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About Dorje Shugden => General Discussion => Topic started by: Namdrol on June 04, 2012, 08:31:03 AM

Title: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Namdrol on June 04, 2012, 08:31:03 AM
Just as the series of self-immolation of Tibetan monks seemed to taper off, now it happened again in Lhasa itself, the heart of Tibet. When it happened among the outskirts of Tibetan community it did not raise as much attention as when it happened in Lhasa, the center of attention of the whole world, the tension is like that during the 2008 riot again, if not more serious.

Why isn't the Dalai Lama making a public announcement condemning self-immolation and asking the monks to stop it as it is not really a Buddhist way of protesting? The Dalai Lama can be very firm and adamant when he bans Dorje Shugden, and many go all out to carry out the ban, more than what the original ban should be, so if the Dalai Lama put his foot down in condemning self-immolation, I am sure it will stop completely. So why isn't the Dalai Lama doing that?


http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=46,10924,0,0,1,0 (http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=46,10924,0,0,1,0)

Two Tibetan Buddhist monks set themselves on fire in protest of Chinese rule
By Claire Cozens, AFP May 28, 2012

Beijing, China -- Two Tibetan Buddhist monks have set themselves on fire in Lhasa, US-based broadcaster Radio Free Asia said, in the first-ever reported self-immolations in the capital of China’s Tibet Autonomous Region.

The monks reportedly set themselves on fire on Sunday outside the Jokhang temple, a renowned centre for Buddhist pilgrimage in Lhasa, which has been under heavy security since deadly riots broke out in 2008.

Radio Free Asia said the two were believed to be among a few Tibetan youths who gathered to protest against Chinese rule outside the temple, and that they appeared to have died in the blaze.
“The security forces arrived immediately and put out the fire and all the tourists in the area were cordoned off from the site,” a witness told the broadcaster.

“Within 15 minutes, the area was cleaned and not a trace of the incident was left.”

Radio Free Asia quoted a source as saying the situation in Lhasa was now “very tense” and the city was filled with police and paramilitary forces.

One Lhasa resident contacted by AFP on Monday also reported an increased police presence in the city, adding officers were carrying out identity checks in the street and the mobile signal was blocked.


However, security authorities in Lhasa contacted by telephone refused to comment on the incident.
“We are not clear about the situation yet. Wait until the media makes an announcement,” said an official who declined to give his name.

More than 30 people have set themselves on fire in China’s Tibetan-inhabited regions since the start of March 2011 in protest at what they say is religious and cultural repression by the Chinese authorities.

Robbie Barnett, a Tibet expert at Columbia University in New York, said Sunday’s incident marked the first protest in Lhasa since anti-Chinese government riots broke out 2008, before spreading to other Tibetan areas.

“This is the first incident of any significance in four years. It’s a big setback for the authorities,” he told AFP by telephone from New York.

“These self-immolations are very troubling for the Chinese because it is a new method of protest that it very hard to prevent.”
Tibetans have long chafed under China’s rule over the vast Tibetan plateau, accusing Beijing of curbing religious freedoms and eroding their culture and language.

The tensions have intensified over the past year, but Beijing insists that Tibetans enjoy religious freedom and have benefited from improved living standards brought on by China’s economic expansion.

Most of the suicide attempts have taken place around the Kirti monastery in China’s southwestern province of Sichuan, which has become a flashpoint for the mounting anger at Chinese domination over Tibet.

The only previous case in Tibet itself was in December, when a former Buddhist monk set himself alight in Changu prefecture shouting anti-Chinese slogans. He was taken to hospital and later died of his injuries.

Chinese media made no mention of the latest immolations. Internet searches for the Chinese name of the temple where they reportedly occurred, Dazhaosi, were blocked in China on Monday.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: dondrup on June 09, 2012, 01:53:13 PM
It really baffles me why HH Dalai Lama, CTA or any influential person not making a statement to stop self-immolation from occurring again in Tibet? What about those monasteries where these monks who had died of self-immolation came from?  Is the World similarly standing on the fence too by not doing anything to stop unnecessary sacrifices of human lives?  It seems like the Tibetans have come to a point of accepting self-immolation as an appropriate way to make a stand. After so many self-immolations, the sacrifices had not produced the results intended.  China is still in control of Tibet!  Are we going to see more self-immolations in the future soon?  Om Mani Padme Hum!
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on June 09, 2012, 02:08:43 PM
It really baffles me why HH Dalai Lama, CTA or any influential person not making a statement to stop self-immolation from occurring again in Tibet? What about those monasteries where these monks who had died of self-immolation came from?  Is the World similarly standing on the fence too by not doing anything to stop unnecessary sacrifices of human lives?  It seems like the Tibetans have come to a point of accepting self-immolation as an appropriate way to make a stand. After so many self-immolations, the sacrifices had not produced the results intended.  China is still in control of Tibet!  Are we going to see more self-immolations in the future soon?  Om Mani Padme Hum!

Its rather that they dont give a rat's ass about the Tibetans who are now obsessed with self immolation. The CTA just wants it to keep going and keep continuing because they and their narrow minds think that by doing this they will eventually pressure china to bow down to their demands and also that it attracts international attention. But by now, everyone is already numb to all the self immolations.

Lobsang Sanggay was wrong to talk about the self immolators as if they were matyrs and that he would hold prayers for them. In a way that means the CTA SUPPORTS AND ENCOURAGES SELF IMMOLATION. An ordinary government would have expressed shock and disbelief as well as plead their citizens to not harm themselves in this way. This shows how much CTA cares about Tibet but not its people.

If a government cares not for its people, then is it really a government at all or a failed one? CTA should really wake up to this reality. When people start to go on hunger strikes in india, NONE OF THE MINISTERS OR THE GOVERNMENT ENCOURAGED IT. They all discouraged it and tried to feed the hunger strike people. They did not make statements like how brave they were and they would pray for them.

CTA, you dont need to be a genius to realize that you should not be encouraging self immolation or any sort of violence in Tibet because all it will do is to cause China to be more angry at you and refuse to talk to you even further. It also makes China look down on you as all you care about is THE LAND and NEVER ABOUT THE PEOPLE. Wake up and show that you care about harmony, stability and peace in Tibet, then perhaps, China will listen.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on June 09, 2012, 03:10:31 PM

As I see it self-immolation will only infuriate China.  It has closed doors for further negotiation for autonomy and nullified previous efforts.  Tibetans must learn from the Japanese.  After the 2nd world war, defeated Japanese rebuilt Japan from scratch to conquer the world economy instead of war.  Similarly, Tibetans can use their rich cultural heritage and Buddhism to penetrate and integrate into China without self-immolation nor negotiation whatsover to regain their position in China.  Tibetan's secret and most powerful weapon is Dorje Shugden.  This is what the Dalai Lama has been orchestrating before he exits the present scene to the next.  If CTA is smart they should lift the ban and work to reunite all Tibetans for this cause.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: dondrup on June 09, 2012, 05:34:43 PM

As I see it self-immolation will only infuriate China.  It has closed doors for further negotiation for autonomy and nullified previous efforts.  Tibetans must learn from the Japanese.  After the 2nd world war, defeated Japanese rebuilt Japan from scratch to conquer the world economy instead of war.  Similarly, Tibetans can use their rich cultural heritage and Buddhism to penetrate and integrate into China without self-immolation nor negotiation whatsover to regain their position in China.  Tibetan's secret and most powerful weapon is Dorje Shugden.  This is what the Dalai Lama has been orchestrating before he exits the present scene to the next.  If CTA is smart they should lift the ban and work to reunite all Tibetans for this cause.

I agree.

The World can benefit further with Tibetans’ rich cultural heritage and Buddhism.  Just look at how Tibetan Buddhism has spread all over the Western countries and the rest of the World till today.  Many fortunate people had embraced and benefited from Tibetan Buddhism.  Tibetans must preserve their rich heritage and share with the World. 

Tibet has also produced many highly attained Buddhist Masters after the advent of Buddhism in Tibet.  However due to the ban on Dorje Shugden, many of these high lamas could not perform their Dharma activities freely and perfectly to make the Gelugpa tradition flourish and grow even more.  If CTA had lifted the ban on Dorje Shugden earlier and sooner, Tibet and Tibetans would have been better off than what had happened so far.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: lotus1 on June 09, 2012, 06:35:11 PM
It is sad to hear about self-immolation. Although the monks are doing it to urges China to free Tibet, I am not agreed to this act. For youngsters, after seeing self-immolations, they may think that it is the best way to do since the monks are doing it and just follow. There are a lot of different way to protest but not self-immolation.
For me, I believe that our human life is very precious. It is also mentioned in the Lamrim.  It cannot be just wasted by killing own self like self-immolation. We should treasure this life and do more to practice Dharma and to benefit others. Besides, I do not believe China will like this act of self-immolation. Instead of freeing Tibet, they may ban people from learning and practising Buddhism.
Therefore, I hope no more self-immolation and HH Dalai Lama would openly ask the monks to stop.   
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: kris on June 09, 2012, 07:21:46 PM
I think whether or not CTA or HH Dalai Lama make a statement of self-immolation it not the key here. The key here is that two people has died for making a statement, and to me, that is very sad.

Based on the Lamrim, human life is difficult to obtain, and having the opportunity to be near Dharma and become a monk is even more difficult. However, by just giving away the lives is just too wasteful, even though they are trying to make a statement or point. I totally understand that they are trying to make a point, but I felt there are so many other ways to make a point to the world...
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: AnneQ on June 10, 2012, 10:32:43 AM
I like what icy had posted that instead of infuriating China by having more self-immolation which hasn't produced any results at all, another way to regain "autonomy" over China is to win them over to the rich and cultural heritage of Tibetan Buddhism. As it is, since the ban, China has been very open to Buddhism, esp DS practice, which I see as a positive sign. Tibetans must except that China will never free Tibet for strong political reasons, but Tibetans can win China over culturally through Buddhism and Dharma, and in the end gain religious freedom and harmony with China, being little brother to big brother China. Wouldn't that be more ideal than losing more precious lives?
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: beggar on June 10, 2012, 12:30:32 PM
I like what icy had posted that instead of infuriating China by having more self-immolation which hasn't produced any results at all, another way to regain "autonomy" over China is to win them over to the rich and cultural heritage of Tibetan Buddhism. As it is, since the ban, China has been very open to Buddhism, esp DS practice, which I see as a positive sign. Tibetans must except that China will never free Tibet for strong political reasons, but Tibetans can win China over culturally through Buddhism and Dharma, and in the end gain religious freedom and harmony with China, being little brother to big brother China. Wouldn't that be more ideal than losing more precious lives?


I like what you say here - that the Tibetans will probably never be able to fight the political might of the Chinese but they still can win them over with their greatest asset, which are the Buddhist teachings and lineages. Outwardly, all these years, even the Dalai Lama has said they are no longer fighting for independence and he's now giving advice to the Chinese to find solace in Buddhism: http://www.dorjeshugden.com/forum/index.php?topic=1990.0 (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/forum/index.php?topic=1990.0)

With self-immolations going on in Lhasa and the exiled Tibetan community splitting up among themselves, it doesn't look like the Tibetans will ever endear themselves to Chinese to achieve independence. It's ridiculous how the Tibetans continue to accuse Shugden practitioners of being Chinese spies - as if continuing that vein of speech will help their cause for independence. Unwittingly, they have only just provided more fuel for the Chinese to use against them - which indeed they are. Shugden is widely promoted and practised in China now. They also risk upsetting their host country, India, with these kinds of internal conflicts and instability within their various Tibetan camps throughout India. With two big giants like India and China involved, Tibetans had better be much more careful about not rocking the boat with their petty little accusations and witchhunts.

DorjeShugden.com has written a letter about this and sent it out to Tibetan groups everywhere - do you guys know of this? There's good points, including yet another logical argument for not propagating the ban further. Read it here (and perhaps be inspired to send out more copies: http://dorjeshugden.com/wp/?p=10541#letter22 (http://dorjeshugden.com/wp/?p=10541#letter22)
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: beggar on June 10, 2012, 12:52:53 PM
Forgot to add this link too of the effects of the ban in China, with monks in China now being "forced" to pray to Shugden. The motivation may not be good, but the connections are certainly being made which, in a Dharma sense, will always create an imprint that will open into something positive.

Proof of the Bigger Picture:Chinese demanded monks to worship Shugden
http://dorjeshugden.com/wp/?p=13134 (http://dorjeshugden.com/wp/?p=13134)
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Vajraprotector on June 11, 2012, 10:34:57 PM
The Dalai Lama gave some explanation, saying that this is a very sensitive political issue and that "If I get involved in that, then the retirement from political power is meaningless. Whatever I say the Chinese government they immediately manipulate."

This reminded me of the 2008 Tibetan unrest- a series of riots, protests, and demonstrations that started in Tibetan regional capital of Lhasa and spread to other Tibetan areas and a number of monasteries including outside the Tibet Autonomous Region. The Dalai Lama did speak up, but not everyone listened. Worse, there were accusations that the unrest was motivated by separatism and orchestrated by the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama denied the accusation and said that the situation was caused by wide discontent in Tibet. It was concluded that the presence of Tibetan flags and shout for independence was a sign that support for His Holiness' Middle-Way approach is wavering and a new generation of Tibetans do not want to sit and wait.

