Urgent Action: Chinese forces shoot and kill escaping Tibetans

Shocking eyewitness reports from Tibet have confirmed that Chinese forces opened fire on a group of Tibetans, killing one nun in her mid-twenties and a young child on September 30, 2006. Up to five more Tibetans are feared dead after the soldiers, stationed at the Nangpa Pass between Tibet and Nepal, opened fire on a caravan of more than 70 escaping Tibetans, including children as young as 10 years old. Foreign mountaineers at the nearby Cho Oyu advance base camp witnessed the incident and described how the soldiers took careful aim and fired repeatedly on the defenseless Tibetans, even as they attempted to escape uphill.

Forty-three people from the group are reported to have successfully crossed into Nepal and are on route to the United Nations sponsored Tibetan Refugee Reception Center in Kathmandu, but the fate of the other Tibetans remains unknown. There is concern that many of them may have been injured during the shooting and apprehended by the security forces. 

Please take action now and speak out against this atrocity. Send the urgent fax appeal below to the US State Department calling on the government to demarche* China in the strongest way possible and to press for the immediate release of Tibetans detained during the incident.

*an official diplomatic means to protest or object to actions by a foreign government

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: Escaping Tibetan refugees shot to death by Chinese border forces

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

I am outraged to learn that on September 30, 2006 two Tibetans were shot dead by Chinese forces while attempting to escape through the Nangpa Pass between Tibet and Nepal. As many as five more Tibetans are reported to have been killed when the troops opened fire on a group of over 70 people, including young children. The incident was witnessed by a large number of foreign mountaineers at the nearby Cho Oyu advance base camp.

Although there have been previous reported incidents of Chinese forces shooting at Tibetans escaping to Nepal along this route, this is by far the most serious known incident in recent years. I am particularly concerned for the well-being of those Tibetans in the group who were not able to safely cross into Nepali territory and who may have been injured in the shooting and apprehended by the border patrol. One eyewitness describes seeing armed guards shooting repeatedly at the defenseless Tibetans. Every year between 2000-3000 Tibetans, many of them children, risk their lives crossing over the Himalayan Mountains in order to escape Chinese repression in Tibet.

The international community has a responsibility to condemn this atrocity and call on the Chinese government to immediately halt its persistent violence against the Tibetan people. I respectfully request that the US Government demarche China in the strongest way possible and press for the release of Tibetans detained during the incident.

Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
October 09, 2006


Background Information

Chinese troops launched a brutal attack on a defenseless group of Tibetan refugees as they were preparing to cross into Nepal from Tibet. One nun in her mid-twenties and a small child are confirmed dead and five others are reported to have been killed. The Chinese border patrol opened fire on the group of over 70 Tibetans, including young children, at the Nangpa Pass, a major trading route between Tibet and Nepal that is also frequently used by Tibetans escaping into exile.

An international group of mountain climbers at the nearby Cho Oyu advance base camp witnessed the atrocity and broke the story on the popular trekking website www.mounteverest.net. One unnamed climber described how the Chinese troops, who must have been tipped off about the attempted escape, surrounded the caravan, took careful aim and fired shot after shot at the unarmed group. Although 43 Tibetans are reported to have safely crossed the border into Nepal, the whereabouts of the more than 30 remaining members of the group are unknown. It is feared that they may have been apprehended by the Chinese authorities.

There are frequent reports of Tibetan refugees being shot at on both sides of the Nepal-Tibet border but this is the most serious known attack in recent years. The fact that many Tibetan traders frequently cross the Nangpa Pass to sell goods in a nearby market without attracting the attention of the border patrol suggests that this was a calculated attack. The killings expose the true nature of China’s brutal rule in Tibet and contradict recent Chinese propaganda reports touting China’s benevolent policies towards Tibetans.

By drawing international attention to this atrocity you can help us shame the Chinese authorities into tempering their treatment of the missing Tibetans and future escapees.

Click here to read the international news articles and blog posts covering the incident.