THE member for York, Hugh Bayley MP, said he was “very pro-Gurkha but they should be treated the same as other Commonwealth citizens fighting in the British Army” (Fighting to the last, The Press, April 30).
This would seem to be a rather ill thought-out comment by our local member. For a start, the Gurkhas hail from Nepal, an impoverished mountain country, frequently in turmoil. They are not members of the Commonwealth.
While the Armed Forces in Britain do have a spattering of Commonwealth citizens among their ranks, in general these troops have something to go back to when they return to their own countries.
The Gurkhas, who proudly make a career out of the British Army, do not.
As the British people rightly point out, these loyal and likeable people have every right, and are indeed most welcome, to remain in this country. To randomly select 1997 as the cut-off point for domicile can be likened to culling a herd of cattle. I can’t think of any Commonwealth citizens being treated in this manner.
This bombastic thinking within Government ranks must reflect back to the colonial days, and the Indian Army and King’s African Rifles. Mr Bayley should remember that he has a number of Gurkhas in his constituency.
J H Roy, Hadrian Avenue, York.
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