Tenzin Nyidon
DHARAMSHALA, Dec. 19: A coalition of five NGOs, including the Tibetan Youth Congress, Tibetan Women’s Association, National Democratic Party of Tibet, Gu Chu Sum Movement Association of Tibet, and Students for a Free Tibet India, strongly condemned China’s illegal gold mining in Kashi village, Kham Zachuka, during a photo action at McLeod Ganj’s Main Square in Dharamshala on Friday morning.
The Chinese government launched an illegal gold mining project in Kashi village, Kham Zachuka, Sershul County in Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture on November 5, without the consent of the local Tibetan population. When residents attempted to peacefully stop the project and submitted appeals to the authorities, they were met with intimidation and dismissal, followed by harassment and repression. On November 6, at least 80 Tibetans were arbitrarily arrested, and seven individuals were forcibly disappeared.
“The situation in Kashi village is critical and demands immediate international attention and action. Silence and inaction will only enable further environmental devastation and human rights violations in Tibet,” the five major NGOs stated in a joint statement.
The groups noted that since the 1980s, the Chinese government has carried out extensive extraction of precious minerals, including gold, silver, copper, and zinc, across Amdo, U-Tsang, and Kham. They said that strict state secrecy, surveillance, and repression have kept much of the resulting environmental destruction hidden from the international community. While recent exposure of gold mining activities in Kashi has drawn renewed global attention, the groups warned that many mining operations across Tibet likely remain undisclosed and unknown to both the Tibetan exile community and the wider international community.
“What is clear,” the statement added, “is that the systematic and severe destruction of the Tibetan Plateau’s fragile natural environment is ongoing, threatening not only Tibetans but the ecological balance of the entire region.”
They put forward five demands. They called for an immediate halt to the destruction of the Tibetan Plateau’s environment and its protection. They demanded the unconditional release of all arrested and imprisoned Tibetans. They urged authorities to account for all disappeared individuals and return them safely to their families. They called for an end to mining and mega-development projects on Tibetan land carried out without informed consent, and for the protection of Tibetans’ fundamental rights. They also urged the international community to pay attention to Tibet’s fragile ecosystem and defend the fundamental rights of the Tibetan people.
