Surrey Heath Liberal Democrats - working for you, for a better future

Local Lib Dems Support Gurkha Campaign

Cllr Bryan Ward, Major (retd) Tikendra Dal Dewan, Cllr Duncan Clark, Cllr Alan Whittart and members of the British Gurkha Welfare Society.

On Friday 9th February, Cllr Duncan Clark, Cllr Bryan Ward and Cllr Alan Whittart met with Major (retd) Tikendra Dal Dewan, Chairman of the British Gurkha Welfare Society.

Based in Farnborough, the Society represents the interests of Gurkha ex servicemen across the UK - and draws its membership from hundreds of former British Gurkha soldiers of all ranks, including British Officers, Senior Police Officers and Government employees as Associate Members.

The Society is currently campaigning to achieve equal treatment for Gurkha ex-servicemen so that they may enjoy the same rights as Commonwealth soldiers of the British Army. The key demand is that after four years satisfactory service, Gurkha servicemen should be granted Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK, and that rights of residence should be automatically extended to the immediate families of ex-servicemen to ensure that their children can benefit from continuous education in the UK at a reasonable cost to their parents. As is reflected in statute - the Army Act 1955 expressly stipulates that Gurkhas are members of the UK Home Forces. Section 8(4)(a) of the Immigration Act 1971 applies to Gurkhas as it does to all other non-UK citizens in the Armed Forces, exempting them all from UK immigration control whilst they are members of the forces.

The Society also attempts to meet the welfare needs of its members and works in partnership with the local community.

Parliamentary Spokesperson for Surrey Heath Liberal Democrats, Cllr Duncan Clark said "We were very keen to visit the head quarters of the British Gurkha Welfare Society and to find out more about the work they do in our local community and nationally. We also wanted to show our support for their campaign to be treated fairly by our Government. It is scandalous that the Government has so far failed to properly honour the right for retired Gurkhas to become citizens of the UK on retirement. The retired Gurkhas won a partial victory in 2004 when the Government accepted that those who retired from the army after 1997 could become citizens. However, since then the Government has put numerous 'unannounced' obstacles in their way. It is also shameful that the Government continues to pay lower pensions to retired Gurkhas than other servicemen."

Cllr Bryan Ward said "The Gurkhas are held in the highest esteem and in great affection, both in this area as well as generally in Britain. It is an outrage they are being treated this way. If any group of people qualify for citizenship it is surely the Gurkhas and their families."

Cllr Alan Whittart agreed "The Liberal Democrats are strongly backing the Gurkhas position that they should, if they wish, at the end of their service be allowed to stay, as citizens, in this country. The campaign has been growing for years, and the Liberal Democrats have consistently supported their claim for citizenship. A new online petition to support the Gurkha's cause has been launched at the new E-petitions service at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/gurkha/ which delivers the petition directly to Downing Street. Any supporter of the Gurkha's cause is asked to sign the petition."

FACTS:

The Gurkha Brigade has a long and distinguished history of service in the British Army. In the two World Wars the Gurkha Brigade suffered 43,000 casualties, and to date it has won 26 Victoria Crosses - 13 by Gurkhas and 13 by British Officers. However, the pensions granted to retired Gurkha soldiers is grossly different to that provided for non-Gurkhas:

• A Gurkha Warrant Officer Class 2's monthly pension after 22 years in the British Army is £155.
• A Non-Gurkha Warrant Officer Class 2's monthly pension after 22 years in the British Army is £949.

Gurkhas are enlisted as Nepalese citizens, they remain Nepalese citizens throughout their service and they are discharged in Nepal at the end of their service. Many people, including ex-Gurkhas, feel that this is a poor reward for at least 15 years service in the British Army. They believe that it is only fair that at the conclusion of their service, it should be the right of a Gurkha to stay as a citizen, if they choose, in the UK. The numbers involved are small - only 230 Gurkha's were enlisted to the British Army in 2003 for instance.

You can find out more about the British Gurkha Welfare Society at http://www.bgws.info/