BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (AP) - Barbados' prime minister yesterday urged his compatriots to make the country a republic, a move that would remove Queen Elizabeth II as the head of state. A referendum to change the constitution and make the head of state a Barbadian president will be held early next year in the former British colony, Prime Minister Owen Arthur said. "Why should we ... perpetuate a situation where the highest office in our land, our head of state, is beyond the reach of each and every born Barbadian?" said Arthur, in a national address marking Barbados' 39th anniversary of independence from Britain. "We must move to a new level of maturity as a nation," he said. Barbados, a parliamentary democracy, gained independence from Britain in 1966, but still recognises the queen of England as the official head of state. A governor general with largely ceremonial duties represents the queen on the island. Although many Barbadians are fond of their British ties, pro-republic sentiment on the island of 278,000 has increased in recent years, a trend throughout the English-speaking Caribbean. Reprinted from jamaicaobserver.com