17-year-old self-immolator’s last note calls for the Dalai Lama’s return and Tibet’s independence
Phayul[Wednesday, November 28, 2012 19:25]
DHARAMSHALA, November 28: Tibetan nun, Sangay Dolma, who passed away in her self-immolation protest on November 25, has left a note professing her belief in the swift return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Tibet’s independence.
Sangay Dolma also left a photograph of herself with the words, “Tibet independent nation” inscribed on it.
The 17-year-old nun set herself on fire in front of a Chinese government office in Tsekhog, near Rebkong (Ch: Tongren) in Malho region of eastern Tibet at around 7 pm (local time).
On a folded piece of paper, containing her last will and picture, Sangay Dolma has written: “Beloved children of the snowlion, Sons and daughters of the Land of Snows, Warriors of the snow mountain, Don’t forget your are Tibetans.”
Her last will, written in the form of a poem of six stanzas, is titled “He has returned.”
The first stanza reads: “Look up, fellow Tibetans, look at the blue twilight above, Like a heavenly tent of white mountain, My lama has returned.”
In the fourth stanza, Sangay Dolma sends a strong political message of the revival of an independent nation of Tibet.
“Look up, Tibetans, look at the snow mountains. The snow land’s era has begun. And Tibet is free and independent.”
In the two closing stanzas, the 17-year-old nun pays further tribute to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama, who has been missing since 1995, after he was recognised as the reincarnation of the 10th Panchen Lama at the age of six.
“His Holiness the Dalai Lama, when he lived far away, he travelled around the world, praying for the end of suffering of the red faced Tibetans, and released us from darkness, At a time when Panchen Lama is in prison, He looks out from his prison cell, prays for “the dawn of peace and happiness in my land of snow.”
Sangay Dolma was a nun at the Gonshul Nunnery near the Sangag Mindrol Dhargeyling Monastery.
Following her self-immolation protest, a large number of local Tibetans gathered to carry out the last rites and pay their final respects.
Since 2009, 87 Tibetans have set themselves on fire protesting China’s continued occupation of Tibet and demanding freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama from exile.
Chinese government authorities have retaliated with further restrictions and threats.
Recently, a five-point notice was issued in eastern Tibet, giving stern orders to local officials to punish self-immolators and their families; even those who had offered condolences and prayers to the bereaved family members and relatives. The notice further announced the cancellation of government aid to families of self-immolators as well as development projects in villages where similar protests have taken place.
Government authorities in the region are also collecting signed statements from each household conforming that they will not self-immolate. Refusal to sign such statements attracts immediate detention.
Special International Meeting of Tibet Support Groups
Dharamsala, India November 16-18, 2012
CONCLUDING STATEMENT
In response to the escalating crisis in Tibet, the Special International Meeting of Tibet Support Groups was held in Dharamsala, India from 16-18 November 2012. The meeting, which was attended by almost 200 participants from 43 countries, was convened by the Core Group for Tibetan Cause – India, and facilitated by the Department of Information & International Relations of the Tibetan Government-in-exile. The purpose of the meeting was to develop strategic campaigns to address the deteriorating situation in Tibet where to date at least 75 Tibetans have self-immolated.
This is a highly significant moment in the Tibetan struggle for freedom. Despite unprecedented repression, there has been a dramatic upsurge in resistance against China’s occupation. There have been important changes within the Tibetan Government with the historic devolution of political power from His Holiness the Dalai Lama to the democratically elected leadership. Meanwhile the Communist Party of China has appointed its new leaders. These changes demand renewed efforts from Tibet Support Groups who pledge to increase their efforts on behalf of the Tibetan people and their human right to self-determination as recognized by the United Nations.
We, the conference participants, express our deep admiration and strong support for the unwavering determination and commitment to nonviolence by Tibetans in Tibet and for the many diverse ways in which they are resisting, including Tibetan cultural renaissance and Lhakar. Such resistance has continued despite mass detentions, violent military responses to peaceful protests, and the increased use of “patriotic re-education” campaigns.
We express deep anguish that Tibetans feel compelled to self-immolate as an act of political resistance. We resolutely stand in solidarity with their aspirations for freedom and for the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to his homeland. Responsibility for this crisis lies with China’s leaders and their failed Tibet policies
over the last sixty years. We call on China’s new leaders to urgently address the root causes of these self-immolations.
We are deeply concerned about the forced removal of nomadic communities which is eroding cultural traditions, destroying livelihoods, and resulting in social exclusion. We believe that social and economic exclusion are contributing factors in the escalation of self-immolation and therefore must be urgently addressed.
We call specifically on General Secretary Xi Jinping and the new Politburo Standing Committee to take immediate steps to resolve these and all legitimate grievances of the Tibetan people recognising that a peaceful resolution is in the best interests of both the Tibetan and the Chinese people.
We demand that our home governments initiate urgent and coordinated action, including at the United Nations and in other international and regional fora, to bring pressure upon the Government of China to change its policies in Tibet.
The conference participants welcome the creation of a coalition of Asian Tibet Support Groups and congratulate it on the adoption a common action program.
We, the conference participants, renew our commitment to work together and in cooperation with Tibetan organizations, Chinese human rights defenders, and other concerned organizations around the world, in pursuit of a political solution to the Tibet issue consistent with international human rights standards.
Tibetan protests continue into Xi Jinping era*
Press release: 26 November 2012
Three more Tibetans have set themselves on fire in Tibet in the past two days as demands for freedom continue, despite the change in Chinese leadership.
An 18-year-old named Kunchok Tsering, self-immolated at around 4pm (local time) today at Amchog township, Sangchu County, Eastern Tibet (1). He died
at the scene of his protest.
Kunchok Tsering lived as a nomad and was married. His body has been taken to his home where local people and monks from Amchog Monastery have gathered.
He is the second man from the same town to set himself on fire in protest in less than a week. Last Tuesday (20 November), Tsering Dhondup, a 34-year-old father of three also set himself on fire and died (2).