It is obvious that the Tibetans are fed up. What was different was for decades, it was considered almost blasphemy to criticise the Dalai Lama and his policies. Not any more, hence people are making their own decisions to resort to violence or extremes, which could be beyond His Holiness' control. It is sad, because there is no way China can be pressured to give in despite these tragic deaths. Morever, the Tibetans not only have to deal with being refugees, they also have a lot of internal issues to deal with that created a lot of confusion and chaos, e.g. the 2 Karmapas, the ban etc. 

For now, the support for the ban and etc might be strong due to pressure from the CTA to the monastic institutions and the Tibetan settlements, but sooner or later, the support for the ban will also waver as Tibetans have to deal with other issues at hand and also the sad truth that independence and autonomy are not within their grasps.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: dsiluvu on June 13, 2012, 06:54:29 PM
This is so embarrassing!!! Not only have they lost their country... separate their people now they are killing them?! And not even in the name of the Buddhas but something impermanent as their country and land. I wonder if any of these Tibetans have any Dharma in them at all.

The Chinese are probably laughing their heads off because the lesser there are, the better and good riddens! THe Dalai Lama or CTA best speak up and not keep quiet for it is only bringing their own people and moral down.  Not only that it is also putting Buddhism to shame because Buddhism is about non-violence and not taking one's life.

This will surely make any possible dialogue with China less and less possible. f I was the CTA... I would tell my people to STOP creating these terrible acts as it brings them no where and it paints a bad image of the CTA for allowing this sort of behaviour to go on. Their silence means their approval. They better do something positive fast if they want any progress in that direction!   
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: rossoneri on June 14, 2012, 08:04:35 AM
How many more lives do we have to sacrificed in order for HH Dalai Lama or CTA to lift the ban? The Tibetan Government should now encourage their people to have unity among themselves and one of the method is to unite them by lifting the ban of Dorje Shugden. I believed morally among the Tibetans will be lifted at the same time if the DS ban is lifted. Now, we all are playing a guessing game if it's really true HH Dalai Lama banning DS practice is for spreading it across China. We never know, at least not until it is lifted. But i have faith and believed this is the reason and the only reason for HH Dalia Lama banning the practice. Maybe it is not the right time for Him to lift the ban just yet. But for how long more do we have to wait?  How many more self-sacrifices do we have to witness again?
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Positive Change on June 14, 2012, 03:00:08 PM
I mean no disrespect to one's beliefs and actions but to me self-immolation is but a senseless act of grabbing headlines. It is pure sensationalism! It perhaps is not as bad as taking another's life/lives in proving a point in the case of suicide bombers, but surely taking one's own life is bad enough.

I do not share this from atop a soap box but as a mere Buddhist practitioner who would like to make sense of the act of killing oneself which is a heinous and grave injustice to oneself and one's practice. I do not believe Buddhism supports the taking of one's life or any other being, in fact it teaches us that we as the vessel of compassion should use our most opportune life to benefit others. If setting oneself on fire (let's put it plainly) is for the benefit of others, then perhaps we should all set ourselves on fire for the sake of sentient beings... then what?

I have seen footage of self-immolations and I have no doubt some of these people have achieved some form of attainments in order to go through such bodily pain and harm. So perhaps I am wrong in my views... but even if one was attained and have a different view, surely one needs to look at how others view it too and not be a "bad" example to follow... surely these points have to be thought through.

Perhaps I am merely venting in frustrations of my own clouded misconceptions but I really cannot see any justice or good from taking one's own life in such a macarbe way!

Can someone please shed some decent light on these acts?
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on June 14, 2012, 04:07:04 PM
The Dalai Lama gave some explanation, saying that this is a very sensitive political issue and that "If I get involved in that, then the retirement from political power is meaningless. Whatever I say the Chinese government they immediately manipulate."

This reminded me of the 2008 Tibetan unrest- a series of riots, protests, and demonstrations that started in Tibetan regional capital of Lhasa and spread to other Tibetan areas and a number of monasteries including outside the Tibet Autonomous Region. The Dalai Lama did speak up, but not everyone listened. Worse, there were accusations that the unrest was motivated by separatism and orchestrated by the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama denied the accusation and said that the situation was caused by wide discontent in Tibet. It was concluded that the presence of Tibetan flags and shout for independence was a sign that support for His Holiness' Middle-Way approach is wavering and a new generation of Tibetans do not want to sit and wait.

It is obvious that the Tibetans are fed up. What was different was for decades, it was considered almost blasphemy to criticise the Dalai Lama and his policies. Not any more, hence people are making their own decisions to resort to violence or extremes, which could be beyond His Holiness' control. It is sad, because there is no way China can be pressured to give in despite these tragic deaths. Morever, the Tibetans not only have to deal with being refugees, they also have a lot of internal issues to deal with that created a lot of confusion and chaos, e.g. the 2 Karmapas, the ban etc. 

For now, the support for the ban and etc might be strong due to pressure from the CTA to the monastic institutions and the Tibetan settlements, but sooner or later, the support for the ban will also waver as Tibetans have to deal with other issues at hand and also the sad truth that independence and autonomy are not within their grasps.

It is very obvious that the Dalai Lama is not interested at all to get into a political tango with China because it is a waste of time and it will not bring much results because it is the rest of the world vs those that are in Tibet. CTA should be taking responsibility for this and they should find ways and negotiate with China instead of just hoping for HHDL to do something.

I mean, the CTA themselves are not interested in the Tibetan cause. they prefer to just sit aside and revel in their past glories rather than actually work hard to make it happen. They dont make an effort to talk to China, neither do they actually try to appease China in any way. They're just making things harder for themselves and others in every way and not towards their goals.

Why is it that the CTA seems to go against the goals? wouldnt it be smarter to appease the enemy rather than angering them further so that they will cooperate and understand? Has years of Buddhist practice done nothing for the Tibetan people and the CTA? It does seem like it. No matter how or what has been said, the CTA is still a bad example for Buddhists due to their actions.

How many more people will die due to self immolations and also how many more will need to suffer needlessly just because they happen to be too close to the self immolator? The CTA, by now, should really speak up and discourage openly this practice instead of encouraging it in a subtle way. Eventually people will see through and they will not support CTA any longer.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Vajraprotector on June 14, 2012, 06:22:56 PM
I mean, the CTA themselves are not interested in the Tibetan cause. they prefer to just sit aside and revel in their past glories rather than actually work hard to make it happen. They dont make an effort to talk to China, neither do they actually try to appease China in any way. They're just making things harder for themselves and others in every way and not towards their goals.

Why is it that the CTA seems to go against the goals? wouldnt it be smarter to appease the enemy rather than angering them further so that they will cooperate and understand? Has years of Buddhist practice done nothing for the Tibetan people and the CTA? It does seem like it. No matter how or what has been said, the CTA is still a bad example for Buddhists due to their actions.

How many more people will die due to self immolations and also how many more will need to suffer needlessly just because they happen to be too close to the self immolator? The CTA, by now, should really speak up and discourage openly this practice instead of encouraging it in a subtle way. Eventually people will see through and they will not support CTA any longer.

I think it is difficult and perhaps too late at this point. Like what you said, there is lack of unity, some still have faith in the Dalai Lama's Middle Way approach, some are not willing to follow this direction any further, evident in the large-scale public protests in 2008.

Also, if you want CTA to take responsibility, it is rather difficult. In a thread that you commented on (Dalai Lama's Envoys in Talks With Beijing Resign), the two envoys who represented the Dalai Lama in failed talks with China on Tibet over the past decade have resigned "to express their frustration over Beijing's unwillingness to consider any autonomy for the Himalayan region".

First of all, I am not impressed with the reason behind the resignation. This is what the envoys wrote in their resignation letter.
 “Given the deteriorating situation inside Tibet since 2008 leading to the increasing cases of self-immolation by Tibetans, we are compelled to submit our resignations.”

Because they are unable to (or did not want to) control the deteriorating situation, they quit. Whilst there is an increasing cases of self-immolation, what they do was not find a way to relieve the sufferings of the frustrated Tibetans, but to stop their own suffering and guilt by quitting, with a glimpse of hope that it will affect China. That's the example of CTA for you.  Yes, perhaps it is very tiring after 9 rounds of negotiation and after so many years, or perhaps they (CTA) too are tired of themselves?

Secondly, I think China cannot be bothered with 2 envoys quitting. I think resignation will have no effect nor influence China in any way, it will just further demotivate the Tibetans-in-exile in their quest for autonomy. 

Also, China is not afraid of CTA, it is the Dalai Lama's global influence that China is afraid of. The Tibetans were highly dependent on His Holiness for this, and now His Holiness has stepped down from all these secular political affairs, hence CTA's influence is slowly diminishing. 
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on June 15, 2012, 12:03:38 PM
I found this interesting article about a person's opinion on a Tibetan nun's self immolation. CTA should really take note.

Quote
Self Immolation – such a waste of life. Dozens of Tibetans burned themselves to death each year, as they have for such a long time, and where did it get them? Nowhere. Granted, unlike Muslim suicide bombers, Tibetan self immolations are aimed at killing one person only – the protester him/herself. Muslims always try to take as many innocent lives with them as possible, such is the religion of peace, but this post is not about them.

So it’s another video of a Tibetan nun who set herself on fire. She died a painful and agonizing death and… nothing’s changed about the relationship between Tibet and China. The world has not stopped turning and not a single fuck was given that day. If anything, the Chinese government are laughing their asses off cause now there’s one more annoying Tibetal to deal with. They keep dying in flames by their own hand and so far, it has helped them to achieve a great deal of nothing. Now I’m not an expert, but perhaps a change of strategy would be in order?

http://www.bestgore.com/suicide/self-immolation-nun-tibet/ (http://www.bestgore.com/suicide/self-immolation-nun-tibet/)

nobody gives a damm about self immolations these days so will CTA stop instigating them?
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on June 15, 2012, 12:30:25 PM

I think it is difficult and perhaps too late at this point. Like what you said, there is lack of unity, some still have faith in the Dalai Lama's Middle Way approach, some are not willing to follow this direction any further, evident in the large-scale public protests in 2008.

Also, if you want CTA to take responsibility, it is rather difficult. In a thread that you commented on (Dalai Lama's Envoys in Talks With Beijing Resign), the two envoys who represented the Dalai Lama in failed talks with China on Tibet over the past decade have resigned "to express their frustration over Beijing's unwillingness to consider any autonomy for the Himalayan region".

First of all, I am not impressed with the reason behind the resignation. This is what the envoys wrote in their resignation letter.
 “Given the deteriorating situation inside Tibet since 2008 leading to the increasing cases of self-immolation by Tibetans, we are compelled to submit our resignations.”

Because they are unable to (or did not want to) control the deteriorating situation, they quit. Whilst there is an increasing cases of self-immolation, what they do was not find a way to relieve the sufferings of the frustrated Tibetans, but to stop their own suffering and guilt by quitting, with a glimpse of hope that it will affect China. That's the example of CTA for you.  Yes, perhaps it is very tiring after 9 rounds of negotiation and after so many years, or perhaps they (CTA) too are tired of themselves?

Secondly, I think China cannot be bothered with 2 envoys quitting. I think resignation will have no effect nor influence China in any way, it will just further demotivate the Tibetans-in-exile in their quest for autonomy. 

Also, China is not afraid of CTA, it is the Dalai Lama's global influence that China is afraid of. The Tibetans were highly dependent on His Holiness for this, and now His Holiness has stepped down from all these secular political affairs, hence CTA's influence is slowly diminishing.

The self immolations were directly incited and endorsed by the CTA, and they know it. It is not that the conditions in those areas deteriorate, but merely because the CTA decided that it would be fun to provoke them so that there will be more self immolations and that there will be more media attention and it would "destablize" china's rule, sadly, these are not happening in reality.

I agree with you that the officials quit not because of anything but because they are just afraid of suffering and frustration, and also that they foolishly think that China will pity them and pity their plight of quitting. I dont think so. It wont work on China at all no matter what they would like to think. Them quitting just means that nobody's doing anything directly for the cause.

What did all the protests, slander, self immolations and gossip achieved? It only pulls CTA further away from their goal of having a free or more autonomous Tibet, it actually provokes China more and makes China even more angry at them and makes them more and more reluctant to be in the talks with CTA to resolve the Tibet issue. So is this what the CTA wants?

the CTA should actually take a look at the actual situation instead of living within their own fantasies already. They have achieved nothing with their self immolations, protests and smear campaigns against China, and they will never achieve anything else at all if they keep continuing, unless as what TK had said, that they apologize to Dorje Shugden and confess their wrongdoings and repair their samaya. But that is not likely to happen.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Vajraprotector on June 15, 2012, 06:36:12 PM
The CTA should actually take a look at the actual situation instead of living within their own fantasies already. They have achieved nothing with their self immolations, protests and smear campaigns against China, and they will never achieve anything else at all if they keep continuing, unless as what TK had said, that they apologize to Dorje Shugden and confess their wrongdoings and repair their samaya. But that is not likely to happen.

