Beijing (AsiaNews / Agencies) - In a subdistrict Namling, Shigatse Prefecture, Tibet, a group of 30 people threw stones at ten Chinese security vehicles and were arrested. The civilian protests began in April, when a Chinese company began work on unspecified land in mining, adversely affecting the groundwater and grazing animals.
"The Tibetans in the area are desperate and have appealed to local authorities to stop mining," a source revealed. "They explain that operations are damaging the environmental conditions of the territory."
The extraction of resources, which started in an area traditionally used to herd, prevents grazing animals and has also polluted the groundwater, thereby jeopardizing the drinking water. Repeated protests by locals have been ignored by the civil authorities. Instead, security forces were sent to guard the area and to silence complaints.
"The Tibetans were so desperate that they attacked the vehicle carrying security forces with stones and spitting. Police responded by firing into the air three times and arresting several civilians. Many of them were severely beaten ", says a second source". Of the 30 prisoners, two were moved from the prison in Shigatse and we do not know where they are."
The day after the arrests which took place on May 21, but were reported only yesterday evening, the authorities visited all the houses in the area indicating that the mining would go ahead. The police are still patrolling streets.
On the blog sina.com an officer of the Shigatse Public Security wrote: "More than 50 people were arrested. It is not the first time that similar incidents have happened in this area. Every year there is one, but the government can not show weakness".
