opposition Leader Grant Gibbons has voiced doubt over the UN?s role in the Independence debate. ?As far as the role of the UN in Bermuda?s self-determination, I can?t see where it has any role at all,? he said at the weekend.

?This is a matter to be settled by the people of Bermuda and the United Kingdom government. We?re a sophisticated jurisdiction that has already gone through this process as recently as ten years ago without the assistance of the UN.?