Nangpa La shootings
Encyclopedia
Tibetan people
The Tibetan people are an ethnic group that is native to Tibet, which is mostly in the People's Republic of China. They number 5.4 million and are the 10th largest ethnic group in the country. Significant Tibetan minorities also live in India, Nepal, and Bhutan...
pilgrims attempting to leave Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
via the Nangpa La pass
Nangpa La
Nangpa La is a high mountain pass between Nepal and Tibet, a few kilometres west of Cho Oyu and some northwest of Mount Everest in Himalayas.It serves as the main trade route between the Tibetans and Sherpas of Khumbu....
were fired upon by Chinese border guards. Kelsang Namtso, a 17 year old nun, was killed and a number were injured. As many as 32 Tibetans, including children, were taken into custody–many were later released, although suffering torture and hard labor, and some are still unaccounted for. Nangpa La is a traditional trade route between Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
and Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
. The victims were shot from a distance by border guards as they moved slowly through chest-deep snow. The Chinese government initially denied the charges, but Kelsang's murder was graphically filmed by a Romanian photographer, who was nearby as part of a climbing expedition. After Romanian photographer Sergiu Matei smuggled the video out of Tibet, it became headline news around the world, drawing attention to the plight of Tibetans under Chinese rule/occupation.
The shooting incident
On September 30, 2006, 75 Tibetans, among them many children, and their two guides were leaving TibetTibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
to join the Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
in exile (living in Dharamsala
Dharamsala
Dharamshala or Dharamsala is a city in northern India. It was formerly known as Bhagsu; it is the winter seat of government of the state of Himachal Pradesh and the district headquarters of the Kangra district....
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
). Chinese border guards of the People's Armed Police (PAP) opened fire on the group and killed Kelsang Namtso, a 17 year old nun. Kunsang Namgyal, a 23 year old man, was hit in the leg twice, then taken away by the Chinese border police. Although the group was not armed, the Chinese initially claimed that their soldiers fired in self-defense. Forty-one of the 75 refugees, and 2 guides, reached the Tibetan Refugee Transit Center in Kathmandu, Nepal. Two weeks later they arrived at their destination in Dharamsala
Dharamsala
Dharamshala or Dharamsala is a city in northern India. It was formerly known as Bhagsu; it is the winter seat of government of the state of Himachal Pradesh and the district headquarters of the Kangra district....
, India.
Nangpa La Pass is a common traders route between Tibet and the Khumbu
Khumbu
Khumbu is located in northeastern Nepal on the Nepalese side of Mount Everest. It is part of the Solukhumbu District, which in turn is part of the Sagarmatha Zone. Khumbu is one of three subregions of the main Khambu and Sherpa settlement of the Himalaya, the other two being Solu and Pharak...
region of Nepal. It is visible from nearby Cho Oyu
Cho Oyu
Cho Oyu is the sixth highest mountain in the world at above sea level. Cho Oyu lies in the Himalayas and is 20 km west of Mount Everest, at the border between China and Nepal...
and its BC (Base Camp) and ABC (Advanced Base Camp), used by mountaineering expeditions. It is about thirteen km northwest of Mt. Everest. Dozens of foreign mountaineers who were present that morning on Cho Oyu witnessed the ambush. At least two tried to contact the outside world as soon as they could, in spite of an atmosphere of "intimidation" to remain quiet, as some of them later described the situation in their BC. The first news report to the outside world appeared on ExplorersWeb. Some of the foreign climbers eventually released photographs, and most significantly, film of the incident by Romanian Sergiu Matei, a cameraman at Pro TV
Pro TV
Launched in December 1995, Pro TV reaches almost 99% of Romania’s 21.5 million people and has 48% of its broadcast schedule comprising locally-produced programs...