At 11.25 this morning (local time), Wangyal, a student of Serthar County National Middle School set himself on fire in Serthar County, Kandze prefecture, Eastern Tibet (3).
An eyewitness said he shouted slogans for freedom in Tibet and the return of the Dalai Lama. Wangyal ran towards a statue in the middle of the county town; a location where Public Security Bureau (PSB) personnel regularly patrol.
Right after he fell to the ground, Chinese military and PSB personnel arrived, put out the flames and took Wangyal to the county hospital. His current condition and whereabouts are unknown but locals say he was severely injured.
Elsewhere, a 17-year-old nun, Sangye Dolma, self-immolated yesterday in Warkhor village, Dorkarmo Township, Tsekhok county, Malho, Eastern Tibet (4).
Sangye Dolma set herself on fire around 10pm last night (local time). She died at the scene.
Local people and monks gathered this morning and cremated her body.
*Free Tibet Director Stephanie Brigden said:*
*“We are now receiving reports of self-immolation protests on an almost daily basis. Allied to the many other forms of protests which Tibetans are undertaking – marching, leafleting, displaying banned images and exerting Tibetan culture – it forms an unimpeachable argument for an end to Chinese occupation.*
*“This Tibet Spring will not end until the Tibetan people feel that they have the freedom they desire.”*
*Notes to editors
1. Chinese: Amuquhu, Xiahe, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province.
2. http://www.freetibet.org/news-media/pr/further-tibet-protests-underline-escalation
3. Chinese: Seda County, Ganzi prefecture, Sichuan Province.
4. Chinese: Duohemao, Zeku, Huangnan, Qinghai Province
*Free Tibet is an international campaigning organisation that stands forthe right of Tibetans to determine their own future. We campaign for an end to the Chinese occupation of Tibet and for the fundamental human rights of Tibetans to be respected.*
For further information and interviews please contact Free Tibet’s Director Stephanie Brigden:
T: +44 (0)20 7324 4605
M: +44 (0)7971 479515
E: Stephanie@freetibet.org
S: stephaniefreetibet
Harriet Beaumont
*Media and Executive Officer*
*T:* +44 207 324 4605
*M:* +44 7900 203307
*T:* freetibetorg <http://twitter.com/freetibetorg>
*W:* www.freetibet.org
*Stand up for Tibet: **Join Free Tibet
today!<http://www.freetibet.org/support/join-free-tibet-campaign>
*
Tibetan Burnings Rise to 70
2012-11-10
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/burn-11102012191123.html
A teenager is the latest to set himself ablaze in the eighth self-immolation protest this week.
Another Tibetan teenager burned himself to death Saturday in protest against Chinese rule in Gansu province in the eighth self-immolation this week, sources said.
The latest burning brings to 70 the total number of self-immolations highlighting opposition to Chinese rule in Tibetan populated areas.
The protests this week are believed to have been timed to send a powerful signal to the Chinese Communist Party which is holding its 18th Party Congress in Beijing to endorse a once-in-a-decade leadership change, Tibetan groups said.
On Saturday, 19-year-old Gonpo Tsering set himself alight in front of a monastery in Tsoe (in Chinese, Hezuo) in the Kanlho (Gannan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture on Saturday, a Tibetan source told RFA’s Tibetan service.
As he burned, he called for “freedom for Tibetans, the return of [Tibet’s spiritual leader] the Dalai Lama to Tibet and freedom of languages,” the source said.
Monks and other local Tibetans had wanted to take Gonpo Tsering to hospital but his condition was too critical and he was instead taken home, where he died, the source said.
After the burning, “Chinese security bureau officers arrived at the scene and they started investigating and questioning the monks and local Tibetans,” the source said.
News delayed
It took longer than usual for local Tibetans to relay the news of the self-immolation to those outside the Tsoe area due to communication curbs imposed by Chinese authorities, according to sources.
The burning was reported early Saturday by Chinese state news agency Xinhua.
“Owing to earlier self-immolations in Kanlho, there was a complete communication blackout, resulting it difficulty in getting details of the situation on the ground,” the source said.
The past week saw the biggest number of Tibetan self-immolations since the burning protests began in February 2009.
Earlier this week, there were three burnings in Rebgong county (in Chinese, Tongren) in Qinghai province, including the fatal self-immolation of a 23-year-old mother, and those of three teenage monks in Sichuan province’s Ngaba town and a man in the Tibet Autonomous Region.
One of the three monks—all of whom are from the Ngoshul monastery—died on the spot.
Families anxious
The two others were taken away in a serious condition by the Chinese authorities and are believed to be alive but their families were unable to see them, said Kanyag Tsering, a monk living in exile in India.
“Since they were not told anything about the condition of their boys and about the hospital to which they had been taken, everyone is so worried about them,” he said.
The monks of the Ngoshul Monastery have also been barred from visiting the homes of the three monks and performing prayers for them.
“There is a heavy military presence outside the Ngoshul Monastery and surrounding areas of Gomang subdivision [in which the burnings occurred],” Kanyag Tsering said
Student protests
On Friday, several thousand Tibetan students had taken to the streets in Rebgong county, shouting slogans calling for “equality of nationalities and freedom of languages” and demanding the return of the Dalai Lama, who is living in exile in India.
A day earlier, about 700 students pulled down Chinese flags hoisted on top of their school building in Dowa township and in the township’s government office.
The Central Tibetan Administration, as the Tibetan government-in-exile in India is called, said the rising number of self-immolations underscore “political repression, economic marginalization, environmental destruction, and cultural assimilation” problems facing Tibetans.
“Chinese leaders selected during the 18th Party Congress must recognize that China’s hardline policies in Tibet have utterly failed and only through dialogue can a peaceful and lasting solution be found,” Lobsang Sangay, the head of the exile government, said this week.
