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Too Harsh Precaution for Torch Relay at Mount Everest
By KTM Metro Reporter in Kathmandu
April 28, 2008: Religious Leader Ngawang Tenzin Jangpo has told the BBC that the Government of Nepal has gone too far in the precautions it has taken before the torch arrives at the summit of Mount Everest according to BBC NEWS of April 25, 2008. Ngawang Tenzin Jangpo, the Rinpoche or Reincarnate, of Tengboche Monastery, is the man from whom Nepalese and foreign climbers of mountains in the region traditionally seek a Buddhist blessing.
He told the BBC's Charles Haviland that the Everest region was a "zone of peace" and that he was surprised to see the Government of Nepal sending the security personnel to the region with arms for safeguarding the torch relay on the Tibetan side of the Mount Everest. The Olympic torch is not being taken anywhere near the Nepalese base camp. "So in this country of peace, which has the world's highest peak, the home ministry is talking about guns. I am surprised to hear that. I am so sad." "The home ministry has sent a huge number of army and police with guns and has also given them permission to open fire," he said.
