Opposition MP Trevor Moniz has welcomed the call by British MPs for Bermuda and other colonies to consider extending voting rights to long-term residents.

In a wide-ranging report, released at the weekend, the Foreign Affairs Committee suggested the issue should be discussed by the Overseas Territories Consultative Council at the next meeting in the Autumn.

That stance was labelled as "provocative" by Progressive Labour Party Senator Walton Brown who said long-term residents should not be given the vote until Independence was achieved.

But he added there might be case to give them the vote afterwards.

Mr. Moniz hit back: "That's a standard position but you can't deny people's human rights because you have a political agenda. That's a Walton thing.

"It's a case of 'We're going to punish you for not supporting Independence by refusing to give these people their human rights'. That's pathetic.

"They could just as easily not give them the vote after. What indication is there, at that point, to say there would be any pressure on them to give anybody the vote? I think it would be less likely.

"They could turn around and say, we never promised you that, we just said we would look at it."

Asked if anything would come from the British report, Mr. Moniz said: "It's good to highlight the issue, it brings it in to stark profile how unjustly these people are being treated — like second class citizens. I have always said if you are going to create this in-between stage of some rights for long-term residents then there must be a path to becoming Bermudian."

He said the US, with its green card, Canada, with its landed immigrant status, and the UK all have options to apply for full citizenship after about five years which he thinks should apply in Bermuda.

That option should be there for all, argued Mr. Moniz, not just those who hold Permanent Resident Certificates because they arrived before the 1989 moratorium on granting Bermuda status.

Bermuda has 1,678 Permanent Resident Certificate holders although that number could swell before the cut-off date of 2010. He added: "Why should there be a cut-off in 1989? That was only a temporary stop-gap measure.

"The PLP have this idea of nationalistic, xenophobic approach of pulling up the draw bridge and 'we're not going to have any more people in or give anyone any more rights'.

"But realistically if you want to keep this country the success story it has been, you want to think about granting those rights.

"You have to face reality."

Long term resident Bob Whiting, rang The Royal Gazette to complain about being booted off the electoral register after getting on it in 1976, after arriving from Canada in 1973.

He said the rule allowing British Commonwealth Citizens to vote after three years of residency was amended and only those who had been registered to vote before May, 1976 were allowed to vote but he registered a couple of months later.

Mr. Whiting, 73, said he understood the sentiment that three years was too short a time to be resident before getting the franchise. But after 35 years he doesn't understand why he, and possibly hundreds of other people like him, are still locked out of the democratic process.

He said: "I am terribly upset, I think it is totally illegal. If this was taken to The Hague they would really be hammered."

Mr. Moniz said the issue of citizenship had also been linked to voting rights.

He said Commonwealth citizens who had opted not to start voting soon after arriving because they felt it was inappropriate were later denied Bermuda status because they weren't on the electoral register.