“We firmly believe that an end to repression will effectively end the cycle of self-immolation,” he said.
Five Tibetans Self-Immolate
2012-11-07
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/five-11072012130412.html
*In a record day of burnings, Tibetans call for the return of the Dalai Lama and an end to Chinese rule.*
Five Tibetans, including a young mother and three teenage boys, set fire to themselves on Wednesday in protest against Chinese rule in the biggest number of self-immolations in a single day, triggering massive demonstrations in at least one area, according to exile and local sources.
The burnings—which raised the self-immolation toll to 68 so far—came ahead of the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s highly anticipated Congress beginning Thursday which is expected to endorse Vice President Xi Jinping as successor to President Hu Jintao in a once-a-decade power transition.
Three of the self-immolations occurred in Sichuan province’s Ngaba (in Chinese, Aba) prefecture and one each in Qinghai province’s Malho (Huangnan) prefecture and in the Tibet Autonomous Region, the sources said.
The three boys—monks Dorje, 15, Samdrub, 16, and Dorje Kyab, 16—set themselves ablaze in front of a police station in Ngaba town, calling for a free Tibet and the return of Tibet’s spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, according to monks Lobsang Yeshi and Kanyag Tsering, who live in exile in India’s Dharamsala hill town.
“The three self-immolated in front of the Ngatoe Gomang police station in the evening at around 3:00 p.m.,” Lobsang Yeshi said, citing local sources.
“Dorje, who died at the scene, Samdrub, and Dorje Kyab are monks from the Ngoshul monastery,” Lobsang Yeshi said.
“Samdrub and Dorje Kyab have been taken to the Ngaba county hospital. Now there is a severe security clampdown restricting any movement in the streets,” he said.
*Mother dies*
In the Malho prefecture, a 23-year-old Tibetan mother of a young son set fire to herself and died in the Gemar market area of Rebgong (in Chinese, Tongren) county, drawing several thousand Tibetans to the streets in protest against Chinese rule.
Tamdrin Tso set herself ablaze at about 6:00 p.m. and died shouting slogans calling for the return of the Dalai Lama, local sources said.
Tamdrin Tso came originally from the Dro Rongwo township of Rebgong county, sources said. She leaves behind a son, Nyingjam Tsering, aged 5 or 6, and her father, Tamdrin Kyab, and mother, Konchog Tso.
“Over the last 15 days, Tamdrin Tso had performed prayers for other self-immolation protesters in Tibet, and today she set herself on fire,” Dorje Wangchuk, director of the Literary and Culture Research Centre of the Norbulingka Institute in Dharamsala, India, citing sources in the region.
Following the burning, around 3,000 local Tibetans gathered in the Gemar market area, a central location with a school and many shops, and shouted slogans calling for freedom for Tibet, sources said.
Tamdrin Tso’s self-immolation was the second to occur in the Rebgong area this week.
On Nov. 4, Tibetan artist Dorjee Lhundrub, 25, set himself ablaze and shouted slogans against Chinese rule and calling for the Dalai Lama’s return as he burned to death.
A large crowd of local monks and township residents then gathered at the site, with many placing traditional Tibetan scarves on Lhundrub’s charred remains as a mark of respect for the father of two, sources said.
*Protests intensify*
Wednesday’s fifth self-immolation occurred in Bekhar township in Driru county, Nagchu prefecture, of the Tibet Autonomous Region.
“I learned about the self-immolation at 8:00 p.m., as it happened, while I was speaking on the phone,” said a Tibetan monk living in South India, citing contacts in the region.
“There was a lot of commotion, and there were shouts at the scene by the Tibetans. The Chinese security forces arrived immediately, but details, such as the name of the self-immolator, remain unknown,” the monk said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Tibetan self-immolation protests have intensified in recent weeks and may have entered a new phase, some analysts have said.
And the failure to contain the fiery protests, the analysts say, poses a major challenge to Beijing, which has offered cash rewards to Tibetans to inform on potential self-immolators and has tightened security restrictions on Tibetan monasteries and towns.
The burnings continue despite calls to end them by a special meeting of Tibetan exile groups convened on the advice of the Dalai Lama in India’s hill town of Dharamsala, where he lives in exile.
*Reported by Chakmo Tso for RFA’s Tibetan service. Translated by Dorjee Damdul and Rigdhen Dolma. Written in English by Richard Finney and Parameswaran Ponnudurai.*
Copyright © 1998-2011 Radio Free Asia. All rights reserved.
NEWS RELEASE – OFFICE OF THE HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Pillay: China must urgently address deep-rooted frustrations with human rights in Tibetan areas
GENEVA (2 November 2012) – United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Friday urged Chinese authorities to promptly address the longstanding grievances that have led to an alarming escalation in desperate forms of protest, including self-immolations, in Tibetan areas.
The UN human rights chief said she was disturbed by “continuing allegations of violence against Tibetans seeking to exercise their fundamental human rights of freedom of expression, association and religion,” and pointed to “reports of detentions and disappearances, of excessive use of force against peaceful demonstrators, and curbs on the cultural rights of Tibetans.”
Cases have included a 17-year-old girl who was reportedly severely beaten and sentenced to three years in prison for distributing flyers calling for Tibet’s freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama. Others have been sentenced to between four and seven years in prison for writing essays, making films or distributing photos of events in Tibet outside China. Serious concerns have been raised about fair trial standards, and the torture and ill-treatment of detainees.
“I have had several exchanges with the Chinese Government on these issues. But more needs to be done to protect human rights and prevent violations,” Pillay said. “I call on the Government to respect the rights to peaceful assembly and expression, and to release all individuals detained for merely exercising these universal rights.”
The High Commissioner also appealed to Tibetans to refrain from resorting to extreme forms of protest, such as self-immolation, and urged community and religious leaders to use their influence to help stop this tragic loss of life
“I recognise Tibetans’ intense sense of frustration and despair which has led them to resort to such extreme means,” she said, “but there are other ways to make those feelings clear. The Government also needs to recognise this, and permit Tibetans to express their feelings without fear of retribution.”
