C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 001933

SIPDIS

DEPT PASS CHENGDU FOR INFO

LONDON FOR POL/REIDEL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/03/2012
TAGS: CH NP PGOV CASC ASEC
SUBJECT: REFUGEES CONFIRM DETAILS OF SHOOTING INCIDENT AT
NEPAL-CHINESE BORDER

REF: A. KATHMANDU 1877


B. KATHMANDU 1902

Classified By: Ambassador Malinowski for reasons 1.5 (b)(d)

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) PolOff met with UNHCR Protection Officer regarding a
group of Tibetans involved in the incident near Nangpa-La in
which two American climbers were fired upon by unknown
individuals. Neither American was injured in the encounter
(refs). Information related by the refugees is consistent
with reports received from the American climbers and via
e-mail from a journalist in touch with a separate group of
climbers on the Chinese side of the border. Taken together,
the reports appear to confirm that several members of a
Chinese security force entered Nepal in pursuit of Tibetan
refugees. End summary.

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CLIMBERS REPORT ALTERCATION NEAR CHO OYU;
REFUGEES TELL SAME STORY
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2. (SBU) On October 2, ConOff received e-mail from Brot
Coburn, a climber, author and journalist with extensive
experience in Nepal. Coburn's e-mail related September 19
events on the Chinese side of Cho Oyu, a mountain situated on
Nepal's border with the Tibet Autonomous Region near the
almost 17,000-foot Nangpa-La pass. According to Coburn, two
climbers ascending Cho Oyu on the north side "encountered PLA
officers apparently shaking down 25-30 Tibetan refugees."
After a 30-year old woman was shot and killed, the refugees
disarmed the PLA soldiers and nearly stoned them to death.
They then "took off for Nepal over the Nangpa-La."


3. (C) In response to PolOff inquiries, UNHCR expedited
interviews of Tibetan refugees newly arrived at the Tibetan
Resettlement Center (TRC) from the Solukhumbu region. In an
October 4 meeting with PolOff, Roland Weil, UNHCR Protection
Officer (protect), related statements collected by his staff
that directly correspond to reports from the climbers.


4. (C) Weil stated that according the the newly arrived

refugees, their group of 28 was on its way to Nepal but
stopped just short of the border when one woman became ill.
As they waited for her to recover, they were approached by
four members of the Chinese military who told them they were
not allowed to cross the border and began hitting the woman
who was ill. When one soldier left, presumably for
reinforcements, the group of refugees attacked the three
remaining soldiers, took two of their weapons and, leaving
their belongings and the ill refugee behind, fled for the
Nepali border. The refugees state that when they left, the
Chinese military personnel were alive but badly beaten.


5. (C) The refugees further stated that the group split up
when a sixteen-year-old girl became fatigued. She and two
men took one of the captured guns and continued toward Namche
Bazar at a slower pace than the main group. Not long after,
the trio became aware of four Chinese soldiers descending
from the pass behind them, wearing civilian attire over their
military uniforms. The three refugees hid in the rocks and
waited for the four soldiers to pass, but were later spotted
by a fifth soldier, travelling alone. The three refugees
exchanged gunfire with the lone soldier until running out of
ammunition, at which time they dropped the weapon and fled.
They stated that as they continued their descent, they saw
two foreign climbers on the same trail, and later saw the
packs of the two foreign climbers lying on the ground. The
three refugees stated that they never encountered again the
four soldiers that they had let pass. Members of the main
group reported that they buried their captured weapon and
reached Namche Bazar without further incident.


6. (C) Weil stated that his staff advised the refugees not to
spread the story, and that UNHCR would expedite the transfer
of the group of refugees to India in order to avoid
entangling them in a lengthy investigation by the GON. He
indicated that twenty-four of the refugees are currently in
the TRC and stated that of the remaining four, one was left
behind in China, two did not have bus fare and so are walking
to Kathmandu, and one was unaccounted for. PolOff advised
Weil that Morton and Lamoureaux, the AmCit climbers involved
in the shooting incident, had found a lone refugee claiming
to have been part of the group, and that the refugee had
later died on the trail.

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INFORMATION CONSISTENT WITH EARLIER REPORTS
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7. (SBU) In their September 30 meeting with EmbOffs (ref B),
AmCit climbers Morton and Lamoureaux related details of their
encounter with unidentified individuals that correspond in
large measure to the reports by the refugees and the climbers
at Cho Oyu. According to Morton and Lamoureaux, the armed
men they encountered were wearing military uniforms under
civilian clothes, and one stated that he was a member of the
Chinese military. The two AmCits reported that they dropped
their packs when running from the shooting, a detail
mentioned by the refugees at the TRC, and that they had
encountered a refugee claiming to have been part of a group
of around 30 people. They said that they Chief of Police in
Namche Bazar later informed them that a group of approxiately
30 Tibetans had crossed Nangpa-La on September 19.

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COMMENT
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8. (C) The reports by climbers and statements taken from
Tibetan refugees appear to indicate that a highly unusual
series of events may have led Chinese military personnel to
enter Nepal and fire on American citizens. Less clear are
reasons for the military personnel to fire on Morton and
Lamoureaux. Post can only speculate that the soldiers had
expected their movement would go unnoticed in the extremely
isolated area around Nangpa-La, and were startled by
potential witnesses. Post does not believe that the
circumstances of the incident will affect any other American
citizens. Ambassador Malinowski has raised the issue with the
Foreign Secretary in an October 3 meeting, and RSO addressed
the topic with the Inspector General of Police on October 1.



MALINOWSKI