Open Fire Policy

When the Olympic Torch reaches the top of Mt. Everest, it might come at the cost of lives. Soldiers and police in Nepal have been cleared to open fire to stop any protests during China's Olympic torch run to the summit of Mount Everest. Nepal's Home Ministry said the use of deadly force is only authorized as a last resort. The troops will first try to persuade protesters to leave during the torch run and will arrest those who stay. If demonstrators defy all nonviolent means of restraint, troops have the option of using weapons.

Twenty-five soldiers and policemen have established camps on the mountain. Climbers will be banned from the mountain's higher elevations during the torch run.

An American climber has already been detained and sent back to the U.S when police found a Tibetan flag in his expedition pack. All backpacks, camping equipment and personal possessions are subject to check in the coming weeks. May is peak climbing season for expedition teams to summit Everest and the controversy surrounding the torch relay has already discouraged teams from around the world and created a buzz in the trekking community in Nepal.

Given that the Nepali police have used excessive force and brutality during protests around Kathmandu, it is likely that if there is a protest on the mountain, Beijing could experience yet another embarrassing moment leading up to the Olympics. Nepal vehemently supports a “One-China” policy and backs the Chinese government’s aspirations to quell any and all protests against Beijing.

The worldwide torch relay has been the target of demonstrators protesting China's human rights record, including its recent crackdown on Tibet. The climb up Everest is planned for the first few days of May.

Living here and witnessing this all unfold has been quite a life experience. Nepal is going through a political transition at the moment, not to mention a petrol, food and electricity crisis; this just adds to an already dramatic period for the tiny nation. The streets are full of protesters, rouge political groups and vehicles fighting for petrol. I would like to say that it is exciting, but in reality, it is unsettling and unfortunate. Maybe all this international exposure will shed light on the country’s problems and encourage steps towards a solution.

Pictures from Kathmandu Protests

A Tibetan nun prays during a prayer meeting at a Tibetan refugee camp in Kathmandu March 18, 2008. The meeting was held to show solidarity with 11 people who are on a hunger strike to protest the situation in Tibet.


Protesters sit holding a photo of the Dalai Lama at a Tibetan solidarity rally outside the UN office in Kathmandu March 17, 2008.


Blood flows down the face of a Tibetan monk after he was hit by police during a Tibetan solidarity protest outside the UN office in Kathmandu. Police fired tear gas on Monday at about 200 Tibetan exiles, including monks and nuns, who staged a brief protest in front of the United Nations office in Kathmandu. Police used batons to break up the protests and detained dozens of protesters.


Tibetan monks and nuns take part in a prayer at Baudha in the Nepali capital Kathmandu March 18, 2008. The prayers are to show solidarity for the Tibetan people and for those killed during protests in Lhasa. The painting in the background is that of the Potala Palace in Lhasa.


Tibetans take part in a hunger strike in the Tibetan refugee camp at Jawlakhel in Kathmandu March 19, 2008. Tibetans living in Nepal took part in a 24- hour hunger strike organized to show their solidarity with protests in Tibet.


Tibetan protesters hold a candle-lit vigil as part of an anti-China demonstration at the Swayambhunath Temple in Kathmandu

A woman holds a Tibetan flag as she is driven away in a police van after being arrested for taking part in a peaceful Tibetan solidarity protest outside the U.N. headquarters in Kathmandu.

Tibetan Protests

As some of you may have heard, people are taking to the streets in Kathmandu to protest the recent killing and suppression of Tibetan protestors in Lhasa, Tibet. At least ten people were hurt in clashes between the police and protestors at what was initially a peaceful demonstration (candlelit march) in front of the United Nations building in the center of the city. Tibetan protestors were there to submit a memorandum to the UN to put international pressure on China against the violent crackdowns in Lhasa. Police resorted to baton charges and tear gas shelling- they also arrested 48 people including several nuns and monks. Last week another protest turned violent in the prodominately buddhist section of the city.


I was not at either protest, but it has been widely reported that the police used excessive force and even the United Nations Office of the High Commisioner for Human Rights expressed concern over their actions. The pictures coming out in the paper and on the internet are very graphic- I have posted some in another blog. Seeing the Nepali police in action, I am not surprised that they took liberaties with the protestors rights to peaceful assembly. Most of the protestors look to be either women, nuns or monks- are they that scary and overpowering that the police must spray them with tear gas and beat them with batons? It is disconcerting because most internal human rights organizations in Nepal are run by people whose ideological inclination is by and large towards Communist Party Nepal- Unified Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML)- a party which advocates communism and a one-China policy.

This is all so crazy to me because about a week ago I sat at my friend's house and watched a video he made while walking down the streets of Lhasa, Tibet. He was there just three weeks ago and in the video the city looked so peaceful and full of love. Children were smiling and playing around and everyone was with family praying or in devotion. In the next morning's news paper I saw picutres of Lhasa literally burning and the streets filled with smoke and violence. It was unrecognizable from what I saw on the video. In the article the first line was, "as tanks approached the city streets in Lhasa.." Tanks, or any other mechanism of violence or aggression should never be in the same sentence as the Lhasa I saw in those pictures- or the Lhasa I have always imagined in my mind.

The defense of human rights, in princple and practice, has no geographical boundaries. I hope the international community actually takes a stand against what is happening throughout Tibet right now and even here in Kathmandu. It hits home because it is now in my backyard and I can not ignore it or say that it doesn't effect me. I have lots of Tibetan friends and I can see the hurt this has caused them and the negativity is has brought to their cause. Hopefully the violence and volations will end soon, but as China likes to sensor the media and block reporters from accounting truth, I imagine we will never be able to see what is really happening.