Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
02KATHMANDU1902
2002-09-30 13:52:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Kathmandu
Cable title:  

AMCIT CLIMBERS DISCUSS SHOOTING INCIDENT

Tags:  CASC PGOV ASEC NP CH 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 001902 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

LONDON FOR POL/REIDEL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CASC PGOV ASEC NP CH
SUBJECT: AMCIT CLIMBERS DISCUSS SHOOTING INCIDENT

REF: KATHMANDU 1877

--------
SUMMARY
--------

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 001902

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

LONDON FOR POL/REIDEL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CASC PGOV ASEC NP CH
SUBJECT: AMCIT CLIMBERS DISCUSS SHOOTING INCIDENT

REF: KATHMANDU 1877

--------------
SUMMARY
--------------


1. (SBU) On September 20, American climbers David Morton and
Jeff Lamoureaux were fired upon by two men wearing what they
believe were Chinese military uniforms and one of whom stated
that he belonged to the Chinese military (ref). Altitude
readings taken by the climbers and landmarks near their
location on the approach to Nangpa-La (aka Khumbu-La) make it
clear that the Americans were in Nepal. Reftel gives a basic
chronology of the event; additional details below were
related by the climbers in a September 30 meeting with
EmbOffs following the trekkers' return to Kathmandu. Draft
press guidance on the incident, on an if-asked basis, follows
in para 9. End summary.

--------------
POSSIBLY CHINESE MILITARY;
DEFINITELY IN NEPAL
--------------


2. (SBU) Post received a copy of an e-mail on September 24,
describing a September 20 incident in which two unidentified
men fired on two AmCit climbers near Nepal's border with the
Tibet Autonomous Region. Neither American was injured in the
incident (ref). In order to clarify details of the report,
post asked the climbers involved, David Morton and Jeff
Lamoureaux, to meet with Embassy officers on their return to
Kathmandu.


3. (SBU) In a September 30 meeting, the climbers confirmed
to EmbOffs that they had just passed 5100 m (16,725 feet)
altitude on the route north to Nangpa-La when they first
encountered one of the shooters. The climbers had checked
their altimeter and noted that they were at the same altitude
as their base camp farther to the east. That altitude would
place them 600 m (1960 feet) lower than the pass and
therefore still in Nepal. (Note: Nangpa-La is just south of
the border between Nepal and the Tibet Autonomous Region. End
note.) Though the area is extremely remote, with few
landmarks, the climbers were able to pinpoint the location of
the first encounter as south of and below Luang, a collection
of yak-herders' huts approximately 12 km south of the border.
The climbers stated that they had "just rounded the corner,"
meaning that they had just passed the outcropping of the
closest peak that blocks the view of Nangpa-La from below.
They turned around at Luang and headed back south when they

spotted a second man watching them from above. They say they
were shot at during their descent.


4. (SBU) The two AmCits offered further information about
the (purported) identity of the assailants. They say that
the man who initially stopped them showed them his camouflage
uniform with a red stripe/epaulette and yellow star on the
shoulder, and had a red balaclava-type hat with a yellow or
ORANGE border at the bottom. The climbers said that the man
looked "like the Han Chinese you see in Tibet...
light-skinned with short hair," and that he told the
Americans he was a member of the Chinese military. They also
stated that the man carried an automatic weapon with a curved
clip and thin metal stock. They informed him that they were
Americans prior to the shooting, to which he said nothing.


5. (SBU) The climbers told EmbOffs that when they were
returning with police protection to their base camp to
retrieve their climbing gear, they encountered a group of
Tibetan traders near Luang. When asked if they had seen any
Chinese police around the area, the traders replied that they
had just passed two of them about a kilometer up the trail,
near the yak-herders' huts at Luang. (Note: Morton and
Lamoureaux state that the Tibetan traders and their
translator were using the terms "police," "military" and
"border patrol" interchangeably during the exchange. End
note.) According to the American climbers, the traders did
not seem surprised by the possible presence of Chinese forces
inside Nepal.

--------------
REFUGEES ON THE TRAIL
--------------


6. (SBU) On their descent to Namche Bazar, where they hoped
to be able to communicate with Kathmandu, Morton and
Lamoureaux encountered a lone Tibetan refugee suffering from
hypothermia. One of the local guides accompanying the
climbers spoke Tibetan, and translated the refugee's
statements that he had been traveling with a group of 30-40
others but had been left behind because he was moving too
slowly. After his group had moved on, the lone refugee had
heard gunfire and fighting ahead of him on the trail. In
Namche Bazar, the District Chief of Police confirmed to the
climbers that a group of 35 Tibetan refugees had crossed into
Nepal on the morning of the incident.

--------------
ISOLATED INCIDENT SURPRISING TO MOST
--------------


7. (SBU) This is the first incidence of shooting on Nepal's
border with China in two years, and the first we have heard
of involving AmCits. Office of Tibet Representative Wangchuk
Tsering indicated to PolOff that there have been no shootings

SIPDIS
on the Chinese border since October 2000, when one refugee
was killed and two others injured by the Nepal police. The
incident does not bear the typical marks of either banditry
or a Maoist encounter. The two climbers were never asked for
their money, their packs, or any of the expensive climbing
equipment or cameras they had with them. Maoist insurgents
are not typically found at the high altitude where the
incident took place. Mountaineering professionals were
surprised by the story, and could not recall any prior events
of this kind involving trekkers.


8. (SBU) The commander of Royal Nepal Army forces in Namche
Bazar was also stunned by the news according to Morton and
Lamoureaux. The men stated that the Major in charge of the
local forces initially tried to convince them that they must
have crossed the border into China before the incident
occurred, but became "clearly very concerned" when he
realized where the incident had actually taken place.

--------------
SUGGESTED PRESS GUIDANCE
--------------


9. (U) On September 30 PD FSN was contacted by CNN,
requesting further information about the incident. Given the
possibility of media coverage, post has drafted the following
press guidance on an if-asked basis:

Q: (IF ASKED) What can you tell us about the two American
trekkers who were shot at by two (purported) members of the
Chinese military?

A:
- The safety of U.S. citizens is of great concern to us.

- Two private American citizen climbers informed our
Embassy that on September 20 they were shot at by two
unidentified individuals in an extremely remote, mountainous
area about 12 km from Nepal's border with the Tibet
Autonomous Region.

- Our Embassy officers have talked to the two American
citizens involved, who were unharmed in the incident.

- Our Embassy has raised the matter with the Government of
Nepal and asked for its assistance in resolving the matter.

- Our Embassy will continue to gather more information on
this highly unusual incident and pursue its successful
resolution.

--------------
COMMENT
--------------


10. (SBU) We believe the shooting incident is an unfortunate
anomaly. The circumstances of the encounter are unlikely to
affect any other American citizens. Post has raised this
issue with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on two separate
occasions, and will address it again with the Inspector
General of Police in a meeting on October 1. We will
continue to pursue a resolution of the matter with the
concerned authorities.

MALINOWSKI