By Nyima Choephell
Bon, an ancient Tibetan religion states that nature is the abbot of all gods. Any harmful acts on nature will in turn curse the actor; with the stronger belief that earth spirits have the power to stop rain. Tibetans embraced this indigenous ideology for centuries and as a consequence of this, the Tibetan environment remained pristine and untouched. If one is born in a Tibetan family, one would most definitely hear numerous statements pertaining to the disastrous effects of committing unaesthetic acts on nature. The most commonly heard statement being, “do not pee in the river, the water deities will curse you”. This type of expression may at first seem illogical but it has become immensely logical, especially in the modern era.
However, when China forcefully assumed control, Tibet’s gods and deities were confronted with a voracious eater who was to consume minerals, water, plants, wildlife, land and people. This greedy eater intruded into the Tibetan plateau with a plethora of sophisticated machineries for digging gold, copper, lithium, molybdenum, chromium, diamond, gas and neglected the implications on local people’s livelihood and environment. So called environmental laws are just a mere word on paper when it comes to mineral exploration to feed China’s growing economy. Environmental and social impact assessment studies required for major projects, be it developmental or commercial are considered inconsequential.
A public petition written by the people of Lhundrup County near Lhasa detailed a clear sign of social and environmental disturbances. Since 2004, as many as nineteen Chinese mining agents arrived in the region with an excess of machinery and began mining, notwithstanding the local Tibetan people’s appeal for a halt to mineral extraction. The impact of mining was grave. The petition clearly outlined the destruction of vast grasslands and polluted drinking water due to effluents discharged from the mine, which severely affected 20 000 herds belonging to nomads and farmers in the county. The reaction from the government was unchanged. The government described the complaint as politically motivated and an attempt to split the nation. No compensations were given despite the fact that the local government manipulated villagers and kept royalty payments for their own expenses.
Initial demonstrations from Tibetans in order to protect sacred mountains that are a home to local deities where people go for worship and offering were organized. With gradual widening of environmental and social impact due to mine operations in the mountains, the protest gathered momentum over time, until a severe crackdown by armed forces. China established a special militarized force commonly known as the People’s Armed Police (PAP) to strike off protest against mining. PAP is not only a defense organization but it is also a team of experts on mineral survey and exploration. Tibetans in concerned areas all across Tibet have vented anger against the mining, but the Chinese government tendency to treat the demonstration as a threat to national security leaves no space for further appeal. It in turn leads to a severe crackdown through beating, false detention, long term imprisonment, a restriction of movement, internet and phone call monitoring. Hence, China fails to see the real concern of Tibetan people as Chinese citizens.
The most severe form of protest is by setting one’s body on fire. In November 2012, a Tibetan man named Tsering Dhondup burned his body on fire in front of a Chinese gold mine in Amchok town, Amdo. Another man, Kunchok, self-immolated at the same spot six days after the previous self-immolation. The Chinese government response was unaffected; “Fight splittism”. However, the objective of these self-immolations were to stop gold mining in the area because of the negative impact on local Tibetan’s livelihood and environment, and were obviously not attempts to split the nation.
China has sought mining as a solution to the Tibet problem by integrating Tibetans into the Chinese economy, though most workers were Chinese migrants brought from mainland. It has not worked. China has made Tibetans more discontent, which in turn has increased demonstrations. Protests highlight the destruction of traditional living, such as the relocation of Tibetan villagers and nomads to make way for mines that destroy grassland for feeding herds, degrading soil fertility and creation of water pollution from mine discharge. This has resulted in the loss of teeth in livestock, crop failure, desertification and in some extreme cases, human babies are stillborn.
China will not stop mining, forcibly seizing land and damming on the Tibet plateau. This is as there is a great need to supply manufacturing factories concentrated in mainland China. Therefore, China continues to degrade civil society and the environment. These factors drive Tibetans to become disenfranchised and increases the occurrence of demonstrations at large.
– Nyima Choephell is a Tibet Corps volunteer at the Environmental and Development Desk, DIIR –
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