A Gurkha soldier serving with the British Army in Afghanistan has been killed in action. Meanwhile four of his comrades in the Royal Gurkha Rifles have been awarded the George Cross, second only to the Victoria Cross in terms of gallantry awards. Once again the Soldiers from a far land are serving our Queen and Country in Combat. Their predecessors have fought and died in many lands on our behalf winning the admiration of those who served along side them and the respect of the enemy they faced.
Yet if they retired from the British Army prior to 1997 they do not have the right of residence in the UK See: Gurkha Justice Campaign Post
As Remembrance Day approaches it is timely to remind people that One hundred thousand Gurkhas fought in the First World War. They served in the battlefields of France in the Loos, Givenchy, Neuve Chapelle and Ypres; in Mesopotamia, Persia, Suez Canal and Palestine against Turkish advance, Gallipoli and Salonika. One detachment served with Lawrence of Arabia.
250,000 Nepalese Gurkhas served in the Second World War and in Britain's (so called) Small Wars to the present day
The Campaign led by Joanna Lumley now has the support of Home Affairs Committee of the House of Commons and a Letter has been sent to the Home Secretary requesting that Right of Settlement be extended to all former Gurkhas
So with cross party support, it shouldn't be difficult to get the relevant legislation drafted and passed in this Parliament!
Yet if they retired from the British Army prior to 1997 they do not have the right of residence in the UK See: Gurkha Justice Campaign Post
As Remembrance Day approaches it is timely to remind people that One hundred thousand Gurkhas fought in the First World War. They served in the battlefields of France in the Loos, Givenchy, Neuve Chapelle and Ypres; in Mesopotamia, Persia, Suez Canal and Palestine against Turkish advance, Gallipoli and Salonika. One detachment served with Lawrence of Arabia.
250,000 Nepalese Gurkhas served in the Second World War and in Britain's (so called) Small Wars to the present day
The Campaign led by Joanna Lumley now has the support of Home Affairs Committee of the House of Commons and a Letter has been sent to the Home Secretary requesting that Right of Settlement be extended to all former Gurkhas
So with cross party support, it shouldn't be difficult to get the relevant legislation drafted and passed in this Parliament!
No comments:
Post a Comment