Nepal
06.11.00
Urgent Interventions
Nepal: injuries and killing of Tibetan refugee monks
Case NPL 061100
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Nepal.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned by information received from a reliable source regarding the death of a Tibetan monk, Kunchog Gyatso, reportedly after he was shot by Nepalese police following his escape, as part of a group of 22 refugees, across the border into Nepal. A second Tibetan monk from the same monastery, Labrang in Gansu province, and a Tibetan woman, who were in the same group of 22 refugees, are currently in hospital in Kathmandu after sustaining serious injuries during the same incident. Furthermore, two Tibetans from the same group are now missing.
According to the information received, Kunchog Gyatso, about 20 years old, was shot on Friday 27 October and reportedly bled to death during his journey to Kathmandu Teaching Hospital. The condition of the second Labrang monk, currently in hospital in Kathmandu, is described as "stable". The Tibetan woman who is in the same hospital was shot in the leg and suffered a shattered bone; her condition is said to be serious. Three other Tibetans from the group are less seriously injured and are receiving medical treatment in the Reception Centre for refugees in Kathmandu.
The shooting occurred on the route between Jiri, one of the first Nepalese towns along the border route from Tibet into Nepal via the Solo Khumbu range, and Charikot, about five hours drive east of Kathmandu. The group of 22 Tibetans, who were mainly from Qinghai province, were arrested and held by Nepalese police for two days in the Jiri police station. Tibetans reaching Nepal are routinely handed over by the police to the Nepalese immigration department which, along with the office of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, makes arrangements for their safe passage to India. According to accounts by two of the Tibetans, all the refugees were beaten by police while they were held in Jiri police station, and on the second day of their detention, two young male Tibetans from the group were taken outside and beaten severely by police. Consequently, the rest of the group decided to leave the police station and travel to Kathmandu unassisted.
The police at Jiri attempted to prevent them from leaving, and according to the refugees, fights broke out, with the police throwing stones at the refugees and using lathis (long sticks) to beat some of them as they tried to escape by walking and running from the police station. Two Tibetans were apparently hit on the head with lathis and fell to the ground; other members of the group attempted to help them. According to the refugees' accounts, about 10 police officers pursued them, and the Tibetans were met further down the road by a group of about ten Nepalese police with lathis and guns, and informed that they would be escorted to Kathmandu. They were not taken to Kathmandu, and according to reliable reports the entire group were taken by bus or truck to the Charikot area. Again fearful that they would be taken back to Tibet or beaten by police, the refugees did not enter the police station but ran through the narrow streets of the town in an attempt to escape. They were pursued by police and according to a report from one of the refugees, the police encouraged onlookers to pelt them with stones.
Reportedly, the police started to shoot at the refugees, and three suffered serious bullet wounds. According to reports from two of the refugees who were wounded, the Tibetans only started to retaliate by throwing stones at the police after they had opened fire.
Following the shooting, 12 Tibetans were detained by the police and the others escaped. According to one of the refugees, police continued to beat Kunchog Gyatso and the other 11 Tibetans after the shooting. The injured Tibetans were then taken to Kathmandu Teaching Hospital by the police. One of the Tibetan refugees said: "Kunchog Gyatso was my friend, we had met on the journey out of Tibet. He was shot under the ear - I think the bullet went through his jaw - and police brought him into the car with the rest of us. He had blood in his mouth and his teeth were broken. When they realised he was more seriously injured than the rest of us, they put him in another car. He must have died on the way to hospital, because I didn't see him again."
Five more members of the group who had fled during the shooting reached the reception centre on 2 November and the UNHCR had received confirmation that four more refugees are on their way to Kathmandu. Two of the Tibetan refugees, who were among the group of 22, are still missing. It is not known whether they were also injured during the shooting. One of the three Tibetans currently receiving medical treatment in the Reception Centre is a monk from Golog (Chinese: Guoluo) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai province, another is a layperson from Haidong prefecture in Qinghai, and the third is from a nomad family in Malho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture also in Qinghai province, which incorporates parts of the traditional Tibetan area of Amdo.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Nepal urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of all refugees;
ii. guarantee an immediate investigation into the circumstances of these events, identify those responsible, bring them before a civil competent and impartial tribunal and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions provided by law;
iii. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
Girija Prasad Koirala, Prime Minister, Prime Minister's Office, Singha Durbar, Kathmandu, Nepal. Faxes: + 977 1 227 286 or 428 570
Hon Ram Chandra Poudel, Minister of Home Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs, Singha Durbar, Kathmandu, Nepal. Faxes: + 977 1 241 942
Nayan Bahadur Khatri, Chairperson, National Human Rights Commission, Harihar Bhawan, Pulchowk, Lalitpur, Nepal, Faxes:+ 977 1 525 842
Mr Pradeep Samser Rana, Inspector General of Police, Police Headquarters, GPO Box 407, Naxal, Kathmandu, Nepal. Faxes: +977 1 415 593 or 415 594
Geneva, November 6, 2000
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Nepal.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned by information received from a reliable source regarding the death of a Tibetan monk, Kunchog Gyatso, reportedly after he was shot by Nepalese police following his escape, as part of a group of 22 refugees, across the border into Nepal. A second Tibetan monk from the same monastery, Labrang in Gansu province, and a Tibetan woman, who were in the same group of 22 refugees, are currently in hospital in Kathmandu after sustaining serious injuries during the same incident. Furthermore, two Tibetans from the same group are now missing.
