Tenzin Nyidon
DHARAMSHALA, Oct. 19: In her report to the United Nations General Assembly, UN Special Rapporteur Mary Lawlor voiced deep concerns about the persecution of Tibetan environmental defenders and the hundreds of Tibetans detained in Derge County, Kham, for peacefully opposing the Chinese government’s plans to construct the Kamtok (Gangtuo) hydropower project along the Drichu (Yangtze River).
The report emphasised the harsh reality faced by human rights defenders in Tibet, many of whom have been imprisoned for resisting mining and infrastructure projects that threaten the region’s environmental sustainability, ecosystems, and biodiversity. “At least two human rights defenders were jailed for 10 and 11 years in 2014 for their alleged participation in an environmental protest against mining operations at the site of a local sacred mountain, Naglha Dzamba in Biru County,” the report highlighted.
Dorjee Daktal and Kelsang Choklang were among those arrested for their involvement in a May 2013 protest against mining at Naglha Dzamba. Dorjee Daktal was sentenced to 11 years on charges of leading the protest, lending money ‘wantonly,’ and obstructing the work of local government officials. Kelsang Choklang received a 10-year sentence for ‘illegally gathering a crowd.’ There is currently no information on the whereabouts of these defenders, their health, or whether they have been allowed family visits.
The report also drew attention to a more recent incident in Derge County, Kardze (Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, where over 100 Tibetans peacefully protested the Kamtok hydropower project at a local government office. The project threatens to flood two villages and six monasteries, including one that dates back to the 14th century. “Residents were also concerned by the environmental damage, destruction of ecosystems, and flooding of villages that would likely take place if the hydropower project proceeded,” the report noted. In response, Chinese police arrested the protesters, and as of the report’s publication, two remained in detention.
On February 14, a widely shared video showed Tibetans pleading with local officials to halt the dam’s construction. Reports of hundreds of arrests and injuries among the protesters followed. Although many detainees were reportedly released after international coverage, at least two prominent figures, Tenzin Sangpo (administrator of Wontoe (Ch. Wangdui) Monastery and Tenzin (a village official), remain in custody.
The Kamtok dam, a 1.1-gigawatt hydropower project approved by the National Development and Reform Commission in 2012, is set to submerge the six monasteries of Rabten, Gonsar, Tashi monasteries in Chamdo, Tibet Autonomous Region, and Wontoe, Yena, and Khardo monasteries in Derge, Sichuan.
A group of 13 United Nations human rights experts have voiced concerns in a UN communication to the Chinese government about the construction of the Kamtok hydroelectric dam, warning of “forced displacement and relocation of Tibetans from their ancestral villages” cause “irreversible destruction of important cultural and religious sites,” and have “irreversible or significant environmental impact.”