The High Commissioner urged the Government, as a confidence-building measure, to allow independent and impartial monitors to visit and assess the actual conditions on the ground, and to lift restrictions on media access to the region. She noted that there are 12 outstanding requests for official visits to China by UN Special Rapporteurs on various human rights issues, including one by the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion and belief. During the Universal Periodic Review of China’s human rights record before the UN Human Rights Council, the State pledged to step up cooperation with Special Procedures. Pillay called on the Government to facilitate their access.
“Social stability in Tibet will never be achieved through heavy security measures and suppression of human rights,” she said. “Deep underlying issues need to be addressed, and I call on the Government to seriously consider the recommendations made to it by various international human rights bodies, as well as to avail itself of the expert advice being offered by the UN’s independent experts on human rights.”
Among the recommendations made by international human rights bodies to the Government of China on Tibet are the following:
– UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier De Schutter, recommended a suspension of non-voluntary resettlement of nomadic herders, who make up the majority of the Tibetan population, and called for a meaningful consultation.
– The UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination (CERD) recommended to China that any policies or incentives offered that may result in a substantial alteration of the demographic composition of autonomous minority areas be reviewed. CERD also recommended that the State party carefully consider the root causes of the unrest in March 2008, including inter-ethnic violence, and the reasons why the situation escalated.
– The UN Committee Against Torture in November 2008 recommended that China conduct a thorough and independent inquiry into events surrounding the protests in March 2008, including the reported excessive use of force against peaceful demonstrators, notably monks, in Kardze county, Ngaba county, and Lhasa; and into allegations of torture and ill-treatment against those arrested and detained.
“My office also stands ready to assist constructively on these issues in the region and promoting best practices from around the world with regard to protection of minorities,” Pillay added.
ENDS
UN Human Rights, country page – China: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Countries/AsiaRegion/Pages/CNIndex.aspx
For more information or media requests, please contact Rupert Colville (+41 22 917 9767 / rcolville@ohchr.org) or Ravina Shamdasani (+ 41 22 917 9310 / rshamdasani@ohchr.org).
UN Human Rights, follow us on social media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/unitednationshumanrights
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UNrightswire
Google+ gplus.to/unitednationshumanrights
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/UNOHCHR
Check the Universal Human Rights Index: http://uhri.ohchr.org/en
After rare trip, US envoy urges China on Tibet
By Shaun Tandon (AFP) – 3 hours ago
WASHINGTON — The US ambassador to China urged Beijing to re-examine policies toward Tibetans as he acknowledged that he had quietly visited monasteries during a spate of self-immolation protests. Ambassador Gary Locke, speaking from Beijing to an online forum in the United States, said he stopped at monasteries last month in the flashpoint Aba prefecture to “get an appreciation of Tibetan culture and the way of life.” Aba, an ethnically Tibetan area of Sichuan province, has been a hotbed of protests against Beijing’s rule. Some 60 ethnic Tibetans, many of them monks and nuns, have set themselves alight since February 2009 in Sichuan and Tibet.
“We implore the Chinese to really meet with the representatives of the Tibetan people to address and re-examine some of the policies that have led to some of the restrictions and the violence and the self-immolations,” Locke said. “We have very serious concerns about the violence, of the self-immolations, that have occurred over the last several years,” he said, calling the incidents “very deplorable.” “Nobody wants that type of action, or of people having to resort to that type of action. Too many deaths,” he said. Locke called for China to show respect for Tibetans’ religion, culture and language.
The United States has repeatedly urged China to address Tibetan grievances but it is very rare for foreign officials or media to visit Tibetan areas on unsupervised trips. In previous statements, Washington has urged China’s leaders to resume dialogue with Tibet’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, who fled into exile in India in 1959 and enjoys strong public support in the United States. The details of Locke’s visit emerged as President Barack Obama’s administration looks for new ways to promote human rights in China, which regularly lashes out at US condemnation of its record. Obama has faced election-year criticism on China from Republican rivals, who have urged him to be more outspoken on Beijing’s human rights record and its trade and currency practices.
But US officials cite as a success the quiet diplomacy in May that led China to allow dissident Chen Guangcheng to move to New York.
Locke, who was responding to a question as part of a “China Town Hall” with citizens in 60 cities across the United States, said he visited Aba prefecture after a trip to the major cities in Sichuan, where he promoted US businesses. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland earlier acknowledged Locke’s trip after a reporter for The New York Times posted a picture that showed the ambassador, clad in a suit, reaching down to greet an elderly robed monk. The newspaper said that Locke visited two monasteries in Songpan, not in the town of Aba — known as Ngaba by Tibetans — where the self-immolation by a monk in 2009 at Kirti monastery set off the wave of protests. Seven self-immolation protests were reported last week alone among Tibetans, many of whom accuse China of suppressing their culture. Few of the Tibetans who have set themselves alight are believed to have survived. The State Department’s annual human rights reports say that China has denied the political and religious rights of Tibetans. China rejects the charges and says it has brought investment and modernization to Tibet. Locke, the first Chinese American to serve as US ambassador in Beijing, has often fascinated the Chinese public through his humble demeanor. When he headed to Beijing, a picture went viral that showed the former governor at Seattle’s airport paying for his own coffee at Starbucks. Locke said he found the Chinese to be “so welcoming and engaging” toward him since he took his position.
Copyright © 2012 AFP. All rights reserved
Chinese Predicament at Continuing Tibetan Self-Immolation
Bhuchung K. Tsering
October 23, 2012
Even as the Chinese leadership is engrossed with preparations relating tothe upcoming 18th Party Congress, the continuing Tibetan self-immolations
are posing a particular predicament to them. As I write this on October 23, 2012, there is the latest report of another Tibetan, Dorjee Rinchen, from
the Labrang area in Amdo committing self-immolation.
