By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

WORLD War II veterans boycotted the annual Remembrance Day event at Christ Church Cathedral on Sunday over a dispute about seating arrangements and their continued frustration with the government’s failure to raise their pension.

Deputy Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis, other Cabinet ministers and members of the opposition party were among the many people in attendance for the special event.

However, notably absent from the front row benches in the church were any of the 20 living veterans registered with the British Legion’s Nassau Branch.

The men, who are between 87 and 95 years old, were reportedly told that as a group they could only bring 12 people.

This prompted them to deliver an ultimatum, saying that the limit on how many people they could bring should be lifted or they would not attend the event hailing their participation in the war and the lives lost.

“Veterans would not have been able to bring some relatives with them and some of them need the aid for seating, two especially who are blind,” said Adina Munroe, a representative of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force who heads the group. “They need assistance for their travel. To tell them they could come but their relatives can’t was something they weren’t prepared to live with.”

The decision to limit the number of relatives the veterans were allowed to bring came during a National Remembrance Day Committee meeting, Ms Munroe said.

She said the feeling of being slighted was exacerbated by the fact that the veterans have had no relief in their years-long battle to get a rise in their pension.

They are paid $11 per month.

In May 2014, veterans of the British Legion met with State Finance Minister Michael Halkitis to discuss a pension increase.

Ms Munroe told The Tribune at the time that Mr Halkitis responded positively to their concerns and said he would consult with his colleagues and respond to them later on.