Kathmandu, Jan. 13: The retired British Gurkha soldiers who are campaigning in Nepal for equality in pensions and other welfare facilities at par their British counterparts today said that they are now ready to go international.

The Gurkha Army Ex-Soldier Organisation (GAESO) announced that it is going to take the issue to World Human Rights Conference to be held in March in Geneva.

“We will organise a peaceful demonstration in Pokhara prior to our departure for Geneva,” GAESO President Padam Bahadur Gurung said. He also informed that his organisation would hold a consultative meeting with lawyers from United States, United Kingdom, Japan, France, India and Nepal after the Geneva conference to discuss about strategies to take the issue to international courts.

GAESO also expressed its dissatisfaction against the government for “failing to accord due concern to Gurkha issue and channelise diplomatic strengths to solve it”. The organisation also flayed the British government for “cheating the Gurkha soldiers” with announcement of hundred per cent increase in Gurkha pensions.

On December 24 of 1999, the British government announced a new pension arrangement for Gurkha soldiers according to “Indian Government Fifth Pay Commission’s recommendations”. Under the new arrangements, the pension and gratuities rates will range from Rs. 7,043.55 per month for rank below Corporal and Rs. 23,612.80 for a Major. The revised pension package also makes one-rank-one-pension arrangements as against the four different rates earlier that paid least to the Gurkha soldiers retiring before 1969.

Earlier in 1999 the British government had formed a ministerial working group under the chairmanship of British Arm Force Minister John Spellar to examine and report on Gurkha pensions by end of the year.

“Our campaigning is about status not money,” a statement issued by GAESO said adding, “British government’s latest decision is only an attempt to down play our campaign”.