Peter Terpstra
2012-10-01 04:03:48 UTC
Plea to Stop Burnings Ignored
2012-09-29
A Tibetan man self-immolates, defying fresh calls by exile groups to
stop the burnings in protest against Chinese rule.
A Tibetan man self-immolated Saturday in protest against Chinese rule in
Qinghai province, ignoring new calls by hundreds of Tibetan exiles a day
earlier to end the burnings, according to sources inside Tibet.
Dressed in full Tibetan traditional attire, the man set himself ablaze
and shouted slogans against Chinese rule in Dzatoe (Zaduo, in Chinese)
county in the Yushul (Yushu) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture before he was
taken away by Chinese security forces, the sources said.
The man, whose identity and other personal details were not immediately
available, was severely burnt when he was taken away, the sources quoted
eyewitnesses as saying.
“While burning, he shouted various slogans—calling for the independence
of Tibet, inviting the Dalai Lama and Karmapa (another senior Tibetan
Buddhist figure) to Tibet, asking for long life for the Dalai Lama and
addressing Lobsang Sangay (the head of the Tibetan government in exile)
as the King of Tibet," one source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"He walked past several Tibetan shops in Dzatoe county's shopping
complex with his body on fire. The shopkeepers threw water on his
burning body but his whole body was engulfed in fire."
Witnesses said they saw his internal organs falling out at the height of
the fire before he was bundled away by Chinese police, the source said.
It was the 52nd self-immolation protest since the wave of fiery protests
began in February 2009, with nearly all of the protests taking place in
Tibetan-populated provinces in western China.
Most were protests against Chinese rule and calling for the return of
the Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader who now lives in exile in
Dharamsala, India.
Shooting of movie
Sources said the latest self-immolation could be linked to recent local
Tibetan protests against the shooting of a film by authorities wanting
to portray that Tibetans were happy under Chinese rule.
“Few days back, the Chinese authorities coerced the local Tibetans to
participate in a shooting of a movie themed on 'happiness in Tibet,'" a
source was quoted as saying by India's Tibet Express.
"The Tibetans resented it and expressed their unwillingness to
participate. This incident had led to protest against the Chinese
policy,” the source said.
The Dzatoe self-immolation came a day after more than 400 Tibetan exiles
from 26 countries meeting in India called for an end to self-immolation
protests by Tibetans challenging Chinese rule.
The meeting held in the hill-town of Dharamsala, seat of the Tibetan
government in exile and home to exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama,
expressed “grave concern” over the burnings and urged Tibetans inside
Tibet not to take “drastic actions.”
“Tibet is a thinly populated country, and in the present situation
losing even one life is a great loss for the Tibetan people,” said one
of 31 recommendations and resolutions adopted by the delegates at the
four-day meeting, the biggest in four years. “Please preserve your lives
in the future,” it said.
Similar expressions of concern from exile figures and from the Dalai
Lama himself over the burnings have gone largely unheeded in the past.
Reported by RFA's Tibetan service. Translation by Karma Dorjee. Written
in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai.
Copyright © 1998-2011 Radio Free Asia. All rights reserved.
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/burn-09292012164851.html
2012-09-29
A Tibetan man self-immolates, defying fresh calls by exile groups to
stop the burnings in protest against Chinese rule.
A Tibetan man self-immolated Saturday in protest against Chinese rule in
Qinghai province, ignoring new calls by hundreds of Tibetan exiles a day
earlier to end the burnings, according to sources inside Tibet.
Dressed in full Tibetan traditional attire, the man set himself ablaze
and shouted slogans against Chinese rule in Dzatoe (Zaduo, in Chinese)
county in the Yushul (Yushu) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture before he was
taken away by Chinese security forces, the sources said.
The man, whose identity and other personal details were not immediately
available, was severely burnt when he was taken away, the sources quoted
eyewitnesses as saying.
“While burning, he shouted various slogans—calling for the independence
of Tibet, inviting the Dalai Lama and Karmapa (another senior Tibetan
Buddhist figure) to Tibet, asking for long life for the Dalai Lama and
addressing Lobsang Sangay (the head of the Tibetan government in exile)
as the King of Tibet," one source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"He walked past several Tibetan shops in Dzatoe county's shopping
complex with his body on fire. The shopkeepers threw water on his
burning body but his whole body was engulfed in fire."
Witnesses said they saw his internal organs falling out at the height of
the fire before he was bundled away by Chinese police, the source said.
It was the 52nd self-immolation protest since the wave of fiery protests
began in February 2009, with nearly all of the protests taking place in
Tibetan-populated provinces in western China.
Most were protests against Chinese rule and calling for the return of
the Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader who now lives in exile in
Dharamsala, India.
Shooting of movie
Sources said the latest self-immolation could be linked to recent local
Tibetan protests against the shooting of a film by authorities wanting
to portray that Tibetans were happy under Chinese rule.
“Few days back, the Chinese authorities coerced the local Tibetans to
participate in a shooting of a movie themed on 'happiness in Tibet,'" a
source was quoted as saying by India's Tibet Express.
"The Tibetans resented it and expressed their unwillingness to
participate. This incident had led to protest against the Chinese
policy,” the source said.
The Dzatoe self-immolation came a day after more than 400 Tibetan exiles
from 26 countries meeting in India called for an end to self-immolation
protests by Tibetans challenging Chinese rule.
The meeting held in the hill-town of Dharamsala, seat of the Tibetan
government in exile and home to exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama,
expressed “grave concern” over the burnings and urged Tibetans inside
Tibet not to take “drastic actions.”
“Tibet is a thinly populated country, and in the present situation
losing even one life is a great loss for the Tibetan people,” said one
of 31 recommendations and resolutions adopted by the delegates at the
four-day meeting, the biggest in four years. “Please preserve your lives
in the future,” it said.
Similar expressions of concern from exile figures and from the Dalai
Lama himself over the burnings have gone largely unheeded in the past.
Reported by RFA's Tibetan service. Translation by Karma Dorjee. Written
in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai.
Copyright © 1998-2011 Radio Free Asia. All rights reserved.
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/burn-09292012164851.html