27 October 2006
International reaction to Nangpa La shootings
As a fuller picture emerges of the incident where Chinese troops opened fire on Tibetans crossing into Nepal on 30 September, there have been demonstrations in many countries across the world, and NGOs, national bodies and international organisations have called for a full investigation into the shooting. The official Chinese explanation, that the troops opened fire in self-defence, has been discredited following eyewitness accounts from the surviving Tibetans, who eventually reached India, and international mountaineers who were able to photograph and film the incident. Refugee groups have said that a 17-year-old nun and a man in his twenties were killed in the shooting. Lodi Gyari, the Washington-based special envoy of the Dalai Lama, met Paula Dobriansky, US Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs and Special Coordinator on Tibet for the US, to brief her about the incident. After the briefing, the US ambassador to Beijing delivered a demarche to Chinese authorities. The European Union issued a statement saying: "This matter has been formally taken up by the EU in the framework of the last session of the EU-China dialogue on HR held in Beijing on 19 October 2006. On this occasion the EU refuted the claim by China that the shooting was in self defence and urged the Chinese Government to undertake a thorough investigation of this incident and insisted that the imprisoned refugees should be treated in compliance with international humanitarian standards". Norway and Denmark have also expressed their concern to Beijing, according to diplomatic sources. The UN has inquired about the shootings, and the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Kathmandu said it was investigating the incident. Questions were also asked in national parliaments, including the Netherlands, Canada and Germany. US-based human rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) said China should allow an independent inquiry and also rescind any orders that allow border troops to fire on unarmed civilians. There is no information available about what has happened to the estimated 33 Tibetans who were detained by Chinese authorities.