Dear Ensapa,
Perhaps the most recent action by the Tibetans that will stir up or make the Chinese to be on their toes was not CTA, but rather His Holiness attending the solidarity rally.

The main aim of the rally was to urge member states of the European Union to organize high-level political discourse between the EU and China regarding greater autonomy for Tibet, the formation of an EU delegation to visit Tibetan areas and even appoint a European Union Special Coordinator for issues that deal with Tibet. But seriously, without His Holiness, I don’t think the rally will achieve much results nor gain international attention.

It is not that the rally that matters, but what matters was His Holiness attending the rally and meeting Austrian leaders.  In the course of His Holiness’ 9-day visit to Austria, there were numerous encounters between His Holiness the Dalai Lama and political and religious dignitaries, such as the Austrian chancellor Werner Faymann and Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, and also the Austrian vice-chancellor and Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Result check: Almost 28,000 visitors participated in the events in Klagenfurt, Salzburg and Vienna, and another 15.000 viewed the public talks and other events with His Holiness online via live-stream. This shows the great interest and acceptance H.H. the Dalai Lama enjoys in Austria. More than 200 volunteers supported the organization-team of five. The media took great interest in His Holiness’ visit. More than 330 accredited journalists from 17 nations – among them media representatives from USA, India, UK, France and Scandinavia – reported about the events with His Holiness in Austria.

Tell me, can CTA alone get any results even close to half of what His Holiness achieved? So what else can CTA do – yes, back to helping to instigate self immolations, protests and smear campaigns against China perhaps?
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on June 16, 2012, 02:04:26 PM
And here is another sad news

Quote
China: Tibetan Dies in Protest Fire
By ANDREW JACOBS
Published: June 15, 2012
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A Tibetan herder in China’s northwest Qinghai Province died Friday after setting himself on fire to protest government policies in the region, according to exile groups and Radio Free Asia. The herder, Tamdin Thar, thought to be in his early 60s, set himself on fire in Markethang, in the Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, said the group Free Tibet. Since 2009, at least 39 Tibetans have set themselves on fire. Of those, 30 have died, according to the International Campaign for Tibet, an advocacy group in Washington. “If the human rights situation doesn’t improve, such tragic incidents will keep happening,” said Tsering Woeser, a Tibetan writer in Beijing. “Many Tibetans think the pain of self-immolation is nothing compared to the pain of living without religious freedom.”

I like how Tsering Woeser puts it that China is not giving Tibet religious freedom when they allow temples to be opened and to function and they just dont allow them to worship the Dalai Lama. Everything else around that is more than allowed, including Dorje Shugden. Partial religious freedom is better than not being allowed to practice anything at all.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Vajraprotector on June 19, 2012, 04:21:46 AM
I think the plight of Dorje Shugden practitioners who are ostracised in their own community and not being given access to facilities and rights are much stronger reasons to self-immolate  :(

However, we cannot discount the fact that these brave Tibetans have no way to make a strong point across but to choose self - immolation.

These are some facts about self-immolation so far:
•39 Tibetans have been confirmed to have self-immolated since February 27, 2009
•33 men, 6 women
•30 of the 39 are known to have died following their protest

•25 from Ngaba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan province
•1 from Chamdo prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region
•5 from Tibetan Autonomous areas in Qinghai province

Out of these, 7 of the 39 were monks at Kirti monastery in Ngaba, 9 were former monks at Kirti monastery in Ngaba, 2 were nuns from Mame Dechen Chokorling nunnery in Ngaba

There is a map online that shows self-immolation by locality.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on June 19, 2012, 04:52:56 AM

Dear Ensapa,
Perhaps the most recent action by the Tibetans that will stir up or make the Chinese to be on their toes was not CTA, but rather His Holiness attending the solidarity rally.

The main aim of the rally was to urge member states of the European Union to organize high-level political discourse between the EU and China regarding greater autonomy for Tibet, the formation of an EU delegation to visit Tibetan areas and even appoint a European Union Special Coordinator for issues that deal with Tibet. But seriously, without His Holiness, I don’t think the rally will achieve much results nor gain international attention.

It is not that the rally that matters, but what matters was His Holiness attending the rally and meeting Austrian leaders.  In the course of His Holiness’ 9-day visit to Austria, there were numerous encounters between His Holiness the Dalai Lama and political and religious dignitaries, such as the Austrian chancellor Werner Faymann and Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, and also the Austrian vice-chancellor and Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Result check: Almost 28,000 visitors participated in the events in Klagenfurt, Salzburg and Vienna, and another 15.000 viewed the public talks and other events with His Holiness online via live-stream. This shows the great interest and acceptance H.H. the Dalai Lama enjoys in Austria. More than 200 volunteers supported the organization-team of five. The media took great interest in His Holiness’ visit. More than 330 accredited journalists from 17 nations – among them media representatives from USA, India, UK, France and Scandinavia – reported about the events with His Holiness in Austria.

Tell me, can CTA alone get any results even close to half of what His Holiness achieved? So what else can CTA do – yes, back to helping to instigate self immolations, protests and smear campaigns against China perhaps?


In more ways than one, I do not think that His Holiness would encourage self immolation in any way. It goes against the basic Buddhist principles of realizing that this body is important to do spiritual practice. In his recent video, I believe he wants lobsang sanggay to speak up on self immolations, but also says that this is the result of China not listening to the Tibetans that they rule:

The Dalai Lama explains why he will not speak out on self-immolations (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYR7OfVdHww#ws)

To me, the Dalai Lama is really serious about his retirement and he wants Lobsang Sanggay to take over his role in governing the secular areas of Tibet. But obviously, Lobsang Sanggay has not been doing anything. In the video, to me, HHDL has made it very clear that he does not wish to be involved in the political game with China anymore as he refused to make any statements on self immolation because China will just manipulate and twist that. Lobsang Sanggay is there to take this burden away from HHDL, but very clearly, he is not doing so and just hiding behind the scene :( how sad.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Vajraprotector on June 20, 2012, 02:15:21 PM
The Katri did speak up few weeks back, but with no action nor plans to do anything about it. Read the news below:


Sangay expresses concern over self-immolations in Tibet

Published: Sunday, Jun 3, 2012, 1:01 IST
Place: Shimla | Agency: PTI

Prime Minister of Tibetan government-in-exile Lobsang Sangay has expressed concerns over "unabated" self-immolations by Tibetans in Tibet.

"As the self-immolations continue unabated inside Tibet, we Tibetans-in-exile are ever more concerned about the policies of the Chinese government in Tibet," Sangay said at a special prayer service held to mourn them.

"We are holding this prayer service to pay homage to those who have sacrificed their lives for Tibet and console their family members," he said.

All the Kalons and officials of the Central Tibetan Administration as well as the heads of various governmental and non-governmental organisations attended the prayer service which was presided over by Kirti Rinpoche, the head lama of the Kirti Monastery.

Referring to the support extended by many world leaders and Nobel Laureates for the cause, Sangay urged Tibetans to continue to highlight the grim situation prevailing inside Tibet.

Since 2009, 38 Tibetans have set themselves on fire calling for more freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama to the land, Tibetan officials said.

Out of these, 29 died and the remaining nine were either seriously injured or their whereabouts are still unknown.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on June 21, 2012, 03:40:18 AM
The Katri did speak up few weeks back, but with no action nor plans to do anything about it. Read the news below:


Sangay expresses concern over self-immolations in Tibet

Published: Sunday, Jun 3, 2012, 1:01 IST
Place: Shimla | Agency: PTI

Prime Minister of Tibetan government-in-exile Lobsang Sangay has expressed concerns over "unabated" self-immolations by Tibetans in Tibet.

"As the self-immolations continue unabated inside Tibet, we Tibetans-in-exile are ever more concerned about the policies of the Chinese government in Tibet," Sangay said at a special prayer service held to mourn them.

"We are holding this prayer service to pay homage to those who have sacrificed their lives for Tibet and console their family members," he said.

All the Kalons and officials of the Central Tibetan Administration as well as the heads of various governmental and non-governmental organisations attended the prayer service which was presided over by Kirti Rinpoche, the head lama of the Kirti Monastery.

Referring to the support extended by many world leaders and Nobel Laureates for the cause, Sangay urged Tibetans to continue to highlight the grim situation prevailing inside Tibet.

Since 2009, 38 Tibetans have set themselves on fire calling for more freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama to the land, Tibetan officials said.

Out of these, 29 died and the remaining nine were either seriously injured or their whereabouts are still unknown.

This statement does not help at all. It only shows that he sees the Tibetans in tibet as nothing more than sheep and tools that will further their ambition to take over Tibet again. he should have just pleased them to stop self immolating themselves that their lives are more important and that they are just needlessly burning themselves up. That is the only type of logical and acceptable statement that any government can make in the wake of self immolations. What is funny is that LS acts as if the CTA has nothing to do with them when it is common knowledge that it was the CTA who somehow incited the self immolations. And even if they did not, those who immolated themselves obviously is allied with CTA so CTA can discourage or deter them from self immolating. Holding prayers and making statements that sound more like passive reinforcement for more self immolations rather than something that is sincere. CTA has been consistently being sneaky and spouting lies and distorting truths so its not a huge surprise if they were the ones behind the self immolations.

It is disappointing that even a Harvard education cannot educate LS about how to make the most basic statements that is expected of a prime minister in the light of such events and instead he makes the statement that encourages more...oh my god. how inhuman can he be? Blaming the deaths of the self immolators on China when you know very well that it was incited by the CTA...and the CTA can stop this by not inciting anymore.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: samayakeeper on June 22, 2012, 07:15:05 AM
I pray that such acts do not encourage lay people to have their voices heard by enacting them on the ban against the worship and practice of Dorje Shugden. It will be just a waste of precious human lives regardless the motive and especially carried out by ordinary people. Om Mani Padme Hung.

The ban had caused and is still causing hardship for many people who have been and are still affected by it. An ordinary person can be only pushed to a certain extent. No, I am saying that only realized beings should do it though. They do not need to for they have wisdom and compassion to weather out the storm.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Vajraprotector on June 27, 2012, 04:53:12 PM
More about self-immolation from Lobsang Sangay, and why is it that self-immolation is also used to bring attention to himself? Anyone, any idea? :o

Prime Minister in exile denounces 'terrorist' label
June 26, 2012
Sydney Morning Herald

THE number of Tibetans living under Chinese rule who have staged the ultimate protest - burning themselves to death in public - is accelerating, with almost three times as many in the first six months of this year as in all of last year.

The Chinese call them "terrorists," but who might they be trying to terrorise, the eight who died in flames by their own hand last year and the 23 who have perished so far this year?

The young Harvard-educated lawyer who recently became the first elected leader of the Tibetan government in exile, Dr Lobsang Sangay, says: "The Chinese labelling is perplexing - because in all the self-immolations, not one has hurt anyone else," he told the Herald in an interview yesterday. "They don't threaten or harm anyone else, so they can't be terrorists."

Dr Sangay, on his first visit to Australia since taking over the Dalai Lama's political but not spiritual duties, makes the predictable point about the self-immolations as protest against Chinese repression, but also a startling concession.

"It means the situation is not bearable. It's not just that it's a desperate act, but also a political act. Peaceful protests, peaceful rallies are not allowed. The statements they leave behind consistently say they want freedom.

"The self-immolations are somehow an assertion of freedom - 'you can restrain my freedom but I can choose to die as I want.' ''

But Dr Sangay's surprising admission comes when he volunteers this fact: The intensifying outbreak of self-immolations "coincides with my election''.

"The final round of voting for my election was March 16. Ninety per cent have coincided with my taking over the leadership."

How to interpret this? Does it mean that Tibetans feel greater hopelessness in their cause since the withdrawal of the Dalai Lama from his political activism?

Or could it be an effort to apply greater pressure on Dr Sangay to take a harder stance against China? He made no claim and no denial but said in response to these question: "It's too early to tell."

At the very least, the self-immolators are not heeding the advice of their Kalon Tripa, or Prime Minister in exile: "We have repeatedly asked them not to take drastic actions, including self-immolation, but they continue to do so."

He applauded the call by the Foreign Affairs Minister, Bob Carr, for China to allow the Australian ambassador to visit Tibet to assess the situation, a call Beijing has ignored.

"It was bold and innovative of him - no one has done that formally, at least publicly. Why won't the Chinese let the ambassador go to Tibet? They are hiding something."

But Dr Sangay is dissatisfied Senator Carr is refusing to meet him on this visit: "Australia says it is a leading democracy and it believes in democracy and freedom of speech. That is the rhetoric, where is the action?"

He also believes Australia is in needless fear of China: "The Chinese are Confucian pragmatists. If they want to buy your coal and iron ore, they will whether you meet me or not. And if they find a cheaper source, they will buy it from there even if you do meet me."

From: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/prime-minister-in-exile-denounces-terrorist-label-20120625-20yn8.html (http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/prime-minister-in-exile-denounces-terrorist-label-20120625-20yn8.html)
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on June 27, 2012, 05:22:25 PM
I think I'm gonna have fun with this statement of his which is filled with contempt.