Thus, the Chinese authorities’ hope of the issue fading away — as a result of a combination of threats suppression and increased control — before the
Party Congress is not happening. There are indications that the Chinese leadership are now beginning to fear the negative impact of their lack of
courage to deal with the developments in Tibet.
Jia Qinglin, chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and a key figure involved in Tibet, is quoted by the
official Chinese media on October 23 as saying, “the country is in a key period of fighting against the Dalai Lama group.”
Similarly, Zhou Yongkang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party, on October 19, told a
“seminar on safeguarding security and stability during the upcoming national congress” that the “risk of major social problems should be evaluated to
prevent and reduce conflicts in areas such as Tibet and Xinjiang.”
As an indication of lack of confidence in some of their officials in the Tibetan areas, the Tibet Autonomous Region Party Secretary Chen Quanguo is
reported by the People’s Daily as using a conference on October 16 to say “that local military officials should cooperate with police and be on
standby around the clock, adding that officials would be dismissed on the spot if their areas of responsibility did not remain stable.”
The Chinese authorities want stability and fear destabilization on account of the situation in Tibet. However, the continued tragic self-immolations by
Tibetans is a clear indication of the depth of feelings among the Tibetan people at their current state of affairs. The only lasting solution is for
the Chinese authorities to address the genuine grievances of the Tibetan people.
To start with, the Chinese leaders should really look at some of their own statements and apply them positively to their Tibetan policy. China’s
Global Times quotes Jia Qinglin as saying that “Tibet-related issues were of paramount importance.” Is suppression the right way to deal with an issue
that is really important? Similarly, it quotes Zhou Yongkang as telling the above-mentioned seminar that “people’s reasonable appeals as well as
petitions should be better dealt with.” If he really wants to act on this, then why are the Chinese leaders letting so many Tibetan lives be lost
without doing anything to redress their grievances. How many more Tibetans have to lose their lives before the Chinese authorities can consider them
“reasonable appeals”?
It was a pity that during the final American presidential debate on October 22, 2012 that was devoted to foreign policy, hardly any time was spent on
the fundamental American values of democracy and freedom. The United States and other countries have a responsibility to see that the peaceful struggle
in Tibet succeed if they are for a more peaceful world. There is reason that people are beginning to ask why the world is not paying adequate attention
to the developments in Tibet. Prof. Jeffrey Hopkins of the University of Virginia in fact said it well when he mentioned at a public event with the
Dalai Lama on October 11, 2012 in Charlottesville that in Vietnam it took two such deaths and the world was aroused while in Tibet there have been
more than 50 self-immolations and the world is not yet aroused.
In an interview with Ann Curry of NBC news (broadcast on October 11, 2012), the Dalai Lama said it was difficult to judge whether the method (used by
the self-immolators) is right or wrong, but they are a non-violent expression of feelings regarding Chinese policies. He said that the Tibetans
in Tibet are passing through really desperate situation.
Commenting about the nature of the Tibetan struggle and the Chinese attitude, the Dalai Lama told Ann Curry, “The struggle is between the power
of truth and power of gun. For short term, power of gun may seem much stronger. But in the long run, power of truth is much stronger.” When asked
what is the one thing that he would ask world leaders to support the Tibetans, he responded, “Just one word, freedom.”
We are now approaching the end of the term of President Hu Jintao and it is now clear that he is leaving behind a legacy of suppression of Tibetans,
lack of foresight to deal with the issue and disregard of avenues that will really lead to stability of the People’s Republic of China and the
establishment of a harmonious society. Hu Jintao has failed on Tibet. We will now have to see how the new leadership that will emerge out of the 18th
Party Congress will fare.
The inextinguishable Tibetan fire in China’s darkness
“Since China is uninterested in the well being of the Tibetan people, we are sharpening our nonviolent movement.e are declaring the reality of Tibet by burning our own bodies to call for freedom of Tibet… .We will win the battle through truth, by shooting the arrows of our lives, by using the bow of our mind.’
– Gudrup
Though the hungry wolves in witching pandas’ skin
Devour our people and leave our land a wasteland
Though we fall into the esurient embrace of a predatory enemy
There will be no white flags upon our doors.
– ‘No White Flags’, Shakapba
These defiant and moving words of Gudrup (a Tibetan poet and writer who self-immolated this month) and Tibetan scholar and historian, Shakabpa, express the pain and courageous resistance of those who seek justice and freedom in Tibet. These are not the words of desperate, suicide victims but of human beings pushed to the limit in their battle for truth combined with a defiant refusal to surrender to violence, oppression and injustice. As Costica Bradatan writes in ‘The Political Psychology of Self-Immolations’: Self-immolation has little to do with suicide … self-immolation is a deliberate, determined and painfully expressive form of individual protest.’ To try and fathom the Tibetan self-immolations is to mentally enter into inhospitable and dangerous terrain: the Chinese darkness covering Tibet. Conceptually doing justice to the mental experience of nausea, terror, reverence and fascination when imagining the circumstances that create such radical yet brave acts of resistance is difficult; one is rendered speechless.
Five Tibetan men burn themselves alive in the space of three weeks
Fifty-six Tibetans have burned themselves alive in Tibet since February 2009, out which 47 have died. All those who self-immolated have shouted slogans demanding freedom for Tibetans and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet. In less than three weeks alone, there have been four such deadly protests. Over the past two years, these acts of non-violent resistance in Tibet have grown not only in numbers, but also in the breadth of participants and places, widening the demographic make up of the self-immolators in all major Tibetan regions. The Tibetan self-immolators have a range of social backgrounds and ages, contrary to the mainstream media’s assertions that the protesters are predominantly monks and nuns or are young and thus more politicised (with a certain dismissiveness implied by that).