, was smuggled out of the country. Sergiu Matei also helped a Tibetan pilgrim to hide, fed him and gave him clothes for about 10 hours before he successfully crossed the border into Nepal. Several climbers gave eye witness statements either in private or in public. Images include the Chinese soldiers escorting those survivors through ABC at Cho Oyu. Many were children since they were smaller targets and had greater difficulty fleeing through the deep snow. Video footage includes PAP-personnel sharpshooting civilians who were at a great distance and moving away from them. There were rumors of seven more refugees killed execution style, but this later proved false, only one person, Kelsang Namtso, is known to have been killed that morning, although a few others were injured.
Aftermath
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 AsiaRadio Free Asia
Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation that operates a radio station and Internet news service. RFA was founded by an act of the US Congress and is operated by the Broadcasting Board of Governors . The RFA is supported in part by grants from the federal government of the United States...
, Voice of Tibet
Voice of Tibet
Voice of Tibet is an independent radio station based in Norway transmitting shortwave radio programmes in the Tibetan language as well as Mandarin Chinese. The station began broadcasting on 14 May, 1996 and was founded by three Norwegian NGOs: Norwegian Human Rights House, The Norwegian 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.
Missing persons
Chinese authorities have not released information concerning the following 18 people, who were alleged missing. Jamyang Samten, age 14, did eventually leave Tibet. If his story is any indication, first time offenders were likely to be released, but not before suffering torture, deprivation and hard labor. The names were collated and forwarded (via email) by Students For A Free Tibet.- Tenwang, age 7
- Lhakpa Tsering, age 8
- Dhondup Lhamo, age 9
- Dechen Dolma, age 10
- Wangchen, age 11
- Tsedon, age 12
- Sonam Wangdue, age 12
- Ming Shomo, age 13
- Lodoe Nyima, age 15
- Jamyang Samten, age 14 - after capture, Jamyang spent a few weeks in prison while being tortured. He was then moved with many others to a work camp and experienced hard labor for a few months. Since it was his first offense he was then released. Jamyang then immediately tried to escape Tibet again, and succeeded this time. He now resides in India.
- Karma Tsetan, age 16
- Lodoe Namkha, age 16
- Karma, age 19
- Samten, age 19
- Sonam Palzom, age 20
- Dhondup Palden, age 21
- Kusang, age 22
- Lobsang Paljor, age 35
Of the original 75 refugees who attempted to cross the border on that day, September 30, 2006, 17 remain unaccounted for. Given the fact that they would be punished if they spoke out, it is possible that these 17 might be alive but keeping silent. Since 42 refugees arrived safely in Nepal—including Jamyang Samten—and Kelsang Namtso was the one confirmed casualty, the remaining 15 were most likely the children who were detained for a short time and then released.
Portrayal in the arts
A documentary called Tibet: Murder in the Snow, based on this incident, was released in 2008 by 360 Degree Films, an Australian production company, working in collaboration with the BBC.English journalist Jonathan Green's
Jonathan Green (journalist)
Jonathan Green is an English journalist and author, born in Bury St Edmunds, he lives in Massachusetts with his wife.Green has written for the New York Times, Men's Journal, Esquire, GQ, The Financial Times, Men's Health, and The Mail on Sunday, among others...
2010 book is Murder in the High Himalayas, about the Nangpa La shootings. It is based on his earlier article in Men's Journal
Men's Journal
Men's Journal is an American men's lifestyle magazine focused on outdoor recreation and comprising editorials on the outdoors, environmental issues, health and fitness, style and fashion, and "gear". It is owned by Jann Wenner of Wenner Media....
called "Murder at 19,000 Feet" which has been optioned by Vigorous Pictures to made into a film of the same name, for possible release in 2012, directed by Jake Scott
Jake Scott (director)
Jake Scott is a British film director who works primarily in the field of music videos. Most of his works were produced under the Ridley Scott Associates banner or RSA's music video subdivision Black Dog Films...
.
