Nepal deports US climber over Tibet flag row

KATHMANDU: Nepal on Monday deported an American climber who fell foul of strict regulations banning pro-Tibet protests on Mount Everest, a tourism official said.

"We sent William Brant Holland back to his country. He was escorted to the airport by tourism police on Monday afternoon and deported," Prem Rai, spokesman for Nepal's ministry of tourism, said. He was also banned from climbing in the country for two years.

Nepal has imposed strict new regulations on its side of the world's highest peak in a bid to forestall pro-Tibet protests when a Chinese expedition carries the Beijing Olympics torch to the world's highest peak by mid-May.

Security forces have been authorised to use guns against any protesters and have severely restricted communications on the 8,848-metre (29,028-feet) high mountain until the official expedition is over.

Everest, which straddles the border between Nepal and Tibet has two approaches, one through Nepal and the other through Chinese-controlled Tibet. All climbing apart from the Olympic torch expedition has been banned on the northern approach.

Nepal has said climbers cannot go higher than Everest's Camp II, situated at 6,500 metres, until May 10, when the Olympic expedition is expected to have finished. Holland was sent back from the world's highest peak last week after security forces found a pro-Tibet banner in his belongings.

He "breached the terms and conditions of the permit we issued him, which states that climbers are not allowed to engage in any kind of pro-Tibet activities," another tourism official said.

"The government decided to withhold permission for him to climb any mountain in Nepal for the next two years," said Rai, the tourism ministry spokesman.