Agitating Gurkhas return their medals to British govt
British Gurkha veterans have returned some 50 medals awarded to them by
the British government in recognition of their long service to the 'Crown
and the country' in protest of alleged discrimination against them.
Over 1,000 former Gurkha soldiers and their families joined them at the
Parliament Square in front of the historic British parliament at
Westminster, London, on Wednesday.
When asked what was their main demands, president of Gurkha Army
Ex-Servicemen's Organization (GAESO), Padam Bahadur Gurung, said they
didn't have any demands and that they were fighting for equal rights.
Former British Gurkhas have been waging legal and political battle against
the British government calling for right to live and work in the UK, equal
pension and other benefits vis a vis their British counterparts.
Former Gurkha soldiers receive a monthly pension of about £131- compared
to about £1,000 for their British counterparts.
The Gurkhas are also calling for revision of the British govt's decision
to award automatic right to Gurkha soldiers who retired after 1997.
"This arbitrary cut-off date is not acceptable to us," said Damber Ghale,
MBE, chief coordinator of the Gurkha United Forum-one of the organizers of
Wednesday's demonstrations.
Former Gurkhas, including Ghale, handed their medals over to Nick Clegg,
the Liberal Democrat leader, who called their plight a "national
disgrace".
Third largest party in the British parliament, Liberal Democratic Party
has been launching a campaign to press the British government to fulfill
genuine demands of the British Gurkhas.
During Commons question time, Mr Clegg asked Gordon Brown why Gurkhas who
served in the Army after 1997 were "worthy" of British citizenship, but
those who served before were not.
Holding up one of the medals, Mr Clegg pressed the Prime Minister: "Do you
know what it means for a loyal British soldier to give up a medal that he
won for his long years' of service to this country?"
Prime Minister Brown said the 1997 date was chosen because that was when
the Gurkhas' main base moved to Britain. Their former headquarters in Hong
Kong was handed over to Chinese rule that year.
The Prime Minister said Labour was the first Government to have raised
Gurkha pensions. It was increased last year by 19 percent to its current
level "They have done a tremendous job for our country," Mr Brown said.
Over 43,000 Gurkha soldiers are believed to have laid down their lives
while fighting as part of the British Army during World War I and II.
Gurkha soldiers have been serving the British army for nearly past 200
years and the British government says it has been providing them pension
and other benefits as per the 1947 tripartite treaty among Britain, Nepal
and India.
But Gurkha organisations term the treaty and subsequent treatment them by
the British government as "discriminatory." nepalnews.com Mar 20 08
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