A father of two
According to media reports, on 20 October, Lhamo Kyab, 27, a father of two young daughters, set himself on fire near Bora Monastery in Sangchu (Chinese: Xiahe) county, Kanlho (Gannan) Prefecture, Gansu province. Eyewitness reports state that he succumbed to his burn injuries at the site of his protest.
Phayul.com reported an eyewitness as stating that: “Engulfed in flames, Lhamo Kyab raised slogans calling for the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet and then fell to the ground after walking a few steps,” and that ‘Following the self-immolation, a minor scuffle broke out at the site of the protest between Chinese security personnel and local Tibetans, who succeeded in carrying Lhamo Kyab’s charred body inside the Monastery’s main prayer hall.’
A Grandfather of a high Tibetan lama
On 13 October, these protests reached a new level as the grandfather of a prominent reincarnate spiritual leader in Tibet burned himself to death to defy the Chinese government. Tamdin Dorjee, a Tibetan from the Tsoe region in Kanlho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province, was around 50 years old, father of three and grandfather of the 10-year-old boy recognised as the 7th Gungthang Rinpoche. Not only a respected elder relative of a high lama, he would also be considered part of the Tibetan elite. He reportedly sacrificed himself near the Manithogang stupa at the Tsoe Gaden Choeling Monastery calling for ‘freedom in Tibet’, ‘the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his return to Tibet’. Dolkar Tso, 26, a mother of two, sacrificed her life at the very same spot on 7 August 2012. Monks and lay people in the area were reported to have offered their respect and prayers to his family. Tsoe Gaden Choeling Monastery is currently under heavy lockdown by armed Chinese forces. Sources say Tibetans gathered in large numbers to pray for Dorjee despite a heavy military buildup in the area following his self-immolation.
A Father of Two
On 6 October, Sangay Gyatso, another 27-year-old father of two, burned himself alive as a protest against Chinese rule in Tsoe (Chinese: Hezuo) city, Gansu Province. According to sources, this act of resistance was carried out near a Buddhist stupa at Dokar Monastery, demonstrating yet again the non-violent, sacred motivations behind these Tibetan ‘body-offerings’. Gyatso burned to death. Chinese security forces were then reportedly rushed to the area and Dokar Monastery to suppress any further protest.
A Writer
On 4 October, Tibetan writer named Gudrup, 43, staged a self-immolation protest against Chinese rule in Nagchu (Chinese: Naqu) County town in Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). Witnesses say that he shouted slogans calling for Tibetan freedom before setting himself on fire at a local marketplace, Radio Free Asia reported. According to Voice of America, witnesses said Gudrup was badly burned when he was brought to a hospital. A doctor later told them Gudrup had died, but the authorities so far have refused to release his body to his family. Gudrup is a native of Diru (Chinese: Biru) in Nagchu Prefecture, TAR, and was a writer who read extensively on Tibet’s history. He studied at Sherab Gatsel Lobling School in Dharamsala in India before returning to his homeland in 2005 upon completion of his studies. He has been described as a prolific writer who goes by the pen name ‘Youth of Snow Realm’. According to an article by Woeser, a prominent Beijing-based Tibetan writer and activist, Gudrup wrote poetry and articles on his blog about the Tibetan protests and struggle, reportedly leaving this powerful message on 14 March 2012:
“Sound of National Drum Beaten by Lives
The people of the Land of Snow share a common goal of bringing His Holiness the Dalai Lama back to an independent Tibet. But when His Holiness opted for autonomy for Tibet through nonviolent struggle, the six million Tibetans accepted his wishes. However, the Chinese government has not supported his proposal. Moreover, Tibetans who are concerned about the welfare of the people are subjected to arbitrary arrests and beatings. Tibetans who refuse to denounce His Holiness the Dalai Lama or accept China’s rule on Tibet are secretly killed or made to disappear. Since China is uninterested in the well being of the Tibetan people, we are sharpening our nonviolent movement. We are declaring the reality of Tibet by burning our own bodies to call for freedom of Tibet. Higher beings, Please see Tibet. Mother earth, Extend compassion to Tibet. Just world, Uphold the truth. The pure land of snow is now tainted with red blood, where military crackdowns are ceaseless. We as sons and daughters of the Land of Snow will win the battle. We will win the battle through truth, by shooting the arrows of our lives, by using the bow of our mind. Dear brothers and sisters of the Land of Snow, please unite together and prioritize the well being of all Tibetans by putting aside personal issues. We can only enjoy equality and freedom then.”
Despite censorship, Chinese social media is difficult to control. On Sina Weibo, China’s Twitter, where censorship is a regular fact of life, netizens reverted to speaking in code. A post by the head of a Buddhist charity organization in Tibet featuring wording very similar to Gudrup’s final post quickly went viral. Some of the 5,000 netizens who chose to comment praised the wisdom of the post, while other Weibo users connected the words to those associated with Gudrup’s death.
A Bachelor
On 29 September, Yungdrung, 27, a layman, set himself on fire in Zatoe (Chinese: Zaduo) in Jyekundo (Chinese: Yushu) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province. According to sources, Yungdrung was dressed in traditional Tibetan clothes and immolated in front of a row of shops in the town, calling for the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Gyalwang Karmapa to Tibet, and describing Sikyong Dr. Lobsang Sangay as the political leader of Tibet. He also raised slogans asking the Chinese government to stop the exploitation of Tibet’s mineral resources and called for Tibetan freedom. Chinese security personnel immediately took him away to an unknown location. He has reportedly died but the Chinese authorities have not released his body to his family. Yungdrung is a native of Karma Yultso village in Karma Township, Chamdo (Chinese: Changdu), TAR, and had been staying at Zatoe town.
