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http://www.phayul.com Death of a Tibetan sparks more anti-mining protests in Zogang County
The death of a Tibetan man who stabbed himself before jumping off a building earlier this week in protest against mining has led to protests by Tibetans outside the local government offices in Tongbar in Zogang County. Phakpa Gyaltsen, 32, stabbed himself twice before jumping to his death on Wednesday in Zogang County to protest against a mining project in the region. Local Tibetans visited Gyaltsen’s home to offer condolences and prayers. A Tibetan man named Rinzin went onto the roof of the house and tried to stab himself before being stopped and taken to a Chamdo hospital for treatment. Local Tibetans from Gewa village sat on protest outside Tongbar local government offices demanding an immediate halt to the project to build a gold mine, a Tibetan living in Europe told RFA. “The Tibetan protest against the mining project is still going on,” the source who did not want to be named said. The Chinese had started mining operations at a site near Madok Tso called Ache Jema two months ago by claiming that they were building a dam. Local Tibetans, however, knew about the actual plans of mining in the area and decided to thwart the plan by taking turns to guard the area. Some of the Tibetans guarding the site were arrested but later released. The Chinese authorities tried to lure Tibetans to comply by offering each family 10000 Yuan but the Tibetans refused the offer saying mining would negatively affect them. Tibetans have long argued that China’s grand projects in Tibet are planned and implemented without consultation, consent, and knowledge of the local Tibetans. Protests against mining by Tibetans in various regions of Tibet were reported in the past. The Dharamshala based Central Tibetan Administration maintains that Beijing, “under the guise of economic and social development, encourages the migration of Chinese population to Tibet, marginalising the Tibetans in economic, educational, political and social spheres.”
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