Roof of the world guarded in Nepal

| Last updated less than one minute ago

Submit :

News Photos Just In Debate Topic Latest News Articles Local News Blog Posts Pictures Reviews Recipes

Home > World > Article

Roof of the world guarded in Nepal

Nepal has guarded their side of Mount Everest for the Olympic relay succumbing to pressure from China. It has always supported China on the grounds that Tibet and Taiwan are an integral part of the great nation.

CJ: Neha Negi

Sun, Apr 20, 2008 18:01:05 IST

Views:
1194
Comments:
3

Rate:

4.2 / 5 votes

china olympics tibet protest :

IN AN attempt to reassure China that Nepal has no intentions of upsetting her giant neighbour and that it officially respects Beijing’s ’one China’ policy,a declaration was made on Sunday that Nepal has deployed security forces to guard their side of Mount Everest from pro-Tibet demonstrations during the time China takes the torch to the summit early next month.

"We have deployed 25 army and police personnel on Mount Everest’s camp two, to ensure safe passage when China carries the Olympic torch to the summit," home ministry spokesman Ekmani Nepal told Agence France-Presse(AFP). The move is a result of the immense pressure, that the small country is under from China to make sure that the world’s highest peak is sealed for the relay. The torch relay has been dogged by demonstrations against China’s crackdown on protests in Tibet ahead of August’s games.

The spokesperson added that the security personnel, all trained mountaineers, have already reached camp two, situated at 6,500 metres (21,300 feet) above sea level. “This is the first time any security personnel has been deployed on Mount Everest,” he said.

The torch will be taken to the top of the 8,848meter mountain by a Chinese team between about May 1-10. The Everest straddles the border between Nepal and Chinese-controlled Tibet. The task of the Nepali troops will be to keep other mountaineers from scaling the Nepal side of the mountain, while the Chinese team are on the north side, which is closed off altogether to private expeditions.

It shall be noted here that the main Everest climbing season is in May, when a favourable change in weather conditions creates a small window of opportunity for intrepid climbers. Although, the authorities in Nepal have issued Everest permits to climbers, but,they have imposed up on them a condition that they stay below camp two until the Chinese team has made it to the top and back down again. Video cameras have also been banned from Everest base camp around this time.

Incidentally, some foreign mountaineers have been engaged in pro-Tibet protests inside China and Nepal in recent years, and the Olympic torch relay has served as a powerful magnet for protests over issues like Tibet and Darfur. Only last week, Italian mountaineering legend Reinhold Messner, one of the greatest ever Everest climbers, said the Chinese Everest plan was a "farce" and that ’the torch had no place on the roof of the world’.

Nepal is inhabited by at least 20,000 Tibetans, who began arriving in large numbers after the Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959. Many have gone on to the northern Indian town of Dharamshala where the exiled spiritual leader is based. Around 2,500 Tibetans continue to come across the Himalayas to take shelter in Nepal every year as refugees.

Nepal, however, sandwiched between India and China, supports China on the stand that Tibet and Taiwan are indivisible parts of China. Last month Nepal’s foreign minister, Sahana Pradhan, said her country was wary of upsetting its giant northern neighbour and had to "do everything to help them have a successful Olympics."

The restrictions have angered climbers, who argue the reduced window for ascents could spark a dangerous dash for the summit once the green light is given. Meanwhile, the Olympic torch, currently in Malaysia, endured rocky early stages with fierce pro-Tibetan protests in London and Paris.

Print | Post comment