More about self-immolation from Lobsang Sangay, and why is it that self-immolation is also used to bring attention to himself? Anyone, any idea? :o

Obviously, LS is the main guy behind the self immolations and the CTA is the one instigating them so that they are mentioned by the media, like some sort of has-been television star trying to get attention after she is long forgotten.

Prime Minister in exile denounces 'terrorist' label
June 26, 2012
Sydney Morning Herald

THE number of Tibetans living under Chinese rule who have staged the ultimate protest - burning themselves to death in public - is accelerating, with almost three times as many in the first six months of this year as in all of last year.

The Chinese call them "terrorists," but who might they be trying to terrorise, the eight who died in flames by their own hand last year and the 23 who have perished so far this year?
They're trying to harm China's reputation and also the stability of the region by undermining China's credibility in the form of self immolations.

The young Harvard-educated lawyer who recently became the first elected leader of the Tibetan government in exile, Dr Lobsang Sangay, says: "The Chinese labelling is perplexing - because in all the self-immolations, not one has hurt anyone else," he told the Herald in an interview yesterday. "They don't threaten or harm anyone else, so they can't be terrorists."
tell that to the monks of the monastery whenever one of their monks self immolated. Tell that to the families of the self immolation victims after they get brutally interrogated by the Chinese which I do not blame at all because they are just doing their duties to protect the interest of the country. Every country has the right to be rough against people who are perceived to be against the country and government from ancient times.

Dr Sangay, on his first visit to Australia since taking over the Dalai Lama's political but not spiritual duties, makes the predictable point about the self-immolations as protest against Chinese repression, but also a startling concession.

"It means the situation is not bearable. It's not just that it's a desperate act, but also a political act. Peaceful protests, peaceful rallies are not allowed. The statements they leave behind consistently say they want freedom.
There are so many ways of showing unsatisfactoriness of rule and it does not need to end with death as it causes more harm than good. You're just using this as an excuse and as material for your cause....the lives of people....how bloody. How do you sleep at night knowing that you needlessly sacrificed lives for your "cause?"

"The self-immolations are somehow an assertion of freedom - 'you can restrain my freedom but I can choose to die as I want.' ''
So...you're telling me that Tibetans are unable to follow the country's laws? So...does that not contradict the Buddha's advice?

But Dr Sangay's surprising admission comes when he volunteers this fact: The intensifying outbreak of self-immolations "coincides with my election''.
Because it came out of your party's funding?
"The final round of voting for my election was March 16. Ninety per cent have coincided with my taking over the leadership."

How to interpret this? Does it mean that Tibetans feel greater hopelessness in their cause since the withdrawal of the Dalai Lama from his political activism?
It just means that LS the mastermind/instigator/suggestor for people to self immolate. I dont think the tibetans know about the vietnamese monk who self immolated...unless someone who studied in Harvard told them.

Or could it be an effort to apply greater pressure on Dr Sangay to take a harder stance against China? He made no claim and no denial but said in response to these question: "It's too early to tell."

At the very least, the self-immolators are not heeding the advice of their Kalon Tripa, or Prime Minister in exile: "We have repeatedly asked them not to take drastic actions, including self-immolation, but they continue to do so."
Yeah but your statements for them to not self immolate has been consistently not serious and soft as compared to your statements against, i dont know....Dorje Shugden practitioners? So does that mean you dont really mean it when you say "Oh stop it! dont self immolate!"? Oh the hypocrisy.

He applauded the call by the Foreign Affairs Minister, Bob Carr, for China to allow the Australian ambassador to visit Tibet to assess the situation, a call Beijing has ignored.

"It was bold and innovative of him - no one has done that formally, at least publicly. Why won't the Chinese let the ambassador go to Tibet? They are hiding something."
Then why are you guys not answering questions about Dorje Shugden and the ban? Are you hidning something too?

But Dr Sangay is dissatisfied Senator Carr is refusing to meet him on this visit: "Australia says it is a leading democracy and it believes in democracy and freedom of speech. That is the rhetoric, where is the action?"
Ironically, CTA is anything but democratic. So why not have Australia probe the way your government runs and have a nice lil report on it?
He also believes Australia is in needless fear of China: "The Chinese are Confucian pragmatists. If they want to buy your coal and iron ore, they will whether you meet me or not. And if they find a cheaper source, they will buy it from there even if you do meet me."
Bzzzzzzzzzzt. The Harvard graduate made a boo boo. Confucius did not teach pragmatism. He taught the values that every human should hold. By the way, the Chinese has kind of abandoned his philosophy, at least the majority of the chinese and only a minority holds his philosophy these day. Get your facts right. You're no longer an undergraduate now, you're a prime minister.
From: [url]http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/prime-minister-in-exile-denounces-terrorist-label-20120625-20yn8.html[/url] ([url]http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/prime-minister-in-exile-denounces-terrorist-label-20120625-20yn8.html[/url])


That kinda sums up my feelings about the entire thing. The statement itself is pretty generic and not really serious at all. It sounded very half hearted, as if lobsang sanggay does not care if the tibetans set fire to themselves...well perhaps they really dont care coz they do not show actions that they care all along. They couldnt be bothered if yet another tibetan burns themselves into human bacon. CTA will improve and they will get China's attention if they said something like self immolation victims are an embarrassment to the Dalai Lama and CTA and whoever who does it are traitors to the CTA because they are just making things worse instead of helping, because that is the truth. What does CTA get out of all the self immolations? they get attention from the media and they basically dont care about their citizens as long as they get media coverage.

It wont be long before the world realizes whats going on and CTA's downgrade to a mere society will be a reality soon!
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on June 28, 2012, 06:02:34 AM
This is the result of self immolations. It does not bring Tibet one step to freedom neither does it work for the benefit of the people. Will CTA please, please tell people to stop immolating themselves? It only brings more harm and more pain to everyone and probably, just more news to post on phayul.com and that's it. Is Tibet's freedom worth so many lives? Or rather, just an article worth a human life and the suffering of many others?

Quote

Ngawang Norphel, 22 and Tenzin Khedup, 24
DHARAMSHALA, June 26: Chinese authorities in eastern Tibet have arrested family members of Ngawang Norphel, including his wife, following his self-immolation protest last week.

According to reports, a day after Ngawang Norphel and Tenzin Khedup set themselves on fire in Zatoe town calling for Tibet’s independence and long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the former’s wife Dolma Dicki along with two other relatives were arrested.

“It is not clear on what charges the three were arrested and their whereabouts is not known,” Sonam Tsering, an exiled Tibetan said citing sources inside Tibet.

Ngawang Norphel, 22 and Tenzin Khedup, 24, set themselves ablaze in the afernoon of June 20. Both of them were carrying Tibetan national flags in their hands at the time of their self-immolation protest.

Tenzin Khedup sucummbed to his injuries while Ngawang Norphel is believed to be in a critical condition at a Chinese military hospital in Xining.

“The two monks who were sent from Zilkar Monastery to help him have been forbidden entry into the hospital,” the Central Tibetan Administration said in a relase. “They are now said to be at the hospital gate where soldiers stand guard.”

In a new footage immediately shot after their self-immolation protest, released by the CTA last week, Ngawang Norphel, severely burned, could be seen shouting, “What has happened to my Land of Snow?” and also enquiring for his “sworn brother” Tenzin Khedup.

Although under immense visible pain, Ngawang Norphel says that their sacrifice is for the sake of Tibet.

“We two “sworn brothers”, we won’t fail next time. [This is] for the sake of Tibet. We are in the land of snow. If we don’t have our freedom, cultural traditions and language, it would be extremely embarrassing for us,” Ngawang Norphel says.

In a note left behind by the two young Tibetans before taking their drastic action, they urged all Tibetans to be united in the fight for Tibet’s freedom and the return of the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama from exile.

“People like us are unable to contribute anything toward Tibetan religion and culture, or contribute economically to help Tibetans,” Ngawang Norphel and Tenzin Khedup wrote. They said their actions "show love to the Tibetan people and loyalty to His Holiness the Dalai Lama."

Tenzin Khedup is from Tridu in Keygudo. His parents are Legdup and Kyizom. Ngawang Norphel is from Ngaba, the region which remains the nerve centre of the ongoing wave of self-immolations in Tibet.

Since Tapey’s self-immolation protest in 2009, 41 more Tibetans have burned themselves calling for freedom in Tibet and the return of the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama from exile.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on July 09, 2012, 04:29:03 AM
The Dalai Lama has said it is best for him “to remain neutral” on the issue of more than 40 Tibetans setting themselves on fire in the Tibetan areas of China over the past year, amid allegations by Beijing of a plot and concerns among some Tibetans about the spreading protests.

In his most detailed comments yet on the protests, which have brought fresh security restrictions across many Tibetan areas in recent months, the Dalai Lama, in an interview with The Hindu, described the self-immolations as “a very, very delicate political issue.”

“Now, the reality is that if I say something positive, then the Chinese immediately blame me,” he said. “If I say something negative, then the family members of those people feel very sad. They sacrificed their… life. It is not easy. So I do not want to create some kind of impression that this is wrong.”

In an appeal, some Tibetan writers and poets have called for the self-immolations to stop, arguing that Tibetans needed “to cherish life regardless of the magnitude of oppression.”
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on July 09, 2012, 10:05:43 AM
The Dalai Lama has said it is best for him “to remain neutral” on the issue of more than 40 Tibetans setting themselves on fire in the Tibetan areas of China over the past year, amid allegations by Beijing of a plot and concerns among some Tibetans about the spreading protests.

In his most detailed comments yet on the protests, which have brought fresh security restrictions across many Tibetan areas in recent months, the Dalai Lama, in an interview with The Hindu, described the self-immolations as “a very, very delicate political issue.”

“Now, the reality is that if I say something positive, then the Chinese immediately blame me,” he said. “If I say something negative, then the family members of those people feel very sad. They sacrificed their… life. It is not easy. So I do not want to create some kind of impression that this is wrong.”

In an appeal, some Tibetan writers and poets have called for the self-immolations to stop, arguing that Tibetans needed “to cherish life regardless of the magnitude of oppression.”

Why would CTA care about a family's feelings as opposed to discouraging more Tibetans from self immolating. I find it weird that CTA is not speaking out enough to discourage self immolations and are not speaking up enough on the bad sides of self immolation. They scarified their life due to misinformation for a cause that is not even getting anywhere. Even the Tibetans from Tibet, the lamas that flow in and out Tibet are FULLY AWARE that CTA is inciting the self immolations. My dad who was driving one around last week told me that the Khenpo told him that originally, he was able to go to Tibet directly from India, but due to the self immolations, China has not approved his visa to Tibet, so he came to my country to go to Tibet from there. He told my dad that the CTA was behind it. Nobody respects the self immolators but the CTA...why? what is their agenda? free press?

Anyways, here's an update of the May self immolation survivor:

Quote
Dhargey succumbs to burn injuries: Reports
Phayul[Sunday, July 08, 2012 23:54]

A young exiled Tibetan during a candle light vigil in solidarity with Dhargey and Dorjee Tseten on May 27, 2012. (Phayul file photo)
DHARAMSHALA, July 8: Dhargey, the young Tibetan man who set himself on fire in Lhasa, Tibet’s capital on May 27, is feared to have succumbed to his injuries.

According to reports, Dhargey, 25, who set himself on fire in a twin self-immolation protest along with Dorjee Tseten, 19, in front of the historic Jokhang Temple passed away in a hospital in Lhasa on July 7.

US based Radio Free Asia in a report quoted a source in Lhasa as saying that Dhargey passed away on July 7 at 6.40 pm (local time).

The same source added that Dhargey was brought to a police hospital near Sera Monastery with 60 per cent burns immediately after his fiery protest.

Dorjee Tseten, who was working at a restaurant in Lhasa along with Dhargey, passed away at the site of their protest.

It was earlier reported that Dhargey’s father, Lodey, a native of Ngaba, eastern Tibet recently travelled to Lhasa to enquire about his son’s condition but was turned back.

“Lodey was not even able to confirm whether his son was still in Lhasa, much less find out anything about his condition,” the exile base of Kirti monastery in Dharamshala said in release last month.

Kalon Tripa Dr Lobsang Sangay in his statement on the Dalai Lama’s 77th birthday said the ongoing wave of self-immolations in Tibet showed that the “Tibetan aspirations for freedom and dignity remains strong.”

Dr Sangay also called for a global solidarity vigil on August 8, coinciding with the completion of his one-year in office.

“This international vigil will remember those Tibetans who have given up their lives for Tibet and show solidarity with every Tibetan in Tibet who continues to suffer oppression under Chinese rule,” Katri said.

According to the Dharamshala based Central Tibetan Administration, 42 Tibetans have set themselves on fire from February 27, 2009 to June15, 2012 demanding freedom in Tibet and the return of the Dalai Lama from exile.

With reports of Dhargey’s death, 33 Tibetans have now passed away in their self-immolation protests. Six Tibetans have sustained serious injuries and are reportedly in critical conditions while the well-being and whereabouts of four Tibetan self-immolators still remain unknown.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on July 11, 2012, 04:39:51 PM
...and another case of self immolation. If Lobsang Sanggay would say something about this, it would have stopped. But he did not and this will keep continuing. It wont be long before people realize it is not caused by China as what the CTA would like everyone to believe, but are instigated by CTA. Hearing about how this young man left his mother and left his birthplace in a lockdown saddens me a lot that there are still people who naively think it will make a change when it will only make more suffering and it will still not aid the Tibetan cause.
 
