Tibetan Nun Shot By Chinese Soldier

Climbers see Tibetans shot 'like rats'



An Australian mountaineer was among dozens of climbers at a Himalayan base camp who watched in horror as Chinese soldiers shot Tibetan refugees "like rats, dogs [and] rabbits", leaving at least one teenage nun lying dead in the snow.

The incident, witnessed by international climbers and Sherpas at a camp on Mount Cho Oyu - about 20 kilometres west of Mount Everest - occurred on September 30 as a group of refugees, including many children, made their way across the 5700-metre-high Nangpa La Pass from Tibet to Nepal and then on to Dharamsala in India - the home of their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

Detailed accounts of the attack are beginning to filter through despite what the British newspaper, The Independent, described as an attempt by Chinese authorities to silence the many Western climbers and Sherpas who witnessed the shooting.

A Tibetan monk who managed to reach Nepal was quoted in the paper as saying: "We started walking early through the Nangpa La Pass. Then the soldiers arrived. They started shooting and we ran; there were 15 children from eight to 10; only one escaped arrest.

"I just ran to save my life by praying to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. I think the soldiers fired for 15 minutes."

"They were shouting, but I did not hear them ... I just heard gunshots passing my ears. I don't remember how many people were shot."

Another said: "When the Chinese started shooting, it was terrifying. We could only hear the gunfire and our friends screaming. We tried to take care of the seven-year-old girl with us."

Steve Lawes, a British police officer and mountaineer who was about 300 metres from the soldiers, told The Independent: "One person fell, got up, but then fell again."

An Australian climber, who did not give his name, told Reuters: "I looked through the telescope. I saw two objects - the first one looked like it was a backpack and the second one was definitely a body."

The International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) said a young Tibetan nun was confirmed dead while there were unconfirmed reports that a young refugee boy was killed.

The organisation said it also had fears for the safety of about 10 Tibetan refugee children who were arrested by the Chinese soldiers after fleeing from the gunshots. Mr. Lawes told The Independent that the children were marched single file through the base camp.

"The children were in single file, about six feet away from me. They didn't see us - they weren't looking around the way kids normally would, they were too frightened. By that time, advance base camp was crawling with soldiers. We were doing our best not to do anything that might spark off more violence."

An Australian mountaineer was among dozens of climbers at a Himalayan base camp who watched in horror as Chinese soldiers shot Tibetan refugees "like rats, dogs [and] rabbits", leaving at least one teenage nun lying dead in the snow.

The incident, witnessed by international climbers and Sherpas at a camp on Mount Cho Oyu - about 20 kilometres west of Mount Everest - occurred on September 30 as a group of refugees, including many children, made their way across the 5700-metre-high Nangpa La Pass from Tibet to Nepal and then on to Dharamsala in India - the home of their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

Detailed accounts of the attack are beginning to filter through despite what the British newspaper, The Independent, described as an attempt by Chinese authorities to silence the many Western climbers and Sherpas who witnessed the shooting.

A Tibetan monk who managed to reach Nepal was quoted in the paper as saying: "We started walking early through the Nangpa La Pass. Then the soldiers arrived. They started shooting and we ran; there were 15 children from eight to 10; only one escaped arrest.

"I just ran to save my life by praying to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. I think the soldiers fired for 15 minutes."

"They were shouting, but I did not hear them ... I just heard gunshots passing my ears. I don't remember how many people were shot."

Another said: "When the Chinese started shooting, it was terrifying. We could only hear the gunfire and our friends screaming. We tried to take care of the seven-year-old girl with us."

Steve Lawes, a British police officer and mountaineer who was about 300 metres from the soldiers, told The Independent: "One person fell, got up, but then fell again."

An Australian climber, who did not give his name, told Reuters: "I looked through the telescope. I saw two objects - the first one looked like it was a backpack and the second one was definitely a body."

The International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) said a young Tibetan nun was confirmed dead while there were unconfirmed reports that a young refugee boy was killed.

The organisation said it also had fears for the safety of about 10 Tibetan refugee children who were arrested by the Chinese soldiers after fleeing from the gunshots.

Mr Lawes told The Independent that the children were marched single file through the base camp.

"The children were in single file, about six feet away from me. They didn't see us - they weren't looking around the way kids normally would, they were too frightened. By that time, advance base camp was crawling with soldiers. We were doing our best not to do anything that might spark off more violence."

[Article by Jano Gibson; www.smh.com.au]

See also:
news.bbc.co.uk
www.mounteverest.net