Nangpa La shooting incident

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Some of the captured survivors with Chinese border guards at advance base camp Cho Oyu Copyright Pavle Kozjek

On September 30, 2006 75 Tibetan refugees, among them many young children, and their 2 guides were trying to enter Nepal via the Himalayan Nangpa La pass (5.700m). Chinese Border Security soldiers opened fire on the group and killed Kelsang Namtso, a 17 year old nun, just before the pass. Kunsang Namgyal, a 23 year old man, was hit in the leg twice, then taken away by the Chinese borderpolice and is believed to have died later. The Chinese claimed that their soldiers fired in self defence. Only 41 survivors reached the Tibetan Refugee Transit Center in Kathmandu, Nepal. Two weeks later they arrived at their destination in Dharmasala, India.

Nangpa La, a pass and rather common traders route between Tibet and the Khumbu region of Nepal, is visible from nearby Cho Oyu and its BC (basecamp) and ABC (advanced basecamp), used by mountaineering expeditions. Of the many dozens of foreign mountaineers who were present that morning on Cho Oyu, at least 2 tried to contact the outside world as soon as they could. In spite of an atmosphere of "intimidation", as some of them later described the situation in their BC. Thus the first, alarming newsreport could make it through ExplorersWeb (MountEverest.net) to the outside world. Some of the foreign climbers eventually released photographs and films of the incident, and several of them gave eye witness statements either in private or in public. Images include the Chinese soldiers escorting those survivors who didn't manage to cross into Nepal, in particular the children, through advanced base camp at Cho Oyu. Video footage includes PAP-personnel sharpshooting civilians who were at a great distance and moving away from them. Several of the mountaineers are of the opinion that more than 2 refugees were killed in the incident, with some eye witnesses speaking of seven. Such a number has not yet been confirmed by the Chinese authorities. One climber officially stated that at least one member of Chinese security personnel present, filmed individual mountaineers who were at advance base camp at around the time of the incident.

Following the arrival in India of the survivors of the shootings of September 30, the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) held a press conference at the Press Club of India (PCI), New Delhi, on 23 October 2006. Reportedly the following media attended: Reuters, AFP, AP, Sydney Morning Herald, CNN-IBN, Infocell, Deutsche Welle, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Societe Radio-Canada, Swedish Radio, Press Trust of India, Pio TV, CBS News, Radio Free Asia, Voice of Tibet, Phayul and other media representatives. At the press conference one of the refugees said his reason for escaping from Tibet was to see, and receive blessings from, the Dalai Lama.

It was confirmed, on October 23rd 2006, by Chinese authorities that another person - Kelsang Nortso, a 25-year-old Buddhist nun - was killed immediately during the September 30 shooting. Earlier China had stated one of those captured on Nangpa La died in hospital later from "a lack of oxygen". International law requires that the use of firearms by border patrols takes place only as a last resort, and when life is at risk. In accordance with eye witness statements, editors nor politicians in many countries could find any such situation confirmed by the video footage, on the contrary. The incident received an unprecedented global media attention where the issues of "the Chinese occupation of Tibet" and reported ongoing human rights violations in Tibet are concerned. It also receives serious attention from a growing number of governments worldwide. In its publication dated October 30, 2006 the British "The Guardian" emphasises that "one-party" China has "no free press, no independent judicial system and no electoral accountability".

Photo link: People's Armed Police gather around the body of the young nun on October 1, the day after she was shot. A Tibetan in plain clothes is pictured center. Several of the police were wearing white balaclavas (ski masks) that masked their identity – image courtesy SaveTibet.org

EDIT November 3: Great shame someone felt the need to REMOVE the video-link to "YouTube". It was especially requested by several exiled Tibetans to make the video available through YouTube as well, seeing how they experienced (technical) problems using the ProTV.ro original. They couldn't watch it. Several of them said so in comments on the ProTV.ro websites, beneath any of the five related webpages there. It may even have been ProTV itself who made the video available for viewing on YouTube. So now that this Wi(c)ki user demonstrated his aversion over YouTube, I kindly invite him to restore the original video-link and put it back in the list with "External Links".

