China must stop evicting Tibetan herders -group

BEIJING, June 10 (Reuters) China must stop the forced eviction of ethnic Tibetan herders to urban areas or farmland, which is destroying a way of life and is open to abuse, a human rights group said today.

China says it resettles the Tibetans -- not just in Tibet but in Sichuan and Qinghai provinces too -- to help protect the environment and boost living standards.

But the resettlement often involved the slaughter of animals belonging to the mostly nomadic herders, relocation to poorly built accommodation and inability to find work due to lack of skills or even knowledge of Chinese,Human Rights Watch said.

Others were evicted to make room for public works projects, like dams and roads, it said in a report entitled ''No one has the liberty to refuse''.

''Tibetans have suffered and continue to suffer civil, cultural, economic and political repression under the rule of the People's Republic of China,'' the report said.

''Land confiscation and resettlement therefore occur under the implicit threat of force derived from earlier decades when repression was explicit,'' it added. ''In addition, there is effectively no legal recourse available to those affected.'' Beijing has controlled the remote Himalayan region since People's Liberation Army troops marched in in 1950.

Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Communist rule, and China has ruled with an iron fist ever since.

New York-based Human Rights Watch said another motive for the relocations could be to further undermine Tibetans' unique cultural identity and bring them into the Chinese mainstream, as it has also done in Muslim Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia.

''Tibet remains a source of anxiety for the Chinese government, which is eager to suppress any impulses toward independence or true autonomy, and to ensure its hold on a key strategic region,'' it added.

The group said it interviewed about 150 Tibetans affected by relocation between July 2004 and December 2006, but did not reveal their names to prevent the authorities going after them.

''Conditions are poor because the land is so small and we have no livestock,'' it quoted one relocated Tibetan as saying. ''My household has become poor compared to the past.'' Another complained that a mine had ruined his land and that compensation paid by the company had not found its way to the herders.

''The miners told them: 'We are paying thousands of yuan to the provincial and prefecture government to mine here, so why should we pay you as well? If you want money, go ask those governments', and there was nothing they could do.'' The group said the government should stop all forced resettlements and put in place an independent mechanism for complaints, ensure proper compensation is paid direct to the herders and provide adequate legal help when needed.

Overseas donors should also make sure their funds are not involved in evictions and relocations, it said.

''Chinese officials claim to be promoting economic development and protecting the environment, but it is hard to see those goals actually being achieved or benefiting Tibetan herders,'' said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch Adams.

''If the Chinese government won't review this policy, its justifications have to be called into question,'' he said in a statement.

REUTERS SG VV0953