By Tenzin Monlam
DHARAMSHALA, June 24: At least eight Tibetans have been injured after Chinese authorities assaulted Tibetans who were protesting the demolition of their shops and houses on the bank of Qinghai Lake on Thursday.
According to RFA sources, at least eight people have been seriously injured in the crackdown by the police in Chabcha County. “Around noon, the head of the county arrived with about 30 police officers, and they beat up eight Tibetans from Karla and Choeje villages in Trelnak Township,” the source said on condition of anonymity.
The source added that most of the victims have sustained serious head and leg injuries.
Earlier, the police had also issued a directive to Tibetans running small businesses near the tourist spot to demolish their setups and leave the area. “But the Tibetans were reluctant to comply, as they had invested so much,” he said.
Subsequently, hundreds of business owners with a banner that reads, ‘We need to eat, We need to survive’ took a procession of the road circling the lake in protest of the authorities’ action.
The Chinese authorities started a campaign to demolish unapproved constructions along the banks of the Lake, demolishing over 600 homes, shops and restaurants earlier this month.
According to the London-based rights group Free Tibet, land grabs, destruction of property and environmental exploitation have become increasingly common sources of dispute between Tibetans and local authorities in the last few years.
It is a common for Tibetan landowners often being compelled to sell their properties to wealthy businessmen who pay bribes to local authorities to force the sales.
