The facts are in, the recommendations are made, and the Bermuda Independence Commission Report is available to the public ? all 600 pages of it.

Bermuda can afford the costs associated with Independence, the report declares, offering an annual cost range of $5.3-$14.7 million, depending on an independent Bermuda?s Government policy.

A summary of costs and their ranges is included in the report, however the BIC warned: ?The final cost of Independence can only be determined when Bermuda has made the decision to go Independent and the Government of the day has made various policy decisions on the scale upon which an independent Bermuda would conduct its affairs.?

Questions of nationality will have to be considered at a Constitutional Conference in the future, but the BIC recommended that Government explore the question of Bermudians retaining any British nationality as ?a matter of urgency?. The report noted that the general British Government policy is to withdraw British nationality from citizens of newly independent nations unless they have family ties.

Fears of a mass exodus of international business from an Independent Bermuda need not be entertained, the BIC says ? so long as conditions remain favourable and competitive to such business in the country. Those issues may also be decided at a Constitutional Conference.

Such a Constitutional Conference would take place before Bermudians decided any questions on Independence, Premier Alex Scott said yesterday, so that any final questions about how the country would move to self-determination would be decided before any final decisions are made.

That, the Premier said to , is what a General Election is all about ? to answer such detailed questions as the state of a new tax regime or where to open consulates. ?It has to be part of somebody?s platform,? he said.

The BIC also addressed social concerns in their report ? particularly the issue of race.

As Commissioners stated repeatedly throughout their research and public meetings, the country must initiate a new dialogue to address this ?insidious and pervasive issue, still unresolved in our society?.

Independence ?will not, in and of itself, solve the social challenges facing the community?, the Commissioners stated in their summary of the report.

Within the report itself, they added that little real effort has been made to bridge the racial divide.

?Bermuda, whether Independent or not, will have to ensure that the historical legacy of racism and its effects are addressed,? the BIC warned.

As was its mandate, the BIC did not make a recommendation for or against Independence. Though the report does have a specific section outlining benefits of Independence, it does not have a section specifically targeting any drawbacks. Myths and misconceptions are targeted, however.

Asked whether his Government was considering options such as holding a referendum on the question first and then a General Election, Mr. Scott told that Government is keeping an open mind on the process.

?I honestly mean that,? he added. ?This is Bermuda and we are looking for a Bermudian solution.?

The Government is now going into ?listening mode? as Bermudians get the chance to read and digest the report, he said repeatedly.

With the Bermudians for Referendum poised to hand over its massive petition to the Premier on Tuesday, the Independence Commission Report refrained from recommending either path.

The Commissioners did state: ?The Commission has concluded that it is incumbent upon both political parties to share the merits of each method.?

Releasing the report at Cabinet yesterday, Mr. Scott hailed the start of an informed debate ? debate on ?real matters? with Bermudians reacting to and reflecting on facts included in the detailed document, as opposed to the often emotive debates that have been taking place up until this point.

How Government will participate in the debate itself is still being discussed, but Mr. Scott said one avenue might include following the practice of the BIC ? holding public meetings to discuss the report in hand, taking submissions from the public, and so on.

?We would go back to the community and say here?s the report ... and the public can say OK, we react this way and we advise this.?

After a reasonable amount of time, when Bermudians have exhausted discussion on the issues, Government will produce first a Green Discussion Paper and then a White Action Paper on the topic, Mr. Scott said.

After that, Bermudians could finally be facing the big question ? one way or another.

The Premier refused even to divulge whether his own personal convictions on Independence had been strengthened after reading the report, at first dodging the question and then stating: ?You?re not going to get my opinion today... You can assume it (his opinion), but we all know what they say about that.?

Stating his own opinion now would be unfair to those Bermudians who have not yet had a chance to read and digest the report, he said, adding: ?Let Bermuda consider the BIC report.?

He did, however, reveal that the report had affected him.

?I am wiser by far because of this BIC report... I am a different political animal because of this report.?

Independence ?won?t become our life?s work?, he said. However the report has assisted him in ?crystallising? his own views, whatever those views may be.

Offering a brief summary of the report?s highlights, Mr. Scott also revealed he found the projections of cost ?comforting?.

One of the aspects of the report that he found the most important was an extract from a submission to the BIC by the members of Masjid Muhammad: ?A new national thought is absolutely critical if the leaders of the country want to lead Bermuda to Independence in this global age.

?The new national thought must be one that embraces all religions and speaks to the moral fibre of the society,? the members of the Muslim mosque wrote. ?It should be unifying and inclusive of all people.?

The report will help dispel much of the fears of the unknown held by many of those opposed to Independence, Mr. Scott said.

A United Bermuda Party spokesman said the Opposition will be withholding comment on the report until they have had a chance to read and review it properly.

Members of the international business community who were contacted for reaction also declined to comment until having given the report due consideration.

The entire BIC was present at yesterday?s press conference, along with Deputy Premier Ewart Brown, Environment Minister Neletha Butterfield, Telecommunications Minister Michael Scott, constitutional adviser to the BIC Dame Lois Browne-Evans, Government Senators Walter Roban and Neville Tyrrell, and PLP spokesman Scott Simmons.

The BIC Report is available on the Government website at www.gov.bm under the link ?Bermuda Independence Community?.

It will also be available through the Central Policy Unit page at the Government website, through the Cabinet Office?s website.

Hard copies of the Report will be distributed to schools, clubs, churches, and other public places. Information on how to obtain the report can also be obtained from the Department of Communication and Information.

All information from the BIC?s website www.bermudaindependencecommission.bm has been shifted to the Government site, and the BIC?s P.O. Box and phone number are now no longer in service.

All collateral material, historical documents and correspondence relating to the BIC?s work are now available for public review in the Government Archives, Mr. Scott added.

The report itself is a manageable 68 pages, however the accompanying annex brings all the information contained in the total document up to some 600 pages.

The report is ?required reading? of every Bermudian, the Premier said.