Beijing - At least one person was killed in clashes between
farmers and police in south-western China in a land dispute involving
a mine, local sources said Tuesday in telephone interviews.
About a dozen people were hurt Sunday, some of them suffering
life-threatening injuries, in the town of Saixi in Yunnan province's
Malipo county, they said.
The dispute involves the Zijin mining company, which began
excavations on the land of Saixi residents, many of whom belong to
the Miao ethnic minority.
'It is not the first violent confrontation between the farmers and
authorities in the past year and a half,' a bank employee said.
The Chinese Human Rights Defenders group said police opened fire
on about 100 protesters, killing one farmer and injuring five others.
More than 20 others were beaten and scores were detained, it added.
The government of Wenshan prefecture said police initially fired
warning shots but they failed to quell the farmers, who were armed
with knives and clubs. The officers then had to defend themselves and
struck back at the protesters, it said.
Eleven protesters were injured, according to the government
account.
A doctor working in the intensive care unit of the Wenshan
prefecture hospital said two of the injured had life-threatening
injuries.
Chinese Human Rights Defenders, made up of Chinese and foreign
human rights advocates, said the Zijin company wants to open a
tungsten mine on the site but the farmers have rejected an offer of
compensation for their land as being insufficient.
The protest occurred as excavations for the mine were being
carried out under the watch of guards, police and paramilitary
security officers, the rights group said.
Land disputes have become common in China in recent years with
residents often objecting to low compensation offered in deals
negotiated between business and the government.
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