Quote
Self-immolating youth identified as Tsewang Dorjee, All witnesses arrested
Phayul[Tuesday, July 10, 2012 15:53]

DHARAMSHALA, July 10: The Tibetan man who set himself on fire on July 7 has now been identified as Tsewang Dorjee, a 22-year-old nomad from Damshung, central Tibet.

The Dharamshala based Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile in a release today said Tsewang Dorjee set himself on fire in the centre of Damshung, at a place of where people gather in large numbers.

“Tsewang Dorjee raised slogans and set himself on fire in protest against the Chinese government,” the Tibetan Parliament said. “Barely three minutes into his protest, Chinese security personnel arrived at the scene, doused the flames and took him to a hospital.”

The parliament also expressed fears of his death.

“No one was allowed to meet him after his protest. Reports suggest that Tsewang Dorjee passed away later that night.”

He is survived by his old mother.

Earlier reports had indicated that Tsewang Dorjee was taken to a hospital in the adjoining city of Lhasa with no reports about his well-being.

The Tibetan Parliament noted that the entire Damshung region is currently reeling under a heavy lockdown and people who witnessed Tsewang Dorjee’s self-immolation have since been arrested.

“All communication lines have been cut in Damshung. Even for people living in the nearby areas such as Lhasa are unable to reach Damshung.”

“The Chinese authorities in the region have arrested all the people who witnessed Tsewang Dorjee’s self-immolation protest and have passed strict orders barring anyone from speaking about the protest,” the release said.

Since 2009, the number of Tibetans who have set themselves on fire demanding freedom in Tibet and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile have now reached 43.

Damshung, which means "chosen valley" in Tibetan, is a hub of pastoral production and commerce. The region has been subjected to China’s unpopular rangeland policies, including the fencing of grasslands and restrictions over livestock development.

Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on July 15, 2012, 06:09:57 PM
This is a very interesting analysis on the self immolations of Tibet, and how they seemed to have increase after Lobsang Sanggay became the prime minister. Could it be that the Tibetans have lost hope, which is why they immolated themselves, or it could be that it is the new direction that LS is taking to provoke China to freeing Tibet? Hmmmmm...

Quote
What do the self-immolations & Kalon Tripa have in common? ?
He made it happen! Well, sort of, according to him at least.

The following section is from the Tibetan Political Review editorial on the KTs recent statements in Australia:

“Surprise One: The Kalon Tripa’s Link to the Self-Immolations?
 
The Kalon Tripa made a notable comment that indicates a certain inward-focus as he approaches his one-year mark in office.  According to a reporter for the Sydney Morning Herald, Sangay made a “surprising” statement:


“Sangay’s surprising admission comes when he volunteers this fact: The intensifying outbreak of self-immolations ‘coincides with my election. The final round of voting for my election was March 16. Ninety per cent have coincided with my taking over the leadership.’”
This was the same reporter who cited Sangay’s “movie-star looks” so clearly he was not hostile to the Kalon Tripa.  It is likely that the reporter found this assertion “surprising” because it implies a direct and causal link between the self-immolation crisis in Tibet and Sangay’s own tenure in office.
 
That is one possibility.  But it is also possible to cite the statistics that 100% of the self-immolations inside Tibet have been after the 2008 uprising, 95% have been after the immolations first spread beyond Ngaba, and 98% have been after His Holiness’s announcement that he would devolve his political powers.
 
In short, the reporter was probably surprised because it is far from clear that the self-immolations have much at all to do with the Kalon Tripa’s “taking over the leadership”.”
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on July 18, 2012, 11:07:29 AM
Here's another case of self immolation and this time, he is barely an adult. My heart cracked when i read this story.

Quote
Breaking: Teenage Tibetan monk burns self to death
Phayul[Tuesday, July 17, 2012 18:35]

([url]http://phayul.com/images/news/articles/120717063817TX.jpg[/url])
Lobsang Lozin in an undated photo. (Photo/Kirti Monastery)

DHARAMSHALA, July 17: A teenage Tibetan monk set himself on fire today in an apparent protest against the Chinese government in the beleaguered region of Ngaba, eastern Tibet.

Lobsang Lozin, 18, set himself on fire at around 12 noon near his monastery’s main prayer hall and began walking towards the local Chinese office in flames before falling down.

“Lobsang Lozin, a monk of the Gyalrong Tsodun Kriti Monastery, set his body on fire near the monastery’s main prayer hall around noon today and walked in the direction of the county’s local office engulfed in flames,” Kanyag Tsering, a monk at the exile base of Kirit Monastery in Dharamshala said. “Lobsang Lozin succumbed to his burns and passed away at the site of his protest.”

Lobsang Lozin was heard shouting many slogans but it is still not clear what these slogans were.

According to the Dharamshala based Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, monks at Lobsang Lozin’s monastery took his body inside and are currently holding prayers and rituals for the deceased.

“Lobsang will be cremated later in the evening,” TCHRD said.

The rights group expressed fear of confrontation after local Tibetans blocked a bridge to stop Chinese armed forces from reaching the monastery.

“Following the self-immolation, a large number of security personnel including People’s Armed Police came rushing towards the monastery but were met with strong resistance from the local Tibetans who tried to stop the security personnel at the bridge near the monastery,” TCHRD said. “It is feared that the tense stand-off between the security personnel and local Tibetans might get worse.”

([url]http://phayul.com/images/thumb.aspx?src=120717064111W7.jpg[/url])
Lobsang Lozin passed away at the site of his self-immolation protest in Barkham, Ngaba region of eastern Tibet, July 17, 2012. (Photo/Kirti Monastery)

Son of Jorgyal and Tsepopo, Lobsang Lozin has been described as an exemplary student with excellent track record in his monastic studies.

The Central Tibetan Administration in a release today said it was “deeply concerned” at the tense situation in the region.

Gyalrong Tsodun Kirti monastery is located some 80 kilometers away in the north of Barkham County town. It is one of the biggest Gelug monasteries in Gyalrong region and has over 300 monks.

On March 30 earlier this year, two monks from the same monastery, Chime Palden (21) and Tenpa Dhargyal (22), set themselves on fire in protest over China’s continued occupation of Tibet.

With today’s incident, 45 Tibetans have set themselves on fire since 2009 demanding freedom in Tibet and the return of the Dalai Lama from exile.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on July 21, 2012, 03:59:07 PM
Here's the latest news on the recent self immolation case. What shocked me was that he was good in his Buddhist studies. Then how did he came to the conclusion of setting himself on fire?

He would have been a Geshe that would have benefitted many people, but instead he chose to throw that away for the sake of CTA's independence...

Quote
Lobsang Lozin’s charred body immersed into river
Phayul[Thursday, July 19, 2012 17:48]

Lobsang Lozin in an undated photo. (Photo/Kirti Monastery)
DHARAMSHALA, July 19: The charred body of Lobsang Lozin, who set himself on fire protesting China’s occupation of Tibet, has been immersed into a river near his monastery in Barkham region of Ngaba, eastern Tibet.

Lobsang Lozin, 18, was given the traditional Tibetan water burial in the night of July 17, the day of his fatal protest.

“The remains of Lobsang Lozin, who gave his life in protest against the Chinese government, were given a water burial in the river nearby Tsodun monastery on the night of July 17,” the exile base of the Kirti Monastery in Dahramshala said in a release yesterday.

“On July 18 the people of Tsodun gathered at the monastery for worship and prayer, and all shops and restaurants in the
township remained closed in a show of mourning.”

Lobsang Lozin, who has been described as an exemplary student with excellent track record in his monastic studies, set himself on fire at around 12 noon near his monastery’s main prayer hall and began walking towards the local Chinese office in flames before falling down.

Later, monks at the Gyalrong Tsodun Kriti Monastery carried Lobsang Lozin’s body inside the monastery premises and offered prayers and conducted rituals.

A “tense stand-off” was reported after local Tibetans blocked a bridge to stop specially dispatched Chinese armed forces from reaching the monastery.

“That evening, a large group of security forces dispatched from Barkham reached Tsodun, but the local Tibetans did their utmost to block the way,” the release said. “The security forces were stopped from entering the monastery and remained on the far banks of the river conducting military drills.”

Gyalrong Tsodun Kirti monastery is located some 80 kms to the north of Barkham County town and is one of the biggest Gelug monasteries in Gyalrong region with over 300 monks.

On March 30 earlier this year, two monks from the same monastery, Chime Palden (21) and Tenpa Dhargyal (22), set themselves on fire in protest over China’s continued occupation of Tibet.

With Lobsang Lozin’s self-immolation, 45 Tibetans have set themselves on fire since 2009 demanding freedom in Tibet and the return of the Dalai Lama from exile.

Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on July 22, 2012, 04:40:32 PM
Ah, finally HHDL has said why he will never talk on self immolation. Interesting, tho, that the main reason why is so that he will not hurt the families of those who self immolated. Perhaps HHDL knows that it is the CTA who has been encouraging it? And the families are aware of it as well and he would not want to break their hearts? But at that cost, more and more people will self immolate...hmmm... what do you guys think?

Quote
Dalai Lama says he must remain neutral on self-immolations
Tibetan spiritual leader says he does not wish to upset families of the dead or offer political opportunity to China

Tania Branigan in Beijing
guardian.co.uk, Monday 9 July 2012 14.47 BST

The Dalai Lama at the inauguration of a hospital near Dharamsala, India, this month. Photograph: Ashwini Bhatia/AP
The Dalai Lama has said he cannot be negative about the spate of self-immolations by Tibetans in China because it would hurt their families.

The exiled spiritual leader said it was best for him to remain neutral on a "very, very delicate political issue".

Around 40 Tibetans, many of them monks or former members of the clergy, have set themselves on fire over the last year and a half, triggering a security clampdown.

"Now, the reality is that if I say something positive, then the Chinese immediately blame me," he told The Hindu newspaper.

"If I say something negative, then the family members of those people feel very sad. They sacrificed their ... life. It is not easy. So I do not want to create some kind of impression that this is wrong."

China has accused the Dalai Lama of inciting the self-immolations, while he has blamed Chinese policies.

Although he has expressed deep sorrow at the deaths and injuries of those involved, he has stopped short of asking Tibetans not to set fire to themselves – as another senior Buddhist figure, the Karmapa, did last year.

The Karmapa, who some see as a potential successor to the Dalai Lama as Tibetan spiritual leader, praised the "pure motivation" and bravery of those involved, but added: "I request the people of Tibet to preserve their lives and find other, constructive ways to work for the cause of Tibet."

Tsering Woeser, an outspoken Tibetan poet and writer who lives in Beijing, has also called for an end to self-immolations, saying it does not help the cause of Tibetan rights.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on July 23, 2012, 11:31:42 AM
Below is the response of China's government to the recent strings of self immolations. It is not exactly a good reaction, but then again, it is the government's duty to ensure the peace of the land. Therefore, China's hardline approach can be seen by some as a justified response to the self immolations. CTA and the Tibetans can actually remove this hard handed approach by complying and working from the inside...but....

Quote
Intensify fight against separatism in Tibet: China’s propaganda chief
Phayul[Monday, July 23, 2012 11:50]

DHARAMSHALA, July 22: China's propaganda chief, on a visit to Tibet last week, underlined the importance of maintaining stability and ordered officials to intensify the fight against separatism in the restive region.

Li Changchun, ranked fifth in the hierarchy of the ruling Communist Party, was on a five-day visit to Tibet's Nyingtri and Lhasa, places where Beijing plans to undertake multi-billion dollar tourism projects.

"The lifeblood of Tibet rests in ethnic unity, social harmony and stability," the Party’s mouthpiece People’s Daily paper quoted Li as saying.

"We must guide officials and the people to continually strengthen their understanding of the great (Chinese) motherland and people and deepen and expand the fight against separatism."

Li also pushed for an education campaign to "underscore the historic fact that Tibet is an inseparable part of China," which should form "the ideological basis for the fight against separatism and the maintenance of stability."

The propaganda chief visited the headquarters of the Tibet Daily and its news website, asking the staff to "introduce a real and changing Tibet to the whole world."

In the ancient Tibetan capital city, the senior Chinese leader visited the Potala Palace and the Jokhang Temple, the site of a twin self-immolation protest against Chinese rule in May this year.

According to the paper, at the Jokhang Temple, Li gave offerings to the monastery, encouraging the monks there to be patriotic and devout and make contributions to ethnic unity and the ethnic cultural development.

On May 27, Dhargey, 25 and Dorjee Tseten, 19 set themselves on fire in front of the historic Jokhang Temple demanding freedom in Tibet and the return of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

Since then, seven more Tibetans have self-immolated, taking the toll to 45.

Following their fiery protests, Lhasa has been reeling under a heavy security lockdown with hundreds of Tibetans reportedly detained, including many who had witnessed the self-immolations. Tibetans from outside central Tibet have been arbitrarily expelled in large numbers.

