Tibetans in Nubsur township neighboring Larung Gar forced to sell their land for peanuts

By Lobsang Tenchoe

DHARAMSALA, August 17: Tibetans living in the neighboring town of Larung Gar are being forcefully evicted from their homes by Chinese officials to accommodate their commercial projects.

As China continues to forcefully reduce residences of monks and nuns of Larung Gar Buddhist Academy to rubbles, the atrocities have extended to Tibetans leaving in Nubsur (half-mile from Larung Gar) where they were forced to sell their land for peanuts.

“A large area of land in Nubsur township, located about 20 miles from the Serthar county seat in the Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, has now been seized from Tibetan residents in exchange for the payment of “token compensation,” RFA reported Aug 16, citing a local source.

“The Tibetans were not willing to sell their land, but were forced to part with it and were then evicted from the area,” the report quoted an anonymous source as saying.

According to the report, the authorities are planning to turn Nubsur into a tourist complex and Tibetans don’t feature in their plan. Its being highly speculated that all the hotels and restaurants will be given to the Han Chinese business community.

“The poorer families insisted on staying on their land in tents but they have now been forced to leave and their tents have been removed. Some of the evicted families have opened small tea shops in the town with the small payment they got for their land,” the report concluded.