The Editor, Sir:

Against the background of the sovereignty of the British Parliament, legal independence from Britain is a myth even in the face of international law which provides that freedom, once given, cannot be recalled and the strength of public opinion which is supposed to be a deterrent to such recall, because constitutions have been repealed and public opinion ignored. In other words, the dominant characteristic of the British Constitution is the sovereignty of Parliament.

In the context of the foregoing, the Constitution of the United States was born out of a unilateral declaration of independence. It follows that if our politicians are really serious about our independence, our political parties, which are unknown to the Constitution, must join in a declaration of independence and take it from there. There can, however, be no objection to both Government and Opposition proceeding with commendable proposed amendments to the Constitution as an indication of our intention to be free of that disrespectful legal link with Britain.

Let our politicians free us instead of continuing to pretend that we were freed 200 years ago or even as late as 1962. Let us be respected as a true nation, not forgetting of course our duty to maintain principled relations with all nations and to be forever grateful to Britain for all its goodness since Emancipation.

I am, etc.,

OWEN S. CROSBIE

oss@cwjamaica.com

3 Hotel Street

Mandeville, Manchester