CATEGORY:RACISM ------------------ INSIDE GRENADA Thursday March 08,2007 CARIBBEAN and other Commonwealth soldiers serving in the British army say they are subjected to widespread racial discrimination, and have launched an association to fight it. The founder of the group, Marlon Clancy from Belize, says black soldiers from the Commonwealth are at the bottom of the army pecking order, and never afforded the same respect as their white or British-born black counterparts. He says fellow soldiers dressed as Ku Klux Klansmen once threatened to lynch him but were never disciplined. Other Commonwealth soldiers told the BBC that racial abuse was common, even by senior officers. The British Defence Ministry says it has seen no evidence of endemic racism in the army. There are around 6,000 soldiers from Commonwealth countries in the British army, including Johnson Beharry of Grenada, the latest recipient of the highest award for bravery under fire, the Victoria Cross. Article reprinted from BBCCaribbean.com