Kathmandu, January 3:

A team of British solicitors led by David Enright, one of three partners of Howe & Co Solicitors, is coming to Nepal on January 12 to record testimony of ex-Gurkha veterans, who want to apply for the Indefinite Leave to Entry (ILE).

The team is coming here on the invitation of the Gurkha Army Ex-servicemen’s Organisation (GAESO). “A team of half-a-dozen renowned rights solicitors and legal experts led by Enright will arrive in Nepal on January 12,” said GAESO secretary Mahendra Lal Rai. He said the team will be based in Pokhara.

It will verify and record testimony of the ex-Gurkha soldiers, who want to apply for the ILE.

The British government had, on November 24, announced that it will provide British citizenship certificates to ex-Gurkha soldiers and their families.

But entry clearance officers can still decide whether or not to issue the ILE to those who got retirement before July 1, 1997.

Last October, the same team had collected testimony of 305 ex-Gurkha veterans. The testimony was later forwarded to the British embassy in Nepal.

Till date, the embassy has issued only 45 visas.

It has rejected 92 visa applications. “We have filed a lawsuit in Britain to seek the ILE for those whose applications were rejected,” he said.

The team, he said, may stay here until it receives cases to record. “It may be a month or more, we want to finalise as many cases as we can in Nepal. We are also planning to set up a base in Hong Kong to prepare testimony of ex-Gurkhas living there and in Macao,” he told this daily.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair had, in September 30, 2004, announced the ILE for those who retired after July 1, 1997. The British government had, on October 19, revoked the deadline for applying for the ILE for the Gurkha soldiers, who retired before July 1, 1997.

Padam Bahadur Gurung, the GAESO president said, “Our fight is not for the British citizenship, but for equality. We are all prepared to fight for that.”

The Gurkhas have been serving the British Crown for over 196 years.

According to estimates, 50,000 to 60,000 Gurkha soldiers were killed in various battles during that period. “The UK citizenship alone will never compensate for a century of sacrifice,” Gurung opined.