At least ten young children from the group of Tibetans who came under fire near the Tibetan border with Nepal on September 30 have been taken into Chinese custody, according to new eyewitness accounts from climbers on nearby Mount Cho Oyu.

Tibetan sources say that a young Tibetan boy may also have been killed when the group came under fire. It is not yet known whether other deaths occurred.

Chinese Soldiers Create ‘Tense and Intimidating’ Atmosphere
A British climber and several other witnesses, speaking via telephone from Nepal, described a ‘tense and intimidating’ atmosphere following the shooting as the armed security personnel ‘took over’ the base camp at Mount Cho Oyu. Additional reports from the Nangpa La Pass area indicate a stepping up of border security following the incident, with increased movements of troops towards the Tibetan border town of Tingri in the past 24 hours.

The British climber, police officer Steve Lawes, was among a group of climbers and Sherpas at the base camp who witnessed both the shooting on September 30 and the subsequent capture of the Tibetan children who were among a larger group of more than 70 Tibetans crossing the glaciated Nangpa La Pass en route to Nepal and exile. Mr Lawes said that approximately half an hour after he and others had witnessed the group come under fire, a group of about 10 to 12 children, who seemed to be aged between six and ten years old, were marched into base camp by three Chinese soldiers with ‘AK-47 type’ assault rifles. Mr Lawes said:

“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. They had pretty much taken over, and the atmosphere was very intimidating. We were doing our best not to do anything that might spark off more violence.”

Shootings Not Accidental
Mr Lawes also described the shooting which occurred at around 10.30 am that morning:

“I saw a group of between 20 and 30 people on foot heading towards the Nangpa Pass. Then those of us at advance base camp heard two shots, which may have been warning shots. The group started to cross the glacier and there were more shots. We were probably around 300 yards away from the Chinese who were shooting.”

“This time it definitely wasn’t warning shots: the soldiers were putting their rifles to their shoulders, taking aim, and firing towards the group. One person fell, got up, but then fell again.”

“We had a telescope with us but the soldiers took this. Later they used it to look at the dead body.”

Approximately 20 minutes after the shooting, according to Mr Lawes and fellow climbers, two of the military personnel went to check the body, but it was left lying on the pass for around 36 hours before it was taken away by security personnel.

Several climbers confirmed that after the incident, the base camp was taken over by the Chinese military. An American climber who wanted to remain anonymous because of his company’s operations in China said: “The [soldiers] were very young guys, not very experienced, some of them only about 19 or 20 years old. Most of the climbers tried to keep a distance and the atmosphere was very tense.”

Increasing Dangers For Tibetan Refugees
The Nangpa La Pass is commonly used as an escape route for Tibetans transiting into Nepal and from there to exile in India. Tibetans leaving Tibet along this route have been fired upon before by both Chinese and Nepalese security, on both sides of the border. But this is the first time that a Tibetan refugee has been shot dead in front of such a large number of witnesses from the international mountaineering community - it is currently a peak climbing season and there were several hundred people making an ascent of Mount Cho Oyu at the time. Of these, at least 40 climbers in addition to Sherpas and porters witnessed the incident.

Following the shooting, Chinese officials, including medical and military officers, arrived in the area. Eyewitnesses reported that some of the group of Tibetans who had failed to reach Nepalese territory, including a young boy whose leg was apparently injured by the shooting, were taken into their vehicles and driven back to the Tibetan border towns.

See earlier news item: Two Tibetans Shot Dead in Quest for Freedom