By Tenzin Tseten
DHARAMSHALA, Nov. 18: Chinese authorities in the Dechen County of Dechen Tibet Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan have arrested 20 Tibetans who carried out protests against mining in the Yangdro village on Thursday.
According to RFA radio services, Tibetans demonstrated their opposition by obstructing the transportation vehicle from entering the mining area. Chinese policemen and armed military personnel cracked down on the protest arresting 20 Tibetans including women.
No further information is available as the situation is tense and there is restriction on communication.
In the past, there have been widespread protests against mining by Chinese mining companies with the Chinese government strongly suppressing the environmental concerns and even imprisoning activists.
In May this year in Minyak County, more than 100 Tibetans protested against a Chinese mining company for mining on sacred land leading to deployment of Chinese forces to squash the protests.
Independent international environmental organizations such as Green Peace have observed that the Tibetan plateau is exploited blatantly, opening up the region to make way for the mining activities which leads to pollution in the waters, destruction of natural environment and displacement of nomadic communities.
