The Rebel Faction

Mein Gott

I speak now as a veteran of combat.

This is indeed horrific. Almost all nations have had colonial troops fight for them though none as numerous or gallant as those which served the Crown of Great Britain. I did not know that those who fought for King and Country needed to display strong ties to the British Empire - -I would have thought their deeds and if nothing else their very presence in uniform under the guns of the enemy would have been ties enough, more so than those who shirked duty or did not fight and possessed citizenship by merit only of birth.

I am not a citizen of the United Kingdom but as a soldier and a gentleman, I am appalled. Were there anything I could do, I would.

Hopefully the Crown will intervene and the loyalty of the Royal Family will be shown above the pacifism of Parliament.

I concurr wholeheartedly.

This is yet another example of how messed up the immigration system is.

As had been said on his myspace page, we should be the ones asking him to settle here, lol...

The Home office / dept of immigration really needs to get their act together, this is beyond ridiculous, he is a VC'er after all.

Seriously, if earning a VC doesn't prove your strong ties with the United Kingdom, then wtf does???

Hopefully common sense will prevail in the end.

Ah...

This message I received on facebook from a group to do with this topic might interest people:

The government have capitulated!!

"Immigration Minister Liam Byrne said today: "The circumstances surrounding Tul Bahadur Pun's case are clearly exceptional, and in the light of this the Home Secretary, John Reid, and I have reviewed the case and made the decision to grant Mr Pun a settlement visa immediately.

"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.

"There has always been scope to grant settlement in the UK to ex-Gurkhas who have retired before July 1997, and who do not meet the requirements in the immigration rules. As on this occasion, discretion may be exercised on a case by case basis. We have also taken into consideration his current medical condition."

WELL DONE TO ONE AND ALL!!! :o) :o)

I presume plans are afoot to arrange a proper welcome for Mr Pun, VC, so I will make sure you are kept up to date. Also, June 23rd is Gurkha rememberance - we are hoping to have a parade / protest in London - again, will update.
I'm sure you're all pretty stoked with this news, thank you to all, and in particular, thanks to Kieran who has really worked his arrse off for this. Thanks to the other admins too :o)

PLEEASE do not let this rest though - lets keep up the momentum and ensure fair and equal treatment for all our Gurkhas.

Happy days! :o)