Jane Macartney in Beijing
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China has closed Mount Everest to climbers amid fears that activists could disrupt the Olympic torch ascent of the world’s highest peak.
The announcement that Chinese authorities had halted access to its side of the mountain that straddles the border between Tibet and Nepal came amid reports of a third day of protests by Tibetan monks around Lhasa, the capital of Tibet.
In a letter to expedition companies, the China Tibet Mountaineering Association said: “Concern over climbing activities, crowded climbing routes and increasing environmental pressures will cause potential safety problems in Qomalangma \ areas.” It added: “We are not able to accept your expedition, so please postpone your climbing.”
The decision will be a huge disappointment to mountaineers already preparing for the season and will hit the incomes of the bearers, guides and sherpas.
Carrying the Olympic torch to the 29,035ft (8,840m) summit has been hailed by the Games host city, Beijing, as one of the grandest feats of the event. Running the relay through one of China’s most restive regions, where many Tibetans chafe under Beijing’s rule, also risks politicising the Games.
The order coincides with the annual climbing season in April, May and the first weeks of June. A mountaineering official said that a record number of climbers attempted to reach the summit from the Tibetan side last year.
Officials have been rattled about the torch relay since an incident last April when four American pro-Tibet activists made their way to Everest base camp on the Tibetan side and unfurled a banner reading “One World, One Dream, Free Tibet 2008”. The group was swiftly deported.
The leadership is likely to be very anxious about stability in the Himalayan region as the Olympics approach, after a series of demonstrations by monks on a scale that has not been seen in nearly 20 years.
Monks at Ganden monastery, a hilltop eyrie 30 miles (50km) from Lhasa, staged a protest yesterday and armed paramilitary police were sent in to restore order, Tibetan sources said.
The unrest has now spread to the third of Tibet’s “Three Great Monasteries”. Witnesses described soldiers firing teargas on Tuesday to disperse more than 600 monks as they tried to march out of the Sera monastery on the edge of Lhasa. The monks were forced to a halt at the gates after police called in the military.
The monks shouted “Release our people”, demanding the return of 11 of their number detained when they staged an anti-Chinese protest in front of the Jokhang Temple, the holiest site in Tibetan Buddhism, in the heart of the city on Monday. That protest coincided with demonstrations by about 500 monks from the sprawling Drepung monastery outside Lhasa.
The pro-independence demonstrations in support for the exiled Dalai Lama are the largest since the anti-Chinese riots in March 1989, when Beijing imposed martial law.
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Chris, Pensacola, Florida
Sorry I can't get you. Anyway China is not a superpower. Only USA is. Further the world do not need a superpower to stage the Olympics which is a sporting event and nothing to do with Politics. Korea and Australia were not superpowers when they held the games.
2008 started promisingly. The west knew China places great importance on the coming Games. They used human rights activists to incite trouble, then came film director Steven Spielberg's resgination from the Olympics involvement and lately the Tibetan rebellion. The last incident was the most damaging and very shocking. Tibet was peaceful for so long until now. China needs to crackdown and extend harsh punishment to the leaders. There is no point now to meet the Dalai Lama. He has proven to be a tool of the US. He met with US leaders, H.E.Angela Merkel of Germany and had visited Australia prior to the trouble..How can anyone not believe the West had a hand in all these incidences.
Lim, Johor Bahru, Malaysia
Panama was invaded by Spain and later on it was part of Colombia for many years, later on, USA came to our country taking land as theirs. Panama supports the liberation of Tibet. The example, Michael from Kunshan, China, about London is totally absurd because London and Tibet are two separate topics. Tibet was invaded by China and it deserve to be free again. China is murdering Tibet culture, monks and people. China is not respecting the right of Tibetan people of free speech. If they want to make a protest they have the right to protest. Why China respond with violence to the protests in Tibet? The reason is very simple, China knows this people protesting are saying the truth and they do not have another way, difference than violence, to stop the protests. United States was part of Britain and now they are free. Tibet was free and China invaded it. TIBET MUST BE FREE NOW!
Ricardo, Panama, Panama
The obvious question to ask is why all these events are happening now: the Steven Spielsburg (sorry for spelling your name wrong, Steve) episode about Keynia a few weeks ago and the Tibaten riots now, and what's next? - the poelpe with extreme views against China are feeling upset to see the potential success of the Beijing Olympics and they will play every trick in the book to cause as many troubles to China as they can , but I don't see there is a slightest chance for them to succeed.
China as a great nation deserves to have her right to be successful and prosperous. This is good thing not only to the Chinese people, but also to the rest of the world. China will succeed in many fronts in the coming years, not just the Beijing Olympics.
I hope the majority of the Tibaten people will not to be used by the people with extreme views.
Ken China, Plymouth, UK
Tibet is a eternal part of P.R.C . no one can make it seprated .
if I ask LONDON should claim independence , what would you say ?
michael, Kunshan, China
Most of the chinese did not understand the true.
Frank, Thamel, Nepal
Forced destruction of homes around the Olympic site; the roundup and killing of tens of thousands of stray Beijing animals; coercive requirements that athletes not make political statements; and now this, in Tibet.
At what point does anyone say "enough is enough?"
The Chinese view the Olympics as their superpower debut on the world stage. They have much of which they can be proud: I'm not anti-Chinese. But the Olympic situation is becoming more and more intolerable.
Chris, Pensacola, Florida
The chinese will never break the spirit of Tibet, its time they relented from their stubborn hard-line materialistically driven agenda and hand back rightful autonomy of Tibet to its safe keepers, the Tibetans. It's sacred ground which China's recent and current officials have little understanding of, but perhaps they suspect it since they have never been able to stiffle all the resistence over the past half of a century, to the extreme policies bordering on genocide, that have been used in an attempt to silence the people of Tibet. But it is better for us all if Tibet returns to the hands of those who are sensitive to spiritual matters. Tibet belongs to the Tibetans and will do so till the end of time!
Sam, London, England
Zheng Hong; the Scot's are welcome to their independence - but only if they promise to keep their deep fried Mars Bars and haggis north of the border...one swift constitutional move that would immediately raise the average level of culture in the remaining UK!
Stephen, china, china
Internation new media is actually not covering what is happening inside Tibet right now. There are peaceful demonstration throughout Tibet. Tibetans are being arrested in large numbers. It shows that all is not well in Tibet. It clearly shows that Tibetans do not want to be ruled by China.
Tenor, Rajpur, India
International news media are actually not covering what is happening inside Tibet right now. There are peaceful demonstration going on throughout Tibet. Tibetans are being arrested in large numbers. It shows that all is not well in Tibet and that Tibetans do not want to be ruled by China.
Tenor, Rajpur, India
This issue should be given more publicity. None of the Olympic committees or any government bodies will touch it, they all say they have enough problems with the Chinese already.
The Chinese are effectively removing western observers from the entire area around the north side of Everest and Cho Oyu. By coincidence, this just happens to be beside the Nangpa-la pass where Chinese border guards shot dead a Tibetan nun in 2006.
None of this is in the spirit of the Olympics. It is just more government by denial from the Chinese, trying to hide the unrest in Tibet - they think that they can hide what is going on from the outside world, the same way that they hide it from their
own people.
Everest is the tip of the iceberg. If they are allowed to get away with its closure they will believe they can do the same elsewhere.
Andy, Oslo, Norway
Always hope scotland can be independent
ZhenHong, Coventry, UK
Doesn't look much like the north face to me. If so, it's awfully like the Nepal side.
Dunne Rudin, Chiang Mai, Thailand