According to the information received, Kunchog Gyatso, about 20 years old, was shot on Friday 27 October and reportedly bled to death during his journey to Kathmandu Teaching Hospital. The condition of the second Labrang monk, currently in hospital in Kathmandu, is described as "stable". The Tibetan woman who is in the same hospital was shot in the leg and suffered a shattered bone; her condition is said to be serious. Three other Tibetans from the group are less seriously injured and are receiving medical treatment in the Reception Centre for refugees in Kathmandu.
The shooting occurred on the route between Jiri, one of the first Nepalese towns along the border route from Tibet into Nepal via the Solo Khumbu range, and Charikot, about five hours drive east of Kathmandu. The group of 22 Tibetans, who were mainly from Qinghai province, were arrested and held by Nepalese police for two days in the Jiri police station. Tibetans reaching Nepal are routinely handed over by the police to the Nepalese immigration department which, along with the office of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, makes arrangements for their safe passage to India. According to accounts by two of the Tibetans, all the refugees were beaten by police while they were held in Jiri police station, and on the second day of their detention, two young male Tibetans from the group were taken outside and beaten severely by police. Consequently, the rest of the group decided to leave the police station and travel to Kathmandu unassisted.
The police at Jiri attempted to prevent them from leaving, and according to the refugees, fights broke out, with the police throwing stones at the refugees and using lathis (long sticks) to beat some of them as they tried to escape by walking and running from the police station. Two Tibetans were apparently hit on the head with lathis and fell to the ground; other members of the group attempted to help them. According to the refugees' accounts, about 10 police officers pursued them, and the Tibetans were met further down the road by a group of about ten Nepalese police with lathis and guns, and informed that they would be escorted to Kathmandu. They were not taken to Kathmandu, and according to reliable reports the entire group were taken by bus or truck to the Charikot area. Again fearful that they would be taken back to Tibet or beaten by police, the refugees did not enter the police station but ran through the narrow streets of the town in an attempt to escape. They were pursued by police and according to a report from one of the refugees, the police encouraged onlookers to pelt them with stones.
Reportedly, the police started to shoot at the refugees, and three suffered serious bullet wounds. According to reports from two of the refugees who were wounded, the Tibetans only started to retaliate by throwing stones at the police after they had opened fire.
Following the shooting, 12 Tibetans were detained by the police and the others escaped. According to one of the refugees, police continued to beat Kunchog Gyatso and the other 11 Tibetans after the shooting. The injured Tibetans were then taken to Kathmandu Teaching Hospital by the police. One of the Tibetan refugees said: "Kunchog Gyatso was my friend, we had met on the journey out of Tibet. He was shot under the ear - I think the bullet went through his jaw - and police brought him into the car with the rest of us. He had blood in his mouth and his teeth were broken. When they realised he was more seriously injured than the rest of us, they put him in another car. He must have died on the way to hospital, because I didn't see him again."
Five more members of the group who had fled during the shooting reached the reception centre on 2 November and the UNHCR had received confirmation that four more refugees are on their way to Kathmandu. Two of the Tibetan refugees, who were among the group of 22, are still missing. It is not known whether they were also injured during the shooting. One of the three Tibetans currently receiving medical treatment in the Reception Centre is a monk from Golog (Chinese: Guoluo) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai province, another is a layperson from Haidong prefecture in Qinghai, and the third is from a nomad family in Malho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture also in Qinghai province, which incorporates parts of the traditional Tibetan area of Amdo.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Nepal urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of all refugees;
ii. guarantee an immediate investigation into the circumstances of these events, identify those responsible, bring them before a civil competent and impartial tribunal and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions provided by law;
iii. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
Girija Prasad Koirala, Prime Minister, Prime Minister's Office, Singha Durbar, Kathmandu, Nepal. Faxes: + 977 1 227 286 or 428 570
Hon Ram Chandra Poudel, Minister of Home Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs, Singha Durbar, Kathmandu, Nepal. Faxes: + 977 1 241 942
Nayan Bahadur Khatri, Chairperson, National Human Rights Commission, Harihar Bhawan, Pulchowk, Lalitpur, Nepal, Faxes:+ 977 1 525 842
Mr Pradeep Samser Rana, Inspector General of Police, Police Headquarters, GPO Box 407, Naxal, Kathmandu, Nepal. Faxes: +977 1 415 593 or 415 594
Geneva, November 6, 2000
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.