In one of his darkest moments at the height of the Uighurs controversy, Premier Ewart Brown told his critics: "This too shall pass."

Six months on, Dr. Brown believes he's been proved right.

"It has passed," the Premier told The Royal Gazette yesterday when asked about the storm he met from the public and his own party colleagues, as well as his traditional opponents, after he brought four former Guantánamo Bay prisoners to the Island behind almost everybody's back.

Dr. Brown made his "This too shall pass" remark in front of a clamouring international media on Friday, June 12, moments after undergoing a five-hour grilling from MPs in the House of Assembly.

Explaining the personal significance of the phrase, he said yesterday: "I have lost both of my parents and when it happened I thought I would never get over the grief. People said to me: 'This too shall pass.'

"That's how I have learnt. In life, when it looks like there will be no hope, it helps to remember: 'This too shall pass.'"

In the aftermath of the Uighurs' arrival, the Premier faced calls for his resignation from some fellow Progressive Labour Party MPs, and he ended up making a public apology to the people of Bermuda in the House.

Since then he has said he regrets that he carried out the move in secret at the request of the US, but maintained the move reflected Bermuda's need to change and grow.

But as far as the United Bermuda Party is concerned, the matter has not passed.

"Six months on, our concerns are not so much about the Uighurs — we hope they continue to live law-abiding and productive lives here in Bermuda no matter how long they remain here," said UBP Leader Kim Swan in a statement yesterday.

"What has not passed for us is the deliberate abuse of the rules of this land by the Premier and the fact that his party let him get away with it.

"Bermudians who care about their Country should remain concerned that PLP Members of Parliament allowed the Premier, Ewart Brown, to violate Bermuda's Constitution, to disrespect the Cabinet, which is the executive body of the Country, to snub the Governor and the Police Commissioner and to stir international concerns about Bermuda that should never have happened.

"In our view, these are major transgressions of the law, of the spirit of collegiality that is central to the performance of our Government and of the principle of accountability by which Government leaders are responsible to the people.

"Do not forget that at the bottom of all of these transgressions lies the fact that the Premier took the people of this Country for granted.

"The presumptuousness of his actions should remain with the people, particularly his evident belief that there is one set of rules for them and a different set of rules for him.

"The Premier's actions weakened Bermuda in ways that are obvious but also, we believe, in ways that may not come clear for some time.

"So for us in the United Bermuda Party, the controversy has not passed. We have to keep watch because this Premier will always march to the beat of his own drum, whether it disregards the public interest or not."