LONDON, April 24 — Campaigners for former Gurkha soldiers seeking to retire in Britain accused the government of treachery today after the publication of guidelines they said would exclude the majority from settlement.
The Home Office said new immigration rules would give around 4,000 former members of the Nepalese unit that has fought for Britain since 1815 the right to settle, along with 6,000 dependents.
But campaigners said restrictions imposed by the government meant fewer than 100 Gurkhas would qualify.“This is nothing less than an act of treachery and betrayal”, said solicitor Martin Howe of the Gurkha Justice Campaign.
David Enright, a solicitor representing the Gurkhas, said “this government ... should hang their head in shame so low that their forehead should touch their boots.”
The rules apply to Gurkhas who left the army before 1997 and who do not share the same rights to settlement enjoyed by colleagues discharged after that date.
The government issued the revised immigration guidelines after a High Court judge ruled last October that existing policy was unlawful.
The government fears as many as 100,000 former Gurkhas and their families might seek to come to Britain if the restrictions were not in place.
Campaigners put the number no higher than 8,000 and said the new guidelines were more restrictive than the ones they replaced.
The new rules allow Gurkhas who retired before 1997 to settle in Britain if they meet one of five criteria, including 20 or more years’ service, a gallantry medal or a long-term medical condition attributable to their service.
Actress Joanna Lumley, whose father served with Gurkha soldiers, said she was “ashamed” by the government.
She said the criteria would at most admit a few Gurkha officers, and would exclude thousands of ordinary soldiers, who were only allowed to serve 15 years.
Immigration Minster Phil Woolas said expectations had been raised too high and that the High Court had never said that all Gurkhas should be able to settle in Britain.
“We have complied with what the judge said and more, and it is simply not true to say that we have betrayed the Gurkhas,” he told BBC television.
He said the government could not give an automatic right to all Gurkhas as that would open Britain's doors to hundreds of thousands of former Commonwealth soldiers.
“I don't think people would want to grant settlement to potentially 100,000 people, let alone the precedent that would set other groups around the world, all of whom would rush to the courts with their claim for settlements.”
He said campaigners had miscalculated how many Gurkhas were eligible for settlement.
“It's a lot more than 100 I can assure you,” he said. “I’ve got 1,200 or so on my desk waiting for these guidelines.”
Gurkhas were first recruited by British colonial rulers in India in the 19th century who saw the Nepalese fighters as a “martial race” and admired their bravery.
They still carry into battle their traditional weapon: an 18-inch long curved knife known as the kukri. – Reuters
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