Timeline

• September 30 Shooting occurs at 10.30 am local time
• September 30 A doctor who belongs to a climbing expedition on Cho Oyu calls a newspaper in his homecountry to tell of what he witnessed
• October 2 First reports of shooting appear on MountEverest.net ; source is a western expedition guide
• October 4 Major international newsagencies start publishing
• October 9 Survivors reach Nepali capital Kathmandu and are granted refugee status by the UNHCR centre in the city
• October 10 Romanian mountaineers Alex Bagan and Sergiu Matei give first eyewitness account of shooting to MountEverest.net
• October 10 British police officer Steve Lawes is interviewed by the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu
• October 11 Cho Oyu mountaineering expeditions have returned to Nepal and the British "The Independent" reports Chinese diplomats in the Nepalese capital are tracking down and trying to silence Western climbers and Sherpas who witnessed the killing of Tibetan refugees on Nangpa La the week before; as a result, several of the foreign climbers leave the country a.s.a.p.
• October 11 Slovenian climber Pavle Kozjek contacts MountEverest.net with first pictures of the incident
• October 12 US Ambassador to China, Clark T. Randt, personally lodges a formal protest on behalf of the US Government against China's treatment of the refugees, during his visit to the Foreign Ministry in Beijing
• October 12 The humanitarian mountaineer who first reported the shooting by Chinese Border Security Soldiers visits the Tibetan Refugee Transit Center in Kathmandu; he meets with some of those who escaped the shooting and talks with them
• October 12 The official Chinese news agency, Xinhua, reports that soldiers were "forced to defend themselves" when people trying to cross the border attacked the soldiers (by throwing stones at them)
• October 13 MountEverest.net releases first video of the incident: "There is no excuse, China: Nangpa La VIDEO shows border guards sharpshoot refugees"
• October 14 Sergiu Matei is interviewed by Romanian TV channel ProTV and footage of incident is shown
• October 16 UNPO, the organisation for UNrepresented Nations and Peoples, issues its first appeal following "the extrajudicial killings by Chinese soldiers"
• October 17 MountEverest.net begins search for further witnesses to the shooting
• October 17 EverestNews.com says a cloud hangs over climbing and calls for opinions from mountaineers: "what should be done?"
• October 18 International Campaign for Tibet receives new photos of the shooting from a British climber
• October 19 The Tibetan Parliament-in-exile urges UNHRC High Commissioner to take note of Nangpa-La pass shooting
• October 21 The survivors who reached Kathmandu move onto Dharmsala in India, the home of the Tibetan government in exile and the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, the Dalai Lama
• October 23 Chinese authorities confirm a second person - Kelsang Nortso, a 25-year-old Buddhist nun - was killed immediately during the original incident
• October 24 Three survivors - Thupten Tsering, (a 23 years old Tibetan monk), Dolma Palkyi (a 16 years old girl) and Lobsang Choeden (26) - hold a press conference in New Delhi
• October 25 ITSN Olympics campaign working group launches an email protest, targeting IOC President Jacques Rogge and Chinese President Hu Jintao
• October 26 Human Rights Watch calls for an independent investigation into the shooting
• October 26 Radio Free Asia reports China detained 3 mountainguides and over 50 Tibetan refugees in the aftermath of the Nangpa La shooting incident, with fear reigning in Lhasa
• October 26 EU Parliament: Joint Motion For A Resolution On Tibet; Voting 66 For, 0 Abstentions, 0 Against
• October By the end of October (political) protests, protest demonstrations, protest gatherings and/or e-mail campaigns to condemn the Nangpa La Killings, and prayers for the victims, have taken place in (several) cities in Nepal, India, the United States of America, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, The Netherlands, Belgium, Czechia, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, Italy, France, Germany (the list not yet being complete)
• October 31 The Epoch Times comes with a long interview with another eye witness: a surgeon from Denmark

External links

• Cho Oyu ABC swarmed by Chinese Army - Tibetans shot at Nangpa La? MountEverest.net 2 Oct. 2006
• Tibetans Survive Border Guards, Reach Nepal Capital IPS News Agency 9 Oct. 2006
• Nangpa La Shooting – an eye witness account Phayul 10 Oct. 2006
• Romanian Nangpa La report: "Tibetans were hunted like rats" MountEverest.net 10 Oct. 2006
• China tries to gag climbers who saw Tibet killings The Independent 11 Oct. 2006
• Photos: First photos of the incident MountEverest.net 11 Oct. 2006
• China says border guards killed a fleeing refugee in self-defense Intl. Herald Tribune 12 Oct. 2006
• Video: Video of the incident at MountEverest.net 13 Oct. 2006
• Video: ProTV interview with Sergiu Matei
• Nangpa La update: Call for testimonies MountEverest.net 17 Oct. 2006
• Photos: New images of aftermath of Nangpa pass shooting ICT/Save Tibet 17 Oct. 2006
• Nangpa La shooting survivors head for India Phayul 21 Oct. 2006
• Background: Construction of the Nangpa La border post ICT/Save Tibet, Dec. 2003
• Background: "Dangerous Crossing" ICT/Save Tibet, 2003
• Background: China Constructs Road Near Nangpa La to Stem Flow of Tibetan Refugees to Nepal Canada Tibet Committee, 2003
• Background: Refuge across the Himalayas - Tibetan makes new life in Canada The Epoch Times 9 September 2006
• Background Nangpa la Killings: A Matter of Routine? Phayul 23 Oct. 2006
• Nangpa La shootings survivors: "There was no warning of any kind" MountEverest.net 24 Oct. 2006
• Second Tibetan shot at border Phayul 24 Oct. 2006
• Three Detained for Allegedly Helping Tibetans Flee ICT/Save Tibet 25 Oct. 2006
• Human Rights Watch to China: Permit Independent Investigation into Shooting of Tibetan Refugees HRW, 26 Oct. 2006
• European Parliament wants full investigation of Tibetan shootings ICT/Save Tibet 26 Oct. 2006
• China draws a veil across the mountains The Guardian 27 Oct. 2006
• Long, cold march from Tibet Hindustan Times 28 Oct. 2006
• Death on Tibetans' long walk to freedom The Guardian 30 Oct. 2006
• "I Witnessed the Massacre in Tibet" The Epoch Times 31 Oct. 2006