Tibetan locals and monks have been protesting the construction of a new dam that would destroy their homes and monasteries.
UPDATE
There have been reports in Tibetan media that hundreds of detainees were released in late March. These reports are based on local sources but have not been separately confirmed by Tibet Watch.
The reports add that at least two community leaders from Dege County remain in detention: Tenzin Sangpo, a senior administrator at Wontoe Monastery, and Tenzin, a village official. We continue to demand that all peaceful protesters are released.
Reports indicate that, as of Friday 23 February, police have arrested hundreds of Tibetans and violently attacked others protesting a dam project along the Drichu River in Kardze, eastern Tibet.
The dam, part of the Chinese Communist Party’s policy to become carbon neutral by 2060, would see several ancient Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and villages entirely destroyed, displacing thousands of Tibetans whose civilisations have flourished alongside the river for many generations.
Videos secretly taken inside Tibet have emerged since last week, showing Tibetans peacefully protesting in front of the government office and monks and villagers pleading in tears by showing their thumbs to the authorities. The videos also show more police arriving to make arrests.
Arrestees, including both local Tibetans and monks, have been asked to bring their own bedding and food to detention facilities, which some sources have taken as a sign that they will not be released soon.
Protests have been ongoing in the area since 14 February, in an attempt to stop the construction of the Gangtuo Hydropower Station. On 15 February, Radio Free Asia reported that at least 300 Tibetans gathered outside Derge County town hall to protest.
As well as threatening to displace thousands of Tibetans, the project will also see further systematic destruction of Tibetan cultural heritage. Wonto Monastery, one of the six to be demolished during construction of the dam, contains ancient murals dating back to the 13th Century. Monks at the monastery would typically preside over large prayer gatherings and other religious activities. However, in preparation for demolition, the site remains silent and desolate.
Tibetan communities have settled along the Drichu River for thousands of years, contributing to the ecological and cultural development of the area. However, they have had no say in the construction of this dam, the displacement of their communities, or the destruction of their monasteries.
Mass protests have become far less common in occupied Tibet due to the wider security and surveillance measures introduced by authorities. Those that have taken place in recent years have been met with police crackdowns.
Over 117 Tibetan protesters were detained for a month in Dza Wonpo, also in Kardze, in 2021, following the death in detention of 19-year-old Tenzin Nyima. The current estimate of 1,000 detainees would make this crackdown nearly ten times larger.
