By Choekyi Lhamo
DHARAMSHALA, Dec. 14: A Tibetan man named Dhongye from Driru in Nagchu Prefecture in Tibet Autonomous Region is reported to be in “near-death condition”, according to a reliable source quoted by Tibet.net. His critical condition is a result of him suffering from injuries caused by prolonged torture in prison after his arrest in 2018 on charges of “leaking state secrets”.
The businessman was accused of sharing information to Tibetan exiles on the anti-mining protest in Driru County against the Chinese government’s plan to mine the sacred Sebtra Dzagen Mountain, which is also home to endangered animals such as Tsoe (Tibetan antelope), Nah (Blue Sheep) and Gowa (Tibetan gazelle). In April 2018, authorities detained 30 Tibetans, including Dhongye, from the villages of Markor, Wathang and Gochu after news about the detention of the leader of Markor Village, Karma, and news of the mining project was shared to sources in exile.
“This is not the first time environmentalists in Tibet have been arrested and tortured. As we hear about the state of Dhongye la, earlier we had Kunchok Jinpa, he is also from Driru County and recently passed away in February. We can see the similarities; they both had protested against the mining [projects] in their localities,” TPI research fellow Dechen Palmo told Phayul about the parallels of this case and others before him. Award-winning conservationist and philanthropist Karma Samdrup was detained for 15 years after he opposed the mining project.
His siblings, Rinchen Samdrup and Jigme Namgyal, founders of a separate environmental protection group called ‘Voluntary Environmental Protection Association of Kham Anchung Senggenamzong’ were also arrested shortly after Karma’s arrest. “They had only accused the local authority for illegally hunting endangered animals,” Researcher Dechen further pointed out.
The 50-year-old Tibetan was an ardent advocate of environmental protection, and was subjected to a prolonged enforced disappearance. It was only recently discovered that he had been jailed in the Driru county prison and there has been no news of him being sentenced but he remains in jail without any trial. According to the report, Dhongye is suffering from chronic health issues and is critically ill due to torture and ill-treatment in detention.
Dhongye was born in Dhakra village in Shagchu (Ch: Xiaqu) town, Driru County, Nagchu. He had organized several environment events where he would voice his concerns and call for an urgent need to protect Tibet’s environment. He had previously won the “Clean Environment” competition held at Sernye village in 2013- 2014.
