Tibet's farmers and herdsmen are using their increasing knowledge of the law to safeguard their rights and interests.

Soinam, a farmer of Doilungdeqen County in Lhasa, the regional capital, has just won a lawsuit against a cement plant where he formerly worked. He won 70,000 yuan (US$8,460) compensation for his maimed right hand.

Soinam's hand was injured when he was working in the cement plant in Lhasa in 2000, but the plant only paid him 3,000 yuan as compensation. After hearing that Soinam's hand was maimed, one of his relatives in Lhasa suggested he consult the regional legal assistance center to seek more compensation.

With the help of the legal assistance center, Soinam filed a lawsuit against the cement plant.

"At first, I did not expect such a big compensation," he said.

With the popularization of laws in Tibet's rural areas, more people like Soinam have learned to defend their rights and interests through legal means, said Deqen, director with the regional legal assistance center.

The first legal assistance institution in Tibet was launched in 2001. So far it has helped clients involved in 149 cases, including 101 criminal cases and 48 civil cases.

In the past, knowing very little about law, the farmers and herdsmen usually resolved disputes on their own. Sometimes, they asked lamas or local government officials to help solve the problems. In some instances, they resorted to violence.

Now with a strong sense of defending rights and in-terests through legal means, Tibet people are using legal proceedings to solve dis-putes, seek compensation, lodge complaints against shoddy commodities and report destructive activities against environment.

The regional consumers' right association received more than 2,000 complaints about the quality of com-modities in the last two years. The regional environ-mental protection bureau received 600 reports on destructive environ-mental activities in 2002, over 90 percent of them from the general public.

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