US embassy cable - 02KATHMANDU1933

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, Tibetan Refugees 
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