DHARAMSHALA, January 25: The Chinese authorities in a quake hit region of eastern Tibet have evicted Tibetan occupants of government issued houses, built by the government following the devastating earthquake in 2010, reported the Radio Free Asia.
Tibetan occupants of the government issued houses in Kyegudo, Qinghai, were asked to pay the additional costs of construction, failing which they were forced to leave.
Armed police and other security forces went from door to door to demand payment from the occupants of the 80 square feet houses issued to families rendered homeless by the 2010 earthquake. A Tibetan source told the RFA that the occupants rued the small size of their houses and demanded larger houses.
“The Tibetans were told that all land belongs to the state, and that they should therefore reimburse the costs”, a Tibetan source told RFA.
“But many families had lost loved ones and all their belongings and are in no position to pay the money back,” he said.
The same source told RFA that the Tibetans refusing to pay or resisting were taken away.
Businesses and shops built by the government on land owned by the Tibetans themselves are also asked to pay or vacate, according to the source.
“The authorities quickly sell the properties taken from those who cannot pay to other local businessmen who are willing to buy,” he added.
21 Tibetans were detained in April 2013 following a conflict between local Tibetans and Chinese troops over forced land eviction in Kyegudo. The Tibetans were protesting the authorities over demolition of their rebuilt homes and tents.
