By Phuntsok Yangchen
DHARAMSHALA, August 9: Over a hundred Tibetans protested against a mining operations in Nangchen County in the traditional province of Kham earlier this week, source said.
On Monday, a group of Chinese officials arrived at Gongshung Ruchen Menmar Norbuma, Droglung Okar and Aghe Kyilung villages in Nangchen to step up coal mining activities in the region.
The local Tibetans allege that the mining operations in the area is a cause for many health hazards to the village inhabitants. Tibetans carried a banner that shows a statement by Chinese President Xi Jinping on environmental protection.
However, when Tibetans reported the issue to the Chinese authorities they were told that their grievances would be conveyed to the higher authorities and they must return home.
The coal mining in the region has been going on since the year 2000 and Tibetans have expressed their opposition in the past, with the authorities temporarily suspending mining and resuming it.
In June, a 32-year-old Phakpa Gyaltsen died on the spot after stabbing himself and jumping from a building in protest against Chinese mining activities in Tongbar region of Zogang County in Chamdo.
The exile Tibetan administration has maintained that the reasons for the self-immolations are self-evident: political repression, economic marginalisation, environmental destruction, and cultural assimilation.