Last month, New York based Human Rights Watch in a release said China’s “drastic” security drive and “extreme measures” could further “deepen” tensions on the plateau.

Tibet, for the second time this year, remains closed to outside visitors.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on July 23, 2012, 02:40:28 PM
I found another interesting opinion piece on why the Dalai Lama should not speak up on the self immolations. From a Tibetan perspective, the whole thing does sound somewhat funny and illogical...sometimes, I wonder how does a Tibetan mind work (the laypeople) that they can come up with such interesting conclusions that sounds more like a very desperate attempt to justify the self immolations...

Quote
My Take: Why the Dalai Lama cannot condemn Tibetan self-immolations
Editor's Note: Tenzin Dorjee is executive director of Students for a Free Tibet, a global grassroots network of students and activists working for Tibetan independence. A writer and an activist, he is a spokesperson for the global Tibetan youth movement.

By Tenzin Dorjee, Special to CNN

(CNN)–In a crass display of moral blindsight, Stephen Prothero's blog post on Tibetan self-immolations blames the victim instead of the bully.

Tibetans are stuck in one of the world's last remaining and most brutal colonial occupations. It is through this lens, more than anything else, that we must understand the self-immolations.

Since 2009, at least 44 Tibetans -– monks, nuns and lay people -– have set themselves on fire to protest China's rule; 39 self-immolations have occurred this year alone. Every one of these acts is a direct result of China's systematic assault on the Tibetan people's way of life, their movements, their speech, their religion, and their identity.

Instead of responding to China's oppression with revenge –- a path far more tempting to the basic human instinct -– Tibetans have chosen a means far more peaceful. Without harming a single Chinese, they set aflame their own bodies to shine a light upon the atrocity taking place in their homeland. They sacrifice their own lives not in the name of “God” or “Buddha,” as Mr. Prothero so dismissively suggests, but in an altruistic intention of alerting the world to their people's suffering.
But in the process, create more suffering for people around them and also untold suffering for their families...how altruistic can that be?
CNN's Belief Blog: The faith angles behind the big stories

By demanding that the Dalai Lama condemn these individuals who have shown compassion beyond our imagination, Mr. Prothero has betrayed a colossal indifference to the courage and circumstances of those fighting for the same democratic freedoms and human rights that he himself enjoys.

How can the Dalai Lama condemn the self-immolators when their motivation was evidently selfless and their tactic nonviolent? Would we ask Gandhi to condemn activists in the Indian freedom struggle who were killed while lying on the road to block British police trucks? Or the hunger strikers who were starving themselves to death in order to protest the injustices of British rule in India?
Yeah, but they didint get their community into trouble after their deaths, did they? Nor were they inspired by some covert CTA agent somewhere around. Their intention was peace and to have more freedom and not to split away.

By every measure, it's the Chinese leaders and not the Dalai Lama who are responsible for the self-immolations in Tibet. They have the power to ease tensions, reverse restrictions, and stop the self-immolations overnight. But instead of seeking a lasting solution to the Tibet issue, they continue to aggravate the situation by intensifying the repression.
But the Tibetans also aggravated the issue. CTA also aggravated the issue. It takes 2 hands to clap. Why is it a one sided thing? Why keep blaming China when you guys could just  appease china with actions and subvert control on them? Sigh, the blame.

No one is more tormented by the self-immolations than the Dalai Lama, whose bond with the Tibetan people goes deeper than language can express. In fact, it is the singular calming influence of the Dalai Lama that has kept the movement nonviolent to date.
That is true, but he did it using the Dorje Shugden ban.

An act of faith, desperation or protest: Self-immolations through time

As a universal icon of peace, the Dalai Lama's spiritual influence goes well beyond the Buddhist world. Nevertheless, his moral authority is not an infinite resource. There is an invisible moral rope with which the Dalai Lama has bound the Tibetans to nonviolence for four decades. But this rope is wearing thin as China's escalating tyranny drives Tibetans into a corner.

Self-immolation, which emerged as a tactic from being cornered for too long, represents the final outpost in the spectrum of nonviolent resistance. If this last remaining space for expression, no matter how drastic, is taken away, the rope might just snap. Chaos will ensue, vastly increasing the chances of a full-blown ethnic conflict that even the Dalai Lama will have exhausted his moral capital to stop.

From all of Mr. Prothero's accusations, the most offensive is his comparison of self-immolations to sati – a social system in ancient India where widows were pressured to throw themselves into the funeral pyre of their deceased husbands. Self-immolation – a political act of reason – is the polar opposite of sati – a blind act of superstition.

There is not a single case of Tibetan self-immolation that was prompted by social pressure or religious obligation. Every incident of it, unexpected as it is, shakes the nation, the community, not to mention the family, to its foundations. Every Tibetan prays in his or her heart that the latest might be the last.
But most or all of it were prompted by CTA agents? Yes if they pray it to be the last, WHY IS IT STILL HAPPENING? People who want to self immolate would change their mind if that was what was really in their mind.

The image of a person engulfed in flames is shocking, often disturbing, to people living in the free world. For all our obsession with violent movies, graphic video games, and live coverage of wars, it still rips our hearts to pieces when we see a human in flames.

Rather than indulging in philosophical investigations into the morality of self-immolations, we must see these actions for what they are: urgent pleas for help from a people pushed to the brink by decades of ruthless repression.
By repression, you mean not following the rules of the land set out by China?

One hopes that most people are focused on the real question at hand: how shall we answer this call?
By not encouraging it. Aint that simple?
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Tenzin Dorjee.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: dsiluvu on July 23, 2012, 11:36:00 PM
(http://www.phayul.com/images/news/articles/120331075244UI.jpg)

DHARAMSHALA, March 31: Dharamshala was tense with an overwhelming outpour of emotions yesterday as the casket, draped with the Tibetan National flag, carrying the body of Jamphel Yeshi entered the exile Tibetan headquarters.

The long convoy of cars and motor bikes decorated with flags, banners, and photos of Jamphel Yeshi engulfed in flames, slowly made its way past lines of aggrieved mourners to Tsug-la Khang, the main temple.

Thousands of Tibetans and supporters had gathered at the courtyard across the main gate of the Dalai Lama’s residence to pay last respects to Jamphel Yeshi at the state funeral.

As the casket was lowered on an elevated platform, a shower of khataks poured down, an offering usually reserved for high lamas.

Jamphel Yeshi, all of 27, had set himself on fire on March 26, at a mass protest rally in New Delhi demanding international intervention in the ongoing crisis in Tibet and protesting Chinese President Hu Jintao’s visit to India.

Although suffering 98 per cent burn and given zero per cent chance to survive, Jamphel Yeshi’s heart continued to fight on for almost a gruelling two days. He was declared dead in the morning of March 28.

Jamphel Yeshi had escaped into exile in 2006 and studied in Dharamshala and New Delhi, where he had been staying for the past two years.

The exile Tibetan leadership was in full strength as the Supreme Justice Commissioners, Ministers, Parliamentarians, heads of NGOs, and the general public stood in a moment silence, praying for Jamphel Yeshi and all Tibetan martyrs.

Emotions heightened and anguish gave way to tears when an executive member of the Tibetan Youth Congress read out Jamphel Yeshi’s last hand written letter to fellow Tibetans, explaining his decision to torch his own body.

“What I want to convey here is the concern of the six million Tibetans,” Jamphel Yeshi wrote. “At a time when we are making our final move toward our goal – if you have money, it is the time to spend it; if you are educated it is the time to produce results; if you have control over your life, I think the day has come to sacrifice your life. The fact that Tibetan people are setting themselves on fire in this 21st century is to let the world know about their suffering, and to tell the world about the denial of basic human rights. If you have any empathy, stand up for the Tibetan people.”

Dhondup Lhadar, vice-president of TYC gave a moving account of Jamphel Yeshi’s life story and the last moments with his relatives and friends.

“Jamphel Yeshi’s sacrifice was an act of the highest order of service to one’s country and people. He knew exactly what he wanted to tell us Tibetans and the world that freedom is the basis of happiness for all living beings,” Lhadar said.

Thousands gather to pay final respects to Jamphel Yeshi. (Phayul photo/Tendar Tsering)

Minister for Religion and Culture and acting Kalon Tripa, Pema Chhinjor said he was moved beyond words to express his true feelings.

While encouraging Tibetans to organise activities to strive for the demands of those who have self-immolated, Kalon Chhinjor reiterated the Kashag’s appeal to Tibetans and Tibet supporters to organise their activities peacefully, in accordance with the laws of their country, and with dignity.

Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament, Penpa Tsering categorically stated that Jamphel Yeshi’s sacrifice was an outright act of non-violence and blamed Chinese President Hu Jintao for the loss of two Tibetan lives, one in India and another in Tibet, during his short stay in India.

"Hu Jintao is responsible for two more lives since he came to India. The question is how many more Tibetans will have to die before the issue is resolved?"

The entire businesses in Dharamshala, Tibetan and India, shut down as the body of Jamphel Yeshi made its last journey to the cremation grounds.

Jamphel Yeshi was placed on the pyre, for final rest, amidst prayers and slogans calling him a martyr echoing the hills.

The flames from his body once again rose high.
http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=31157&t=1 (http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=31157&t=1)


“Jamphel Yeshi’s sacrifice was an act of the highest order of service to one’s country and people. He knew exactly what he wanted to tell us Tibetans and the world that freedom is the basis of happiness for all living beings,” Lhadar said.

I really do not think all this burning oneself for Tibets Freedom is ever gonna work. I am sorry I do not feel empathy for the Tibetans as much as I did and do for Aung San Suu Kyi and her fight for her nation! Why I say this is because... sorry Tibetans... "freedom is the basis of happiness for all living beings" hence why DO YOU NOT simply allow your own people their FREEDOM to practice Dorje Shugden and STOP discrimination within your own? It is like your own HOUSE is a MESS but your are FINGER POINTING another?! Hu? And if Buddhism is really part of Tibet then they would know better about the causes they are creating in not getting any where near their goals for human rights.

You cannot GET what you do not GIVE! Please wise up Tibetans/CTAs!
So sorry you don't embrace your own teachings on karma. So sad!

Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on July 24, 2012, 02:04:19 PM
([url]http://www.phayul.com/images/news/articles/120331075244UI.jpg[/url])

DHARAMSHALA, March 31: Dharamshala was tense with an overwhelming outpour of emotions yesterday as the casket, draped with the Tibetan National flag, carrying the body of Jamphel Yeshi entered the exile Tibetan headquarters.

The long convoy of cars and motor bikes decorated with flags, banners, and photos of Jamphel Yeshi engulfed in flames, slowly made its way past lines of aggrieved mourners to Tsug-la Khang, the main temple.

Thousands of Tibetans and supporters had gathered at the courtyard across the main gate of the Dalai Lama’s residence to pay last respects to Jamphel Yeshi at the state funeral.

As the casket was lowered on an elevated platform, a shower of khataks poured down, an offering usually reserved for high lamas.

Jamphel Yeshi, all of 27, had set himself on fire on March 26, at a mass protest rally in New Delhi demanding international intervention in the ongoing crisis in Tibet and protesting Chinese President Hu Jintao’s visit to India.

Although suffering 98 per cent burn and given zero per cent chance to survive, Jamphel Yeshi’s heart continued to fight on for almost a gruelling two days. He was declared dead in the morning of March 28.

Jamphel Yeshi had escaped into exile in 2006 and studied in Dharamshala and New Delhi, where he had been staying for the past two years.

The exile Tibetan leadership was in full strength as the Supreme Justice Commissioners, Ministers, Parliamentarians, heads of NGOs, and the general public stood in a moment silence, praying for Jamphel Yeshi and all Tibetan martyrs.

Emotions heightened and anguish gave way to tears when an executive member of the Tibetan Youth Congress read out Jamphel Yeshi’s last hand written letter to fellow Tibetans, explaining his decision to torch his own body.

“What I want to convey here is the concern of the six million Tibetans,” Jamphel Yeshi wrote. “At a time when we are making our final move toward our goal – if you have money, it is the time to spend it; if you are educated it is the time to produce results; if you have control over your life, I think the day has come to sacrifice your life. The fact that Tibetan people are setting themselves on fire in this 21st century is to let the world know about their suffering, and to tell the world about the denial of basic human rights. If you have any empathy, stand up for the Tibetan people.”

Dhondup Lhadar, vice-president of TYC gave a moving account of Jamphel Yeshi’s life story and the last moments with his relatives and friends.

“Jamphel Yeshi’s sacrifice was an act of the highest order of service to one’s country and people. He knew exactly what he wanted to tell us Tibetans and the world that freedom is the basis of happiness for all living beings,” Lhadar said.

Thousands gather to pay final respects to Jamphel Yeshi. (Phayul photo/Tendar Tsering)

Minister for Religion and Culture and acting Kalon Tripa, Pema Chhinjor said he was moved beyond words to express his true feelings.

While encouraging Tibetans to organise activities to strive for the demands of those who have self-immolated, Kalon Chhinjor reiterated the Kashag’s appeal to Tibetans and Tibet supporters to organise their activities peacefully, in accordance with the laws of their country, and with dignity.

Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament, Penpa Tsering categorically stated that Jamphel Yeshi’s sacrifice was an outright act of non-violence and blamed Chinese President Hu Jintao for the loss of two Tibetan lives, one in India and another in Tibet, during his short stay in India.

"Hu Jintao is responsible for two more lives since he came to India. The question is how many more Tibetans will have to die before the issue is resolved?"

The entire businesses in Dharamshala, Tibetan and India, shut down as the body of Jamphel Yeshi made its last journey to the cremation grounds.

Jamphel Yeshi was placed on the pyre, for final rest, amidst prayers and slogans calling him a martyr echoing the hills.

The flames from his body once again rose high.
[url]http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=31157&t=1[/url] ([url]http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=31157&t=1[/url])


“Jamphel Yeshi’s sacrifice was an act of the highest order of service to one’s country and people. He knew exactly what he wanted to tell us Tibetans and the world that freedom is the basis of happiness for all living beings,” Lhadar said.

I really do not think all this burning oneself for Tibets Freedom is ever gonna work. I am sorry I do not feel empathy for the Tibetans as much as I did and do for Aung San Suu Kyi and her fight for her nation! Why I say this is because... sorry Tibetans... "freedom is the basis of happiness for all living beings" hence why DO YOU NOT simply allow your own people their FREEDOM to practice Dorje Shugden and STOP discrimination within your own? It is like your own HOUSE is a MESS but your are FINGER POINTING another?! Hu? And if Buddhism is really part of Tibet then they would know better about the causes they are creating in not getting any where near their goals for human rights.

You cannot GET what you do not GIVE! Please wise up Tibetans/CTAs!
So sorry you don't embrace your own teachings on karma. So sad!


This article itself is sad and disturbing. It is almost as if the Tibetans are encouraging self immolations by celebrating and feting self immolation victims. While it might be nice to gloss it up by saying that they are very selfless by sacrificing their lives for the sake of Tibet, nobody realizes that it has failed to grab China's attention at all. All that they got was more negative impressions on the Tibetans, thus the crackdowns on the monastery and on the Tibetans. There are other ways of raising awareness of what the Chinese are putting them through, but ending your life just to be the hero does not really justify such an act, and it will only inspire more such acts to continue. And at end, the only place that this self immolators get mentioned at are in phayul.com and on Tibet news related sites because too many has been reported, and people will eventually get sick of the same thing happening again and again.

The only impact the self immolations seem to have is that more and more copycat incidents come from it, and China gets more and more aggressive against the Tibetans and the areas and the families of the self immolators. People who self immolate are called victims for a reason: they have this wrong view that by burning themselves, they are actually doing their community a favor but it is not and it makes things worse for their families and their community. You dont have to be Buddhist to know that self immolation is wrong. You only need to be human and have common sense to see that destroying yourself will not bring about much benefits except create more deaths. Proof? What has China done about it so far other than having more and more crackdowns?
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on July 27, 2012, 06:34:18 AM
I found this on phayul today. It is a very disturbing news that CTA has gotten what it wants from the self immolation: media attention, and the US is giving them just that. What CTA dosent know is, they are being manipulated by the CTA in reality. The US has always been working and been trying to undermine China for decades, and they tried to use HHDL to do it during the 1970s but little did they know that HHDL was much more smarter than that. Now, they are trying to do it again using self immolation. the CTA is being manipulated by the US but they play right into their hands....

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Will continue to raise concern over self-immolations: US
Phayul[Thursday, July 26, 2012 22:40]

DHARAMSHALA, July 26: The United States said Wednesday it will continue to raise “deep concern” over the ongoing wave of self-immolations inside Tibet with China.

Assistant Secretary of State Michael Posner, briefing reporters after the annual U.S.-China Human Rights Dialogue in Washington, said discussion on a “range of concerns” about the self-immolations and Tibet’s cultural and religious rights were held.

“We’ve raised and will continue to raise our deep concern about more than 40 self-immolations in Tibetan parts of China,” Posner said in a statement.

Later, responding to a question, Posner said US raised concerns about broader issues that apply both to the Uighur and Tibetan community relating to “discrimination in terms of language rights, ability to practice their religion freely, discrimination employment – a range of issues involving their cultural rights, their religious freedom, et cetera.”

Painting a grim prospect for China’s rights record, the US State Department said human rights situation in the world’s most populous country is deteriorating.

"The overall human rights situation in China continues to deteriorate," Posner said.

"Our message to the Chinese government is you've made progress on the economic front, this is the moment to open up the space to allow people to dissent."

Chinese people needed to be able to voice legitimate grievances and play a "meaningful role in the political development of their own society," he added.

The closed-door annual U.S.-China human rights meeting was held in Washington from July 23-24.

According the State Department, this year US focused on charges that Beijing is restricting freedom of expression and Internet freedom, curbing the rights of religious and ethnic minorities and failing to implement internationally recognised labor rights.

Posner, whose portfolio covers democracy, human rights and labor issues, said the US raised with the Chinese dozens of individual cases of those persecuted that included lawyers, bloggers, nongovernment group activists, journalists and religious leaders.

He declined to elaborate on China's responses.

The Chinese delegation released a statement saying the talks were "candid, open and constructive" and helped "improve mutual understanding and reduce misunderstanding".

Although the annual dialogues have become a fixture on the diplomatic calendar, skeptics have questioned the effectiveness of the exercise.

Due to its failure to yield much concrete results, observers believe that China is misusing the dialogues to help fend off critics without taking action.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on July 29, 2012, 11:57:10 AM
Now China presses the appointed 11th Panchen Lama to address unrest in Tibet.

BEIJING, China, 28 July 2012

The Chinese appointed 11th Panchen Lama Bainqen Erdini Qoigyijabu offers a lamp at the main shrine of the Tibet Buddhist Theological Institute in Lhasa, capital of southwest China’s Tibet autonomous region, on 26 July 2012.File photo/Xinhua/China

As suicides continued unabated in Tibet, China for the first time pressed Panchen Lama, the Tibetan Buddhist monk being groomed to counter the Dalai Lama’s influence, to campaign against the self immolations, especially among young monks.

Twenty-two-year-old 11th Panchen Lama Bainqen Erdini Qoigyijabu, who was appointed in 1995 by China replacing his Dalai Lama appointed “predecessor” Choekyi Galtsen at the age of six in a controversial circumstances, began taking active role in the recent months with high-profile publicity from the state-owned media.

Mostly based in Beijing, the young Lama, who is also the Vice President of Buddhist Association and nominated member of the Chinese People’s Consultative Conference, for the first time stepped out of main land China in April this year and attended a Buddhist conference in Hong Kong.

Since last week he is touring Lhasa, the provincial capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region, making high-profile visits to Buddhist temples and monasteries and urging monks to safeguard China’s interests and work for social stability.

Described by China’s official Xinhua news agency as “a spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism”, the young Lama Thursday visited the Tibet Buddhist Theological Institute in Lhasa and called on monks to “love their country and abide by laws”.

Opened in October 2011, the institute hosts 150 students including monks from various Tibetan Buddhist sects.

After performing the rituals, Panchen Lama, regarded as the second most highest monk after the Dalai Lama, asked students to abide by national laws and better serve the country and its people.

“I hope you can make good use of the sound learning conditions that the institute provides to learn the essence of Buddhism and safeguard our country and serve its people, so as to be true Buddhists,” he said.

In his meeting with local leader on 24 July, the Lama said it is both the “basics” and responsibility for a religious person to help people do good deeds, and promote harmony and social development by religious preaching.

“And religious people should abide by the laws and religious code of conduct themselves,” he said, apparently referring to the recurring suicides which the Chinese government assert goes against the basic tenets of Buddhism and criticises the Dalai Lama for not condemning them.

His comments were made in the back drop of 44 self immolations by monks and other Tibetans in different parts of Tibet but mostly in Ngaba (Ch: Aba) county in Sichuan province.

The suicides were stated to be aimed at protesting high security as well as to demand the return of the Dalai Lama from exile.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on July 31, 2012, 03:45:22 PM
I feel bad for the self immolation victim and his beliefs. They are disturbing because it shows us how....deluded they are.

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Ngawang Norphel passes away in a Chinese hospital
Phayul[Monday, July 30, 2012 23:55]
By Tendar Tsering

([url]http://phayul.com/images/thumb.aspx?src=120731020138VY.jpg[/url])
Ngawang Norphel carrying serious burns after his self-immolation protest against China's continued occupation of Tibet on June 20, 2012 in Keygudo, Kham, eastern Tibet.
DAHRAMSHALA, July 30: More than a month after his self-immolation protest, Ngawang Norphel, a young Tibetan passed away in a Chinese hospital in the Tsongon region of eastern Tibet today.

According to his uncle, Tenzin Phegyel, a resident of Dharamshala, Ngawang Norphel’s father was in the hospital at the time of his death.

“Ngawang Norphel died today at around 3:30 pm in a Chinese hospital in Tsongon, Amdo,” Phegyel told Phayul. “His cremation will be carried out soon.”

Ngawang Norphel, 21 and Tenzin Khedup, 24, had set themselves on fire in Zatoe town of Keygudo, Kham on June 20, protesting China’s continued occupation of Tibet. Both of them were carrying Tibetan national flags in their hands at the time of their self-immolation protest.

Tenzin Khedup sucummbed to his injuries shortly after his protest while Ngawang Norphel was taken to a hospital in a critical condition.

Following China’s heavy clampdown on the flow of information from Tibet, earlier reports had indicated that Ngawang Norphel was a resident of Ngaba. However, according to his uncle, the entire family of the deceased hails from Nyalam region in Shigatse, western Tibet.

“Ngawang Norphel’s father, Lhakpa Dhondup came to know about his son’s self-immolation protest almost a month later, only when he actually saw his son in the hospital,” Phegyel said. “Someone had called from Amdo to tell him that his son was sick and hospitalised. Nothing more.”

Ngawang Norphel had left his home in 2008 and since, settled with a job in Keygudo.

According to Phegyel, the deceased had suffered sever burn injuries all over his body and his health was rapidly deteriorating over the past few days,

“Whenever he tried to utter a few words, Chinese officials at once came to interrogate him and ask questions,” Phegyle said. “Then he gradually stopped talking.”

In a video footage immediately shot after their self-immolation protest, Ngawang Norphel, severely burned, could be seen shouting, “What has happened to my Land of Snow?” and also enquiring for his “sworn brother” Tenzin Khedup.

Although under immense visible pain, Ngawang Norphel says that their sacrifice is for the sake of Tibet.

“We two “sworn brothers”, we won’t fail next time. [This is] for the sake of Tibet. We are in the land of snow. If we don’t have our freedom, cultural traditions and language, it would be extremely embarrassing for us,” Ngawang Norphel says.

In a note left behind by the two young Tibetans before taking their drastic action, they urged all Tibetans to be united in the fight for Tibet’s freedom and the return of the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama from exile.

“People like us are unable to contribute anything toward Tibetan religion and culture, or contribute economically to help Tibetans,” Ngawang Norphel and Tenzin Khedup wrote. They said their actions "show love to the Tibetan people and loyalty to His Holiness the Dalai Lama."


But they could have been teachers of their culture! They could have been successful businessmen and then use their money and influence to benefit the Tibetans! Self immolation dosent benefit the Tibetans, except become yet another entry on Phayul. I feel really sad for this kind of thinking, and immense unhappiness to people who promote this sort of thinking to them.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on July 31, 2012, 05:17:51 PM
Here's another interesting news that is not linked to the self immolations, but on a protest that happened and the contradictory statement that is contained within. It is interesting how either the people on phayul.com would like to believe or the tibetans would want to believe in general. Not to say that they are wrong or anything, but the way they interpret incidents and the perspective that they see things from is rather....interesting.

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Lone protester raises Tibetan flag against visiting Chinese official
Phayul[Monday, July 30, 2012 16:47]

DHARAMSHALA July 30: A Tibetan man staged a solitary protest against a visiting Chinese dignitary in Kham Gonjo region of Tibet.

Ngawang, carrying the banned Tibetan national flag, marched on the main street of Gonjo, raising slogans for the long life of the Dalai Lama and an end to China’s brutality.

The Dharamshala based Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, in a release today said Ngawang carried out his lone protest on July 22, coinciding with the visit of a senior Chinese official from nearby Chamdo.

“Ngawang marched in the middle of the main road in Gonjo, waving the Tibetan national flag and throwing prayer scrolls (lungta) in the air,” the release said. “He raised slogans for the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and demanded an end to Chinese brutality in Tibet.”

Calling for unity and peace amongst the Tibetan people, he urged his fellow countrymen to join the fight against the Chinese government.

Following his protest, Chinese police arrested Ngawang. The Tibetan Parliament said his whereabouts and well being is not known yet.

“Sources say Ngawang’s case will be handled by officials in either Lhasa or Chamdo but as of now, his whereabouts are unclear,” the release said.

Since the 2008 pan-Tibet uprisings, the entire region has witnessed repeated protests against the Chinese rule. Major peaceful protests this year have resulted in the death, injury and arrest of scores of Tibetans.

