CHINESE SHOOTING SPREE RESULTS IN ONE DEAD TIBETAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L KATHMANDU 002677

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/10/2016
TAGS: PREF UN CH NP
SUBJECT: CHINESE SHOOTING SPREE RESULTS IN ONE DEAD TIBETAN


Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Nicholas Dean. Reasons 1.4 (b/d).

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


1. (C) UNHCR confirmed to us that, on October 1,
approximately 75 Tibetans trying to cross into Nepal via the
Nangpa La pass (north-east Nepal near Mt. Everest) came under
20 minutes of fire from a Chinese patrol that resulted in one
death and one injury. Forty-three of the Tibetans arrived
safely at the Tibetan Reception Center (TRC) in Kathmandu on
October 10. UNHCR reports that the Government of Nepal (GON)
has been very cooperative and that the Embassy of India in
Nepal has pledged to process the Tibetans for onward travel
to India. UNHCR hopes the group will be able to travel to
India early the week of October 16.

CHINESE PATROL FIRED ON GROUP FOR TWENTY MINUTES
-------------- ---


2. (C) Douglas DiSalvo, Associate Protection Officer at
UNHCR, told Emboff that on October 10 he had interviewed
several of the 43 members of the group of Tibetans that
managed to escape across the border of China into Nepal.
Those interviewed by DiSalvo recounted that on the morning of
October 1, a seven-man Chinese patrol caught up with the tail
end of the group, ordered them to stop, then fired
indiscriminately at the group of 75 refugees for over 20
minutes. A young woman, a 20-25 year old nun, was shot twice
and died almost immediately. Another young man was shot in
the leg and was presumed to have been arrested by the
Chinese. Thirty Tibetans did not make it across the border
and were presumed arrested. DiSalvo mentioned that 10-12 of
the group, young children, were caught immediately. Several
of those interviewed recounted a chaotic and disturbing scene
of people running through the snow with little place to hide
as bullets whizzed by. DiSalvo noted that only two of the
seven Chinese had weapons and stressed that the shooting took
place on the Chinese side of the border. He mentioned that
any decisions to take the issue up with the Chinese would
come from UNHCR headquarters in Geneva, but said he was not
aware of any action at this time. Several members of the
group told the Associate Protection Officer they saw dozens
of foreigners climbing nearby Cho Oyu peak and that the
climbers "may have taken pictures" of the shooting.

LARGE GROUP MAY HAVE BEEN REASON FOR DETECTION
-------------- -


3. (C) DiSalvo said that several of the 43 noted that a group
of 75 was larger than most groups heading for Nepal. Group
members explained they had been traveling at night to avoid
detection for 13 nights. One interviewee recounted that, on
the night of September 30, the group had difficulty following
the path and had needed to shout at each other more than
usual to stick together. More than one of the 43 suspected
that a Chinese patrol had heard them at night and thus had
been able to locate the group the morning of October 1.

GOVERNMENTS OF NEPAL AND INDIA COOPERATIVE
--------------


4. (C) DiSalvo explained to Emboff that 43 of the 75 Tibetans
had safely arrived at the TRC in Kathmandu the morning of
October 10. He noted that GON officials had been cooperative
with allowing the group to travel to Kathmandu. DiSalvo said
that Indian Embassy officials were interested in interviewing
some of the group, but indicated they were willing to process
the refugees in a timely fashion. UNHCR hoped to have the
group of 43 processed and ready to travel by early the week
of October 16.

CHINESE PATROLS INCREASE, BUT SHOOTING OUT OF CHARACTER
-------------- --------------


5. (C) DiSalvo said that his Tibetan contacts reported that
arrests by Chinese patrols on the Nepal border have been on
the rise lately. According to DiSalvo's Tibetan sources, as
many as 900 Tibetans were being processed at the Shigatse
prison for attempting to cross into Nepal (a larger than
usual number). His sources told him that Chinese patrols
normally fire into the air to force Tibetans trying to cross
illegally to stop walking and that such brazen firing was
unexplainable. Members of the group said they knew of no
particular individuals of interest that would have made their
group a specific target of Chinese patrols.

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


6. (C) The seemingly indiscriminate shooting of Tibetans
attempting to cross into Nepal is a potential embarrassment
to China. We will watch closely for interaction between the
Chinese and Nepali governments over this issue. UNHCR
Resident Representative Abraham Abraham sent U.S. and other
international donors a letter on October 10 promising to keep
everyone posted of any further developments regarding the 43
Tibetans that made it to Nepal or the whereabouts of the
approximately 30 that did not. Post will follow up with
UNHCR to ensure that the 43 make it safely to India.
DEAN