Bermuda will have the option to retain the Privy Council if the Island chooses Independence, the Bermuda Independence Commission (BIC) announced on Thursday night.

Commissioners also revealed some of the content of their discussions with bodies such as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in the UK ? however, it appeared that most of the hard facts will have to wait until the BIC?s report is completed, scheduled for the end of June.

In response to grumblings about the proposed locations of all the BIC public meetings ? workmen?s and cricket clubs ? chairman Bishop Vernon Lambe said the BIC is working on holding meetings at several other venues as well. Thursday?s meeting saw a crowd of about 150 people ? both black and white, though very few young people ? at its peak at the Warwick Workmen?s Club.

Of the eight people who asked questions at the meeting, all received some sort of answer ? though many of those answers consisted of, to paraphrase Commissioners: ?We?re working on it?.

In all, 16 audience members made verbal submissions ? some for Independence, some against, and some merely asking questions. Two of those audience members were white, while only one was a woman.

Though members of Government ? including Premier Alex Scott, Telecommunications Minister Michael Scott, backbencher George Scott, Minister without Portfolio Walter Lister, Senator Neville Tyrell, and Director of the Department of Communication and Information Beverle Lottimore ? attended the meeting, they did not make submissions.

No United Bermuda Party MPs or Senators were spotted by The Royal Gazette at the meeting, despite the push from Government to have the issue decided via General Election.

National pride, and the ability to stand on a podium at international sporting events and hear a Bermudian national anthem appeared to be deciding factors for those in favour of Independence, with several calling it a ?natural step? along the path from slavery.

As for worries about cost, one man declared that people do not consider whether they can afford children when they have them ? instead, humans procreate because it is natural, not because they can afford it.

Those who appeared to not be in favour of Independence expressed worries about the finality of the decision, the loss of the EU passport, and in particular the massive gamble that the adults currently running the country will be taking with that step ? a gamble that several noted will affect them little, but will have a massive impact on the lives of their children and grandchildren.

?We have something to lose,? one man said, adding he was unsure that any potential benefits outweigh what could be lost.

?Independence is a tremendous leap in the dark,? added Jane Pocock, another audience member.

?It?s all right to say you?re considering ?all facets? (of Independence),? one man told the Commissioners. ?But like what??

Updating the man on the research the BIC has done so far ? including resurrecting documents on Independence done under previous Governments, and discussions with the US, UN, UK, Ottawa, and Brussels ? Commissioner Rolffe Commissiong explained the BIC is examining the effects of Independence on internal and external affairs, including benefits and opportunities or downsides and challenges that could put the country at a disadvantage.

It was also Mr. Commissiong who ensured that a later question regarding the Privy Council was answered.

Expressing the importance of the Privy Council, the final court of appeal for Commonwealth countries ? in particular its importance to international business ? Mr. Commissiong said: ?The FCO was of the opinion that an Independent Bermuda would not be deprived of access to the Privy Council?, whatever form that Independence takes (constitutional monarchy or republic).

Four republics, including Trinidad and Tobago, currently uses the Privy Council.

As the court is funded by the British taxpayer, Mr. Commissiong added, the opinion of the FCO was that the option is there ?and will exist if we become an independent nation?. A 14-page report was given to the BIC chairman Bishop Vernon Lambe on Thursday morning, Commissioner Gary Phillips said, with a more consolidated report promised from the FCO within a few weeks.

Commissioner Michael Winfield said the commissioners were considering issues such as civil aviation and marine shipping, as well as treaties ? how to negotiate them, what will happen to those already signed by Britain on Bermuda?s behalf. Diplomatic issues such as embassies and how to print a passport are also being researched, as well as the question of constitutional monarchy/republic, and social issues involved.

Once the report is complete, he added, ?subject to Government decision?, the public will be able to read it ? and then the real debate can begin on the facts.

Bishop Lambe said the Commission was also meeting with authorities such as the Bermuda Monetary Authority and the Police to see what would be required for Independence, as well as Bermuda Regiment Commanding Officer Lt. Col. Edward Lamb on internal and external military issues.

What international organisations an Independent Bermuda should consider joining and where the country fits in the global terrorism equation were also being considered, he said.

Mr. Phillips said the BIC was considering questions such as whether the success of Bermuda?s economy can be attributed to its status as a colony, or whether the country?s success was independent of its colonial status.

Commissioner Derrick Burgess briefed the meeting on the BIC?s trip to Ottawa, Canada?s capital. Bermudians would not need visas to travel to Canada were the country to go independent, he said, and Canadians had no problem with Bermudians holding dual Canadian and Bermudian citizenship.

Ottawa also offered to help with training people should the country go Independent, he said.

The BIC also spoke with representatives from Barbados while in Canada. Those representatives described the situation in Barbados during the transition to Independence, when some three percent of the white population feared the change thinking that it was being made to settle old scores.

However, many of those who left the country for fear of such reprisals have since returned as their fears prove unfounded, Mr. Burgess said.

Tourism and international business increased in Barbados after Independence, he said, and while the International Monetary Fund (IMF) requested the country devalue its dollar, that request was fought and the Barbados dollar maintained its value.

More information on what the BIC has found so far can be found at the Commission?s website, www.bermudaindependencecommission.bm.

? Coverage of the BIC meeting will continue in Monday?s paper with a report on the racial and social issues associated with Independence.