Such a sustained level of self-immolation protests against a regime’s injustice is historically unprecedented. Not only demonstrating the courageous spirit of Tibetan resistance but also the extent to which the Chinese military lockdown of Tibet has pushed the Tibetan people into taking such drastic actions. This month, the Dalai Lama also spoke of the ‘courage and strength of the Tibetan people’ in a talk to local Tibetans in Virginia, USA:
“I can perhaps say that there has not been a more urgent and a worst period for us since the early history of the Tibetan people. Today, the existence of the Tibetan people and its culture is not without a danger. But if we take a look back over the past 60 years, it is clear that there is an unwavering courage and strength in the Tibetan people. Such has not withered despite living under a great hardship. Although there is a continuous attempt to diminish it through force and other means, the courage of the Tibetan people has not been lost. That is because we have truth on our side.”
Media reporting: a distorted, dehumanising effect
These unimaginable acts of sacrifice and bravery do not demonstrate, as many would have us believe, that Tibetans are ‘helpless’, ‘desperate’, ‘non-Buddhist’, or ‘suicide victims’. Even the oft-used phrase ‘self-immolation’ has to some extent de-humanised the protests giving them a clinical, technical tone, instead of the more realistic phrase ‘burning oneself alive’. Reporting these stories simply in terms of cold ‘objective facts’ and ‘statistics’ only further sanitises and diminishes the human struggle and injustice behind such actions.
Headlines such as ‘Tibetans in Turmoil’ reveal how the Chinese government and media propaganda efforts have been relatively successful in ensuring that the actions of the Tibetans themselves (the oppressed) have been put under the international media’s magnifying glass, as opposed to focusing on the root of the problem: China’s inhumane and repressive policies in Tibet and the insane and unbending oppression of the Tibetan people and the wanton destruction of their culture, language, religion and physical environment.
Debates as to whether the Tibetan protests are Buddhist or non-violent are a distraction from the real issue and feed the Chinese propaganda. In direct contradiction to the Chinese propaganda that the immolations are ‘terrorist acts’ and ‘barbaric’ organised by a ‘Dalai Lama splittist clique’, Amnesty International recently reported that there have been 41 cases of Chinese self-immolation against forced evictions in China from 2009 to 2011. These are different from Tibetan cases but it is striking that the form of protest is the same.
It is noteworthy that these recent burning sacrifices took place despite the fact that, on 28 September, a special meeting in Dharamsala, India, of more than 400 exile Tibetans from 26 countries, issued a fervent appeal urging Tibetans not to undertake such protests.
Chinese ‘lunacy’, paranoia and its brutal policy of prevention
Almost all Tibetan regions under Chinese rule have been the site of protests and self-immolations since 2008, when an uprising spread across Tibet from Lhasa. Local and central Chinese authorities have responded to each incidence with further security clampdowns and detentions, and accused the protesters with a wide range of charges: terrorists, separatists, womanizers, mentally ill, and people with domestic problems. However, such draconian and brutal measures have failed to stop these and other protests in Tibet. It is not the Tibetan protesters who are displaying symptoms of being mentally ill but those who dictate, influence and carry out China’s catastrophic policy of annihilating a people and a culture.
Such mental instability on the part of the Chinese authorities can be seen in February 2012, in an open letter to the Chinese leadership, by Luo Feng, a Tibetan cadre who writes about the two ‘lunatics’ (Tibetan: སྨྱོ་ཧམ་དང་ཧོལ་རྒྱུགས་ཆེ་པའི་དཔོན་རིགས smyo ham dang hol rgyugs che pai dpon rigs) in charge of stability in Ngaba County. The letter was written in the wake of a major promotion of hardliner Shi Jun from regional Party Secretary to the Director-General of Public Security for Sichuan province. The letter appeared on website forums and blogs and was circulated widely and re-posted on Woeser’s blog. It also appeared in Tibetan on Tibetan blogs but was swiftly taken offline:
”His way of appointing officials has made people of all walks of life in Ngaba feel unimaginably strange and is impervious to reason. The comments among the people go as follows: the work of maintaining stability in Ngaba County was in charge by two “lunatics,” and the more they are taking control, the crazier the situation is becoming. One is the deputy governor of Ngaba Prefecture Yan Chunfeng, who was recruited as a city-planning specialist by Ngaba Prefecture after May 12, but he does not know anything about the ethnic minority regions, has no knowledge about the policies for religion or religious problems, has no emotional attachment toward people in Tibetan areas, and is even more ignorant about Tibetan language. Thus, having him in charge of maintaining stability is simply a complete mistake, and he has made an ass of himself. The more he talks, the sillier he sounds, and the more work he does, the more chaotic the situation is. The other “lunatic” is Luo Feng, who is the head of the Administration Department of Kirti Monastery. Like Chunfeng, he is also like a blank paper and knows nothing. He only knows how to scheme, but does not know how to pacify.”
China’s inability to find a solution to the self-immolations was also described in the 2012 US Congressional Executive Committee on China’s annual report. It states: ”The Party and government have not indicated any willingness to consider Tibetan grievances in a constructive manner and to hold themselves accountable for Tibetan rejection of Chinese policies, and handled the crisis as a threat to state security and social stability instead of as a policy failure.”
Murder, harassment and imprisonment are some of the weapons used in China’s current arsenal of prevention. Only last week, the Chinese courts sentenced four Tibetans to prison, for allegedly aiding a self-immolation protest and leaking news of protests to outside contacts.
Although TCHRD is unable to confirm, on 23 August, media sources reported that Chinese police murdered Dorjee Rabten, 57, after first harassing him and his brother and placing him under severe restrictions. Rabten had allegedly decided to self-immolate against China’s practice of denouncing the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, the lack of freedom in Tibet, and the Chinese government’s policies of restricting academic opportunities to Tibetan youths.
The Chinese authorities have also recently prosecuted scores of Tibetans on charges of fomenting opposition against the Chinese government. In August, a 17-year-old girl was given a three-year sentence for distributing leaflets calling for religious freedom and for the return of the Dalai Lama. In June, a prominent monk, Yonten Gyatso, was sentenced to seven years for sending out photographs and information about the self-immolation of a Buddhist nun.
