Bermuda - The wheels of independence grind slowly.

(From Reinsurance)

Despite opinion polls showing that most of Bermuda's population are against independence, the island's government continues to push for breaking ties with Britain.

The most recent polls held on the island found that support for full political autonomy for Bermuda had risen - slightly - to almost 24%, while the majority at 62.5% opposed the idea.

A US think-tank earlier this year publicly charged the government with using a policy of "independence by any means" and accused Premier Alex Scott of recklessly ignoring the wishes of 15 000 or more Bermudians calling for a referendum as the preferred vehicle to decide the question.

The Washington, DC-based Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA) questioned Scott's "personal standards of objectivity and fair play" and accused him of "persistent inability to provide adequate and balanced information" on the issue. The organisation claims to have supported every independence campaign where a majority of the population have called for it, but added that in Bermuda, "incomplete and tainted proceedings" were being seen.

Independence is seen as a racial issue. The polls show most of the people who support independence are black, while the majority of white people support staying with the crown. That said, there are huge numbers of black people in Bermuda who support maintaining the status quo that has given Bermuda one of the highest standards of living in the world.

Tensions