The Hague, 16 October 2006 - UNPO has issued an appeal following the unlawful killings by Chinese soldiers of Tibetans peacefully crossing into the Himalayas on 30 September 2006.

Between 75 to 80 Tibetans, including children, were escaping from Tibet when whilst crossing the Nangpa La Pass, on the Tibet/Nepal border they faced continuous shooting by Chinese soldiers. According to eye-witness accounts, between two to eight Tibetans were shot dead. One of the victims was a 17-year old Tibetan nun, Kelsang Namtso from Karze region in eastern Tibet (in present-day Sichuan Province of China).

The shooting against the Tibetans was first reported via satellite by the website MountEverest.net when anonymous witness wrote on 2 October: “Early morning of September 30th, I walked over towards the Nangpa La pass. I saw a line of Tibetans heading towards the start of the pass - a common sight, as the trade routes are open this time of year…Then, without warning, shots rang out. Over, and over and over. Then the line of people started to run uphill – they were at 19,000ft. Apparently the Chinese army was tipped off about their attempted escape, and had showed up with guns.”

After 43 Tibetans from the group reached the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu on 9 October, a Tibetan monk described the situation they faced: “We started walking through the Nangpa La Pass. Then the soldiers arrived. They started shooting and we ran; there were 15 children from 8 to 10; only one escaped arrest. I just ran to save my life by praying to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. I think the soldiers fired for 15 minutes. […] I don’t remember how many people were shot. First 36 escaped, and the rest came later.”

A report on an earlier incident on 4 December 2003 by Canada-Tibet Committee (CTC) said: “Last year, there were separate eyewitness reports by Western mountain climbers of Chinese border police firing upon Tibetan refugees as well as pursuing refugees across Nangpa la into Nepal territory.[..]In mid October of this year, a group of 34 Tibetan refugees were fired upon by Chinese border security while attempting to cross into Nepal over Nangpa La.”

UNPO remains deeply concerned at the current and ongoing situation for the Tibetan people fleeing from Tibet to Nepal, and UNPO General Secretary Marino Busdachin has appealed to United Nations and Netherlands authorities to:

- Issue a public statement calling upon the Chinese authorities to provide the European Union with an official clarification on the shooting on Tibetans, including the list of those killed;

- Urge the Chinese authorities to immediately release the children who were arrested by their soldiers; and

- To urge the Chinese authorities to refrain from the practice soldiers shooting upon civilians in the Himalayas.