Timeline
- September 30 - Shooting occurs at 10:30 a.m. local time
- October 2 - First reports of shooting appear on MountEverest.net; source is a western expedition guide
- October 4 - Major international news agencies 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 Găvan and Sergiu Matei give first eyewitness account of shooting to MountEverest.net . Initially they made a live broadcast from Cho Oyu's Advanced Base Camp with Romanian radio ProFM and published their dispatch on Găvan's website of the expedition at http://www.chooyu.ro
- 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 KozjekPavle KozjekPavle Kozjek was a Slovenian mountaineering pioneer and a photographer.Kozjek was born in Setnica near Polhov Gradec, SR Slovenia, Yugoslavia. He was a member of the Ljubljana-Matica Mountaineering Club. In 1997, he was the first Slovene climber to ascend Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen...
contacts MountEverest.net with first pictures of the incident - October 12 - U.S. 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 UNHCR High Commissioner to take note of Nangpa-La pass shooting
- October 21 - The survivors who reached Kathmandu move onto Dharamsala 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 mountain guides 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, the Czech Republic, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, Italy, France, Germany (the list not yet being complete)
- October 31 - The Epoch Times publishes a long interview with another eyewitness: a surgeon from Denmark
- November 30 - Human Rights Watch publishes an interview with two survivors of the Nangpa Pass shooting
- November 30 - As the UN Human Rights Council began its 3rd session in Geneva (Switzerland), 16 NGOs in a joint statement questioned the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on the steps taken concerning the 30 September killings of Tibetans on the Nangpa Pass
- December 10 - the 58th International Human Rights Day, with human rights rallies taking place in many countries, including attention for the Nangpa La killings
Sources
ReferencesFurther reading
- Jonathan GreenJonathan Green (journalist)Jonathan Green is an English journalist and author, born in Bury St Edmunds, he lives in Massachusetts with his wife.Green has written for the New York Times, Men's Journal, Esquire, GQ, The Financial Times, Men's Health, and The Mail on Sunday, among others...
. Murder in the High Himalaya. PublicAffairsPublicAffairsPublicAffairs is an imprint of the Perseus Books Group, an American book publishing company located in New York City. From PublicAffairs' web site:...
, 2010. ISBN 978-1-58648-714-0 - a book-length account of the incident. - Jonathan Green. "Murder at 19,000 Feet", Men's JournalMen's JournalMen's Journal is an American men's lifestyle magazine focused on outdoor recreation and comprising editorials on the outdoors, environmental issues, health and fitness, style and fashion, and "gear". It is owned by Jann Wenner of Wenner Media....
, November 2007 - the first major investigative report of the incident.
External links
- 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
- Photos: First photos of the incident MountEverest.net 11 Oct. 2006
- Photos: New images of aftermath of Nangpa pass shooting ICT/Save Tibet 17 Oct. 2006
- Videos (also for download): Incident filmed by Sergiu Matei, ProTV interview with Sergiu Matei
- Video: Exclusive footage of Chinese soldiers shooting at Tibetan pilgrims (You Tube)
- Video Tibet: Murder in the Snow. Top Documentary Films. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
- 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
- China says border guards killed a fleeing refugee in self-defense Intl. Herald Tribune 12 Oct. 2006
- Nangpa La update: Call for testimonies MountEverest.net 17 Oct. 2006
- Nangpa La shooting survivors head for India Phayul 21 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
- European Parliament wants full investigation of Tibetan shootings ICT/Save Tibet 26 Oct. 2006
- "I Witnessed the Massacre in Tibet" The Epoch Times 31 Oct. 2006
- "China: Interview with Two Survivors of the Nangpa Pass Shooting" Human Rights
- "UN Human Rights Chief Questioned on Nangpa Pass Killings" Phayul.com November 30, 2006
- "Blood upon Snow", Tibetan poet Tsering Woeser on Nangpa La killings
- "International Human Rights Day" Phayul.com December 10, 2006
- "Himalaya Tourism Conference: Words flying in the wind" MountEverest.net December 14, 2006