By Sudeshna Sarkar,
Kathmandu, Oct 7 (IANS) A rights group has asked the international community, particularly the United States, to denounce the "flagrant violation" of human rights by Chinese troops, who fired on a group of unarmed Tibetans near the Nepal-Tibet border, killing a Buddhist nun.
A group of over 70 Tibetans, including children as young as 10, were trying to escape from China-controlled Tibet into Nepal via the glaciated Nangpa Pass last week when Chinese border patrol forces, apparently tipped off about the refugees and ordered to stop them at all costs, opened fire on them.
The incident, which occurred on Sep 30, was witnessed by dozens of international climbers who were trying to summit Mount Cho Oyu, the sixth highest peak in the world.
The climbers and their guides saw Chinese military personnel kneel down, take aim and open fire on the fleeing refugees, some of whom were children as young as 10.
The shooting, however, was not reported till this month since the mountaineers preferred not to go public about what they had seen as long as they were on Chinese territory for their own safety.
However, the news broke when a Western climber, who wanted to remain anonymous, wrote to ExplorersWeb, describing the incident. Subsequently, the report was picked up by news agencies and the Indian and Nepali media.
Nepal's state media, however, remained conspicuously silent on the shooting. Though Nepal's new government has pledged commitment to protecting democratic values and human rights, its China policy remains unchanged from the view of the previous regime of King Gyanendra, who actively courted Beijing and was in turn supported by China when he seized power by force last year.
More details about the shooting were provided by the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT), a non-profit organisation that urged the international community to take up the incident with the Chinese government and asked the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to ensure full protection for the Tibetan refugees.
Mary Beth Markey, ICT executive director, said, "International law requires that the use of firearms by border patrols be done only as a last resort and when life is at risk. Reports indicate that the Chinese border patrols' use of force in this case was both unlawful and disproportionate. ICT calls upon the United States and other members of the international community to make official complaints to the Chinese government condemning its flagrant violation of human rights which resulted in the shooting and at least one death."
The ICT said the refugees were apparently from Kham in eastern Tibet, a region known for having put up stiff resistance to the Chinese invasion and occupation of Tibet in the 1950s.
Forty-three lucky survivors were able to escape the gunfire and safely reach Nepal and are now en route to the Tibetan Refugees Reception Centre in Kathmandu that accommodates fleeing refugees.
Quoting a local Tibetan source, the ICT said the group was forced to abandon the bullet-ridden body of the nun on the pass, as they feared that carrying it out of Tibet might lead to their arrest.
The whereabouts of over 30 members of the group is not known and it is feared they have been arrested by the Chinese security forces.
The ICT said Chinese military vehicles, including ambulances, had been seen at a motorable road close to the incident spot the same day.
The Kathmandu Post Friday said 37 people were arrested but there was no official confirmation.
According to reports by the climbers, the toll could go up to seven with Chinese troops reportedly throwing the bodies in a mountain crevasse.
The matter could create an international furore after the climbers leave China-controlled territory since there were dozens of witnesses.
A British mountaineering guide told ICT, "There could have been as many as 60 climbers at the advance base camp who witnessed the incident. They could see Chinese soldiers quite close to the advance base camp kneeling, taking aim and shooting, again and again at the group, who were completely defenceless. We didn't know what the targets were but the climbers could see they were human beings. A couple of hours later, a caravan of yaks came along the pass from Nepal and there was no shooting. Clearly distinctions were made between intended targets. This was a deeply shocking incident for all of us."
The shootings are likely to have been carried out by the People's Armed Police, a paramilitary unit formed from the People's Liberation Army in the early 1980s, which is responsible for internal security, border control and protection of state installations, including prisons.
Beijing has reportedly begun a cover-up operation, beefing up the presence of security forces near the base camp and circulating rumours that the people shot were "smugglers".