China Detains 170 Tibetans For Opposing Grazing Land Orders

Chinese authorities on May 10 detained 170 Tibetans in a village of Gade County allegedly for opposing the government’s order to confiscate grazing lands in the area, reported a Tibetan news website on Monday citing Tibetan Watch.

“The local police and other authorities in Cheudru Village pushed to investigate local Tibetans’ grassland use certificates and confiscate grassland from nomads if their certificates are out of date,” Phayul news quoted, citing a report.

The land which is being used by the nomadic Tibetans to keep their cattle was allotted to them with a permit valid for up to 50 years. Following the Chinese occupation, this land was under government control.

The report said that the Chinese authorities were confiscating the lands from the Tibetan nomads whose grassland-use certificates were outdated. The rural Tibetans claimed that the land given to them for use with a usage permit should belong to the people.

“Local Tibetans have opposed this directive, asserting that grazing lands should belong to the people. As a result of this resistance, over 170 Tibetans from Gade County have been summoned, detained and questioned at one of the county’s police stations,” Phayul news reported citing the report.

Last year, the authorities of Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture confiscated the land from nomadic Tibetans and asked them to submit their grassland-use certificate citing that the land belongs only to the Chinese government.

Gade County is located in Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in eastern Tibet. After their orders, other countries Golog, namely Machen County, Maduo County, Darlek County, Pema County, and Chigdril County also ordered to confiscate grazing lands from nomads if they were unable to submit the documents. (ANI)