The ongoing wave of self-immolations has already witnessed an alarming number of 45 Tibetans setting themselves on fire demanding freedom in Tibet and the return of the Dalai Lama from exile.

The elected head of the Tibetan people, Kalon Tripa Dr Lobsang Sangay has called the self-immolations “political action” and blamed China’s failed policies in Tibet - founded on “political oppression, social marginalisation, cultural assimilation and environmental destruction” - as root causes of the protests.

“To understand these acts, it is crucial to know that within China, there is no room for freedom of speech and conventional forms of protest. A participant in a simple demonstration runs a high risk of arrest, torture and even death,” Dr Sangay wrote for the Washington Post this month.

Oh and, what is the penalty for treason again in Tibet before the invasion? What happened to Demo Rinpoche and Reting Rinpoche? are those humane? is that what you call freedom? And even in recent times, those who worship Dorje Shugden are subjected to numerous hardships. What freedom is that? freedom to be ostracised? So what is so different between you and China when it comes to this aspect, so why speak out against it in the first place?Beware of the pot calling the kettle black, Lobsang Sanggay.

“Were the Chinese government to offer to resolve the issue of Tibet peacefully through dialogue, the self-immolations would end immediately.”

Yes and we can all resolve things peacefully by making nasty accusations against the party that we would want to make peace with. What kind of logic is that? Chinese spies, Chinese murdering the Dalai Lama with Tibetan women, what else? Even if it was true, should these information be publicly exposed? Would it not jeopardise any relations between China and CTA if they made it out in the open? Sigh.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on July 31, 2012, 05:45:34 PM
..and another interesting opinion piece on self immolations of Tibet. This is how the westerners think and respond to the self immolations that are happening. It may not have much to do with Dorje Shugden, but it does show us the mentality of the Tibetans and also what is really going on with the self immolations. Opinion pieces are interesting because it can show us how it affects people, or Buddhists, in general

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Tibet's Self Murder: Tragedy or Transformation?
Posted: 07/09/2012 11:26 am

By John Halpern and Maria Sliwa

The charred, bodily remains of many self-immolators have been unceremoniously disposed of by local Chinese police, according to reports. Scores of Tibetans have reportedly committed self-immolation in protest against what they say are increasing atrocities committed by China.

What was in the minds of these Tibetans that caused them to set themselves on fire? Were these the final acts of frustration, despair and defiance, as Tibetans say? Or, were they treasonous acts of political perpetrators, as China's officials claim?

If these self-immolations are intended as the ultimate rejection of Chinese control, a cry for independence and a declaration of human rights, what does this imply to the outside world? And what can this mean to us?

At least 41 Tibetans have set themselves on fire since Feb. 27, 2009, and 31 have died, according to the International Campaign for Tibet, an advocacy group in Washington. If these acts were born of extreme desperation, having exhausted all other means of prayer, petition or protest, what else can our response be other than immense sadness and pity?

Passing the Baton

In a previous article, published in The Huffington Post, John Halpern examined the motivations in the hearts and minds of the resolute Hunger Strikers at the United Nations and the impact the self-immolation phenomenon is having toward a desired "Buddhist Spring in Tibet." The strike ended after promises were made by the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva (OHCHR).

Halpern's article also traced the edges where religion becomes politics and where a nation's policies transfer to the greater domain of international humanitarian initiatives, intervention and action.

At the core of these world developments and of this story, is the blossoming of a "culture of activism," a rarely addressed but vital subject. This non-governmental force, independently initiated by communities, internationally and functioning within legal boundaries (or not) challenges the frontiers of freedoms of expression, assembly, demonstration, civil liberty and civil rights.

Most importantly, the legacies of the Tibetan self-immolators leave behind some mysterious and delicate questions about religion and its relation to activism:
What, if at all, is the religious component of suicide, given the circumstances?

Is the act one of blasphemy?

When one's religious freedom is terminated and the last of one's acts is suicide, if the mind of the victim is of an altruistic, compassionate nature (albeit desperate and defiant), can self-immolation be considered a spiritual act?

The Tibetan suicides, whether motivated religiously, spiritually, politically or some hybrid of the three, occur after 60 years of Chinese occupation. They also occur at a time in history when instant activism and international communication are possible wherever a cell phone is in range.
Yet despite modern technology, history reveals that war, invasions and crusades often result in the vanquishing of an entire culture, regardless of the contributions and gifts that culture had made for a greater, human civilization. For Tibetans, the suicides of their nuns, monks and fellow compatriots are not in vain. They are a rallying cry, literally and symbolically, for independence, freedom and cultural survival. In contrast, if Mao Tse Tung's Cultural Revolution implicitly intended to extinguish Tibet's religion, and the source of its identity and culture, then the self-immolations could mean that Tibet, as we know it, is dying.

Encouraging self-immolation for political purposes would be seen as nihilistic, from a Tibetan Buddhist standpoint. But to honor the sacrifices and politicize them is a passing of the baton, spiritually and morally, through invoking their memory and lives: and pragmatically, by casting the self-immolations into the activist and humanitarian arena.

At this point in time, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, whose credo, "My religion is kindness," achieved billboard status following his acceptance speech for the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize, refuses comment. He no longer considers himself a spokesperson for Tibet, since his March 16, 2011 resignation from political office.

U.S. Senate candidate Tammy Baldwin applauded his decision. "At a time when despots cling to power, as their people yearn for democracy, the Dalai Lama's willful ceding of power is a tribute to his vision to fulfill the aspirations of the Tibetan people and should inspire others around the world," Baldwin said.

As a result, Tibetans are now speaking for themselves. While the Dalai Lama has passed them the baton, is there a correlation between his self-absolving his post and the self-immolations? The connection is tangible. After six decades of Chinese occupation, criticism, speculation and rejection of the Tibetan Government in Exile's policies, within the Tibetan community, has been erupting in many forms. Nevertheless, as Tibetans deliberate and debate these topics within their community, worldwide activism for the Tibetan cause has mobilized millions, Tibetan and non-Tibetan.

"We are raising our voices in support of the fundamental rights of Tibetan people at this critical time. The Chinese Government must immediately and unconditionally release all Tibetan political prisoners," said Laima Andrikiene, a long-serving member of the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Human Rights. "The persecution of Tibetans for their legitimate demands of freedom of religion and their fundamental rights is not only in contradiction with the principles of humanity, but is a clear infringement of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."

Activism and Transformation

It doesn't hurt this movement to have had the Dalai Lama, a favored personality of Hollywood celebrities and a pop-culture icon, champion its cause for 60 years until his strategic resignation in March 2011.

Further, it is a little known fact that the entire Tibetan Diaspora, outside China's borders, numbers only 200,000. Let's think about that. Only 200,000 have managed to mount a formidable, international campaign for their culture's survival against the Chinese leading superpower.

From Feb. 21 to March 22 of this year, four Tibetans (three lay people and one lama) sat in vigil outside the United Nations and were fasting until death against the atrocities. Six thousand of the 8,000 local Tibetan New York region residents joined there for a rally on March 10 to mark the 1959 Lhasa Uprising in Tibet. Numerous "political theater" type demonstrations occurred in India, across the United States, Canada and elsewhere, transforming tactics right out of the Greenpeace, Occupy Wall Street activists' handbooks into a new Post China Oppressed Tibetan lexicon of dramatic protest. Letters and calls flooded news rooms and the U.N. Office for Human Rights at both New York and Geneva branches. Celebrity and activist Richard Gere paid the strikers a visit. Media slowly raised its head and reported. The hunger strikers officially ended their strike following Kofi Annan's public statements and the direct intervention of the OHCHR, with an official visit to the strikers by two representatives bearing a personal letter from Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay. A bottle of orange juice and the promise to investigate the atrocities in Tibet was offered to the strikers at that time. All these activities seemed to occur in a concerted, focused way. Never before had the Tibetan cause achieved such depth at the United Nations. Was history in the making?

When asked about the progress made with China since Pillay's letter, Christine Chung, program officer for the OHCHR sent the following response in an e-mail on June 6:
Special Procedures are mechanisms established by the Human Rights Council to investigate human rights issues. The mandates of the special procedures are established and defined by the resolution creating them. Mandate-holders of the special procedures serve in their personal capacity. The independent status of the mandate-holders is crucial in order to be able to fulfill their functions in all impartiality. They make requests for invitations to visit countries, and it is up to the countries to issue these invitations. The High Commissioner remains very concerned about developments in Tibetan areas of China.

Intervention in Switzerland
An intervention for Tibet occurred during the annual U.N. Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva, Switzerland on July 3rd, before Special Rapporteur Mutuma Ruteere. To initiate a formal investigation inside a country like China, Darfur, Sudan, Bosnia, etc., where reputed human rights violations, atrocities, genocide and torture are reported, official steps called "mechanisms" must be taken both outside, by petitioning the U.N. and officially inside the U.N. Every protest or demonstration, every petitioning phone call, news report, personal letter or other declaration of a violation is recorded and is instrumental to mobilize action by the High Commissioner for an investigation. Finally, it is up to the country in question to allow access by a rapporteur like Mr. Ruteere. The country in question, in this case, is China. According to their letter and our follow up inquiry, the OHCHR has requested China's cooperation. What will China do?

Happy Birthday Dalai Lama

It has been 51 years since the Dalai Lama left Tibet's border, along with 2,000 of his followers. He has never been back. This month he is celebrating his 77th birthday. Whether retired or not, as the Dalai Lama becomes older and his generation begins to die, the plight of his people and their culture weighs heavily in the balance.

Admitting that (pre-1959) Tibet's policies and conditions towards its people were "feudalistic" and "change was needed," the Dalai Lama sights some benefits Tibetan Buddhism and culture have brought to the outside world. "So, the negative, unfortunate events bring benefit to these people. Now, actually not as a religion, but as a philosophy, it seems nowadays some scientists, especially in the field of the brain or human psychology, scientists working in the field of human emotions. It seems in that field, Tibetan Buddhism has some potential to help them. And we also can learn the results of their research, experiments and explanations," says the Dalai Lama in the film "Talking With the Dalai Lama."

But as he enters his 78th year, China is building a series of massive dams, diverting three major rivers from Tibet that feed India, Bangladesh and billions in other South Asian lands, to supply water and hydropower to China's major cities. In addition to the devastation to the high Himalayan plateau and its already rapidly melting glaciers, the consequences to Tibetan nomadic life and its wildlife are deadly.

Will 21st century activists and their technology succeed to supplant human rights and environmental violations in China?

When Politics Become Meditation

Mixing politics with religion, as Tibetan Buddhism instructs, is considered an obstacle to a path of liberation and detachment from worldly matters. However, an advanced Tibetan meditation called Tonglen (exchange) points out that others' suffering (our relatives in former lives) is none other than our own suffering. The target of this meditation is the relationship all living creatures have and the compassionate exchange of others' pain with our cherished joy. How does Tonglen figure in the case of Tibet's self-immolators?

What is the tipping point where empathy transfers to politics and activism, and meditation becomes action?

Would Buddhists consider it sacrilegious to take actions that obstruct human rights violations and ecological destruction in Tibet?

Whether we feel that self-immolation is a bad or a good idea; whether we believe it to be a spiritual or profane thing, the conditions and policies where it is flourishing in China are inhumane and intrepid.

The future of Tibet, its people and culture, are on the chopping block.

John Halpern is a New York based documentary filmmaker and artist. His films "Refuge" and "Talking With The Dalai Lama" explore the cultural journeys of East and West and the evolution of Buddhism in popular, western culture.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on August 01, 2012, 05:09:05 PM
It is interesting that the US would speak up about the self immolations, but would not speak up on the discrimination against the Dorje Shugden practitioners more or less because it does not affect China or make China look bad. The self immolation issue is being used as a political tool against China, and it seems, the Tibetans allow themselves to be used in that manner in the name of getting back their homeland...kinda desperate...?

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US blames China for Tibet self-immolations
Phayul[Tuesday, July 31, 2012 23:52]
By Tendar Tsering


U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks at the Carnegie Foundation in Washington after the release of the State Department's 2011 International Religious Freedom Report, July 30, 2012. (Photo/AFP)
DHARAMSHALA, July 31: The United States on Monday blamed the Chinese government for the fiery wave of self-immolations in Tibet in an annual report on religious freedom.

“Official interference in the practice of these religious traditions exacerbated grievances and contributed to at least 12 self-immolations by Tibetans in 2011," the US State Department said in its annual International Religious Freedom Report.

The report noted that in China "there was a marked deterioration during 2011 in the government's respect for and protection of religious freedom.”

This included "increased restrictions on religious practice, especially in Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and nunneries."

“Government and CCP control over religious practice and the day-to-day management of monasteries and other religious institutions tightened, particularly at Kirti Monastery, which saw the highest concentration of self-immolations.”

China and North Korea, where the report noted that religious freedom does not exist in any form, along with Myanmar are among eight nations designated as "countries of particular concern" for failing to accept religious rights.

“More than a billion people live under governments that systematically suppress religious freedom,” Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said at the release of the report.

“New technologies have given repressive governments additional tools for cracking down on religious expression,” Clinton said. “Members of faith communities that have long been under pressure