The Gurkha Justice Campaign

The Sage has a modest proposition for his regular Blogistas. The modest proposition is this; that after the redoubtable defender of our civil rights, Shami Chakrabarti the Director of Liberty, the most wonderful woman in Britain is undoubtedly Joanna Lumley who has fronted an unstinting campaign to attain decent treatment for former Gurkha soldiers. Now the Celtic Sage is hardly an admirer of British militarism or imperialism but there is much unfinished business out there from the days of Empire which indicates that “Perfidious” and “Albion” are still two words which go together. Witness the shameful dispossession of the inhabitants of Diego Garcia, the abandonment of their allies against the Japanese the brave Karen people of Burma, their ignoring of the oppression of the Tamils in Sri Lanka since independence and now their shabby racist treatment of ex Gurkha soldiers and their families.

On September 30th 2008 last Gurkha war heroes thought they had won the right to stay in Britain after the Government was ordered to recognise its 'debt of honour' to them. Veterans wept with joy and bellowed the traditional war cry of 'Ayo Gorkhali!' - 'the Gurkhas are coming!' - After the landmark judgment. More than 2,000 former Gurkhas were refused permission to live in the UK because they had retired before July 1, 1997.

Joanna Lumley said then on the steps of the High Court in London: "This day gives our country the chance to right a great wrong and wipe out a national shame that has stained us all." Now in the past week she has articulated her disgust at the Home Office's new rules set out for Gurkhas to live in Britain. The Government says around 4,000 Gurkhas and some 6,000 spouses and their children will benefit from this - Gurkha supporters say only around 100 will be allowed to settle.



The actress, who is a long-standing campaigner for the cause, said she was very surprised by the decision. "The Gurkhas cannot meet these new criteria. It makes me ashamed of our government. We will fight on. We don't stop. This has set us back in its obtuse lack of understanding of any of the problems facing these men or, I think, of the conditions facing soldiers. I think this is inexplicable. I can only think they have no notion of the armed services. They have no direct experience of what it is."

She vowed to continue the campaign, saying: "This is a setback. We simply regroup and start again. We don't give up the battle just because one of the tactics has failed." Martin Howe, of Howe & Co solicitors, acting on behalf of the Gurkhas said: "This is nothing less than an act of treachery. It has scant regard to the High Court judgment of last September. It has scant regard to the wishes of the people up and down the length and breadth of the country.”

One story above all illustrates the shabby treatment of former Gurkha soldiers. An old soldier: 84-year old Tul Bahadur Pun, who earned his VC in Burma on June 23, 1944, after almost all his comrades were wiped out, was originally denied entry to the UK. The 84-year-old's heroic actions won him royal admirers - he was invited to the Queen's Coronation and had tea with the Queen Mother.



Indian-born actress Lumley, 61, told how Mr Pun risked his life in 1944 to rescue her father, Captain James Lumley, from Japanese machine gunners. She told the Daily Mirror: "I've known the name Bahadar Pun since I was four. He was an absolute hero in my house. Father was a Chindit alongside him in Burma and he showed us the picture of Mr Pun receiving his Victoria Cross with pride. I don't know exactly what happened on that battlefield in 1944 because war was so grim back then that few Chindits ever spoke about what happened to them. But what I do know is that it was his bravery that saved so many lives, including my dad's. We owe this man a huge debt. It's disgraceful he could be treated so badly by our government."

The Home Office barrister said that merely (sic) winning a Victoria Cross in battle was not sufficient connection with the UK to allow them to settle there. This attitude was condemned by Mr. Justice Blake as "Irrational, inconsistent, unlawful and lacking in clarity" – when he ruled against the UK Government on a law that barred Gurkha soldiers, who served the UK in the Falklands and the Gulf War, from settling in Britain. The campaign (http://www.gurkhajustice.org.uk ) had indeed referred to the French movie Days of Glory and the Gurkha's used the French example to back their campaign asking for the same pension rights as other British soldiers. ( http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/10/days-of-glory-indignes.html )

The Home Office sparked outrage when it originally declined Tul Bahadur Pun a settlement visa telling him: "You have failed to demonstrate that you have strong ties with the UK." When after extensive protests, including from many MP’s and serving military figures it reversed its decision, The Home Office statement said; "This decision was not taken lightly and reflects the extraordinary nature of this case, in particular Mr Pun's heroic record in service of Britain which saw him awarded the Victoria Cross. It is entirely right that this record should not only be recognised but honoured." They added: "We have also taken into consideration his current medical condition."


Tul Bahadur Pun in 1953, nine years after he won the VC

Joanna Lumley was born in Kashmir and spent her early life in Hong Kong and Malaysia. Her father served for 30 years with the 6th Gurkha Rifles, and was a Chindit in Burma; his admiration and affection for these soldiers of Nepal was shared by all who served with them. Joanna was a model in the sixties and started acting in 1968, on screens large and small, and on the stage. She has been a Bond girl, was nearly bitten by Dracula, saved the world with the New Avengers, turned time back in Sapphire and Steel and raised a glass or two in Absolutely Fabulous. Her documentaries have taken her to Bhutan, Sarawak, Kenya, Indonesia, Norway and a desert island, where she survived as Girl Friday. Married, with one son and two granddaughters, she lives in London.

Joanna Lumley has issued this personal statement after the issue of the new government rules on Gurkha entitlements;

“Gurkhas are fighting for Justice. They want the same terms and conditions as their UK and Commonwealth counterparts. Britain has had no greater friends than the Gurkhas. They have served all across the world in the defence of our Country for nearly 200 years. Over 45,000 died in the two World Wars as part of the British Army. They are still fighting in the British Army today.

You may have seen in the media that the Gurkhas have been fighting in Parliament and the Courts. Step by step, things are getting better - but there is a long way to go. The Government decision of 25th April 2009 on Gurkha settlement rights is yet another huge betrayal of the Gurkhas who have served our country.

Only a tiny fraction of the Gurkhas who retired before 1997 will win settlement rights under the new policy. A Gurkha will have to have served 20 years or more or won one of a handful of medals: the big majority of Gurkhas served for 15 years under standard army policy.

The campaign for full Gurkha Justice will now be taken back into Parliament and the courts. The Government needs to know they will have a huge campaign against them who will commit to righting this wrong.

Please sign up to the campaign below. We will keep in touch with you about how you can help: there is now much that needs to be done.

Join me in the campaign: together, we can finally right this wrong.”

Joanna Lumley

www.gurkhajustice.org.uk

The Gurkhas indeed won a famous victory in their landmark case last October. However, the judge was only able to declare the current policy that excludes pre 1997 Gurkhas from the right to live in the UK as "unlawful".

Only the UK government can put in place the new policy that the British people want – the right of all Gurkhas to settle in the UK irrespective of the date of retirement. What the UK Government has done is come forth with a shabby fudge to pay lip service to the court’s ruling, and brought in new rules that still discriminate against pre 1997 retirees.

I’m sure Joanna Lumley and the Gurkha Justice campaign are right to continue fighting for the UK to meet its moral duty to the Gurkha’s and I’m equally sure that in bringing forth this shabby proposal the government has greatly misjudged public opinion. I’ve seen Joanna campaigning in Parliament Square and she is not doing this as some fashionable luvvie campaign. Rather she deserves our support and admiration as she is acting out a deep sense of integrity and moral commitment that Britain needs to treat those who have served it with respect. Let's all support the Gurkha Justice campaign in overturning this wrong.


Joanna Lumley and Tul Bahadur Pun VC