Chinese citizens themselves are also kept in the dark with the Chinese media not reporting the crackdowns on Tibetans and their burning sacrifices.
Tibetan protests are not a failure for Tibetans
TCHRD rejects the predominant Chinese, mainstream and academic narratives, which perpetuate speculative untruths that Tibetan self-immolations are suicidal, violent and non-Buddhist. We also reject the contention that such protests are a failure and without impact. The failure fundamentally lies with Chinese hardline policies in Tibet and that is where the emphasis should focus in any discussion. Gyaltsen, the cousin of self-immolator Lobsang Jamyang, recently wrote about his frustration at such biased messages:
‘It seems that our protests and specially the news of self-immolations fell on deaf ears but it is not true that Tibetan protests have gone unheard or unnoticed … right after the self-immolation of my cousin, people of all ages came to my village and helped the victim in such a manner that everyone seemed of belonging to our ‘family’. All the conflicts, which once divided the people blurred away. Even if there was hatred and separation among the Tibetans earlier, everyone acted and felt like brothers and sisters, living and working together … this story took place in an impoverished village but when we earth out every such story together, it is crystal clear that all those protests specially the self-immolations triggered a new spark of unity, patriotism and nationalism among Tibetans and woke up many Tibetans from their deep slumbers. ‘
Gyaltsen’s account of Tibetan unity and solidarity is also supported by a defiant video message of resistance smuggled out of occupied Tibet and received by the Voice of Tibet on 11 October. The message (in Tibetan) talks about posters that were distributed by Tibetans in Chentsa (Chinese: Jiancha) County in Malho (Chinese: Huangnan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, urging Tibetans not to take part in the local archery festival despite Chinese officials paying some local Tibetans to do so. The speaker quotes a Tibetan proverb for those who are undecided: ‘An excellent horse has its own way of running. A man should search his own independent state of mind.’
This Tibetan defiance and refusal to be silenced, despite the intense pressure placed upon them not to do so by the Chinese authorities, is the reason why Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay is correct when he recently stated that the Tibetan spirit is stronger than the Chinese authorities. As Bradatan eloquently concludes:
In the long-run Tibetans’ despair may be China’s worst nightmare. What a routinisation of self-immolation as political protest can lead to the Chinese authorities may not be even able to comprehend. And, yet, they should not be surprised; maybe it is time they start re-reading the little red book: “Where there is oppression, there is resistance.” In his grave, Mao Zedong is dreaming in Tibetan. We would go further than that. If Mao were sincere in his political statements, he would not just be dreaming in his grave, he would be turning in his grave. So, rather than quoting Mao, we think it more suitable to quote the great Indian freedom fighter Gandhi who said: “Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.” These protests clearly display the indomitable will of Tibetans. This inner strength combined with the intractability of the Chinese authorities will inevitably lead to something more explosive. For the sake of all, we hope the Chinese government regain control of their sanity and give the Tibetan people the freedom and self-determination they are entitled to.
Tsering Tsomo (Ms.)
Official email: director@tchrd.org
Twitter: @arogaga
Skype: tsetsomohor
Cell: (91) 98168-75856
Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh
India
Grandfather of Tibetan reincarnate lama dies after self-immolation today
13th October 2012
The grandfather of a prominent young Tibetan reincarnate lama died today after setting fire to himself near a monastery in Kanlho (Chinese: Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture) in Gansu Province (the Tibetan area of Amdo). Tibetans gathered to pray for him despite an intense military buildup in the area following the self-immolation. It is the 55th self-immolation in Tibet since February, 2009.
Tamdin Dorje, who was in his early fifties, was from Drong che village in Khasag township in Kanlho. He was a father of three and the grandfather of the 10 year old boy who is recognised as one of the most important lamas in historic Labrang Tashikyil (Chinese: Xiahe) monastery, Gungthang Rinpoche.
Images received by Tibetans in exile from Tibet depict troops converging on the area, and Tibetans taking Tamdin Dorje’s body for cremation. Tamdin Dorje set fire to himself in the same place as mother of two Dolkar Tso, who self-immolated on August 7, near a white stupa beside Tsoe Gaden Choeling monastery in Kanlho (see ICT report, 7 August 2012).
A young Tibetan man, 27-year old Sangay Gyatso, set fire to himself and died next to a different monastery in Tsoe (Chinese: Hezuo) on October 6, the third self-immolation in that week (see Voice of America report, 6 October 2012 and ICT report, 5 October 2012), marking a continued increase in frequency of self-immolations in Tibet.
The self-immolation today is likely to be noted with concern by the authorities due to the connection to the young lama recognised as the 7th Gungthang Rinpoche, Lobsang Geleg Tenpe Khenchen, who was born in 2002 in the village of Dzoege, east of Tsoe city, the seat of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in the southern part of Gansu Province. Tamdin Dorje was the father of the young lama’s mother.
The boy lama’s predecessor, the 6th Gungthang Rinpoche Jigme Tenpe Wangchug (1926-2000) was a highly influential lama known as a great and popular scholar in Amdo. He was imprisoned in 1958 during the period of ‘Democratic Reform’ by the Communist authorities and following his release in 1979, was very active as a leader of the religious revival in eastern Tibet, and the reconstruction of his home monastery, Labrang. His teachings of the Kalachakra religious empowerment in the 1990s drew tens of thousands of Tibetans.
Four years after the Gungthang Rinpoche’s death in 2000, his reincarnation was announced by the Chinese news agency Xinhua following the involvement of respected Tibetan lama, the 6th Jamyang Zhepa. The Chinese Communist Party, which promotes atheism, has imposed regulations on controlling the selection, installation and education of reincarnate lamas, and is clearly seeking to control and co-opt the 7th Gungthang Rinpoche.
Following the self-immolation of the boy’s grandfather Tamdin Dorje today, Tibetans from all over the area began to gather at the monastery in Tsoe to pray after his passing.
Features
