Opposition parties and some government lawmakers called on the British government Wednesday to ease restrictions on the right of Nepalese Gurkha soldiers to settle in the country.
The opposition is urging authorities to overturn a recent decision which loosened, but didn't eliminate, immigration restrictions for the Nepalese veterans of Britain's armed forces.
Several Labour Party lawmakers were expected to defy the government and vote with the opposition following a debate on the issue in the House of Commons later Wednesday. Any vote would not be binding, but a defeat would embarrass Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Labour government.
We should be honoring our veterans, not rejecting them, said Labour legislator Martin Salter.
The government says new rules announced last week will allow about 4,000 more former Gurkhas to live in Britain. But Gurkha advocates say the actual number is much smaller.
The Nepalese soldiers have fought for Britain for almost 200 years, most recently in Iraq and Afghanistan, and have a reputation as fearsome warriors. They enjoy wide public support in Britain.
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said there was a simple moral principle at stake.
If someone is prepared to die for this country, surely they are entitled to live in this country, Clegg said during the prime minister's weekly question-and-answer session in the Commons.
Immigration rules introduced five years ago allowed Gurkhas with at least four years' service to settle in Britain, but the rules didn't apply to veterans who left the army before 1997.
Under the new rules, Gurkha veterans who retired before 1997 _ more than 30,000, according to government estimates _ can settle in Britain if certain conditions are met. Those could include having served 20 years, receiving a military award or having been injured while serving. continues here
The opposition is urging authorities to overturn a recent decision which loosened, but didn't eliminate, immigration restrictions for the Nepalese veterans of Britain's armed forces.
Several Labour Party lawmakers were expected to defy the government and vote with the opposition following a debate on the issue in the House of Commons later Wednesday. Any vote would not be binding, but a defeat would embarrass Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Labour government.
We should be honoring our veterans, not rejecting them, said Labour legislator Martin Salter.
The government says new rules announced last week will allow about 4,000 more former Gurkhas to live in Britain. But Gurkha advocates say the actual number is much smaller.
The Nepalese soldiers have fought for Britain for almost 200 years, most recently in Iraq and Afghanistan, and have a reputation as fearsome warriors. They enjoy wide public support in Britain.
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said there was a simple moral principle at stake.
If someone is prepared to die for this country, surely they are entitled to live in this country, Clegg said during the prime minister's weekly question-and-answer session in the Commons.
Immigration rules introduced five years ago allowed Gurkhas with at least four years' service to settle in Britain, but the rules didn't apply to veterans who left the army before 1997.
Under the new rules, Gurkha veterans who retired before 1997 _ more than 30,000, according to government estimates _ can settle in Britain if certain conditions are met. Those could include having served 20 years, receiving a military award or having been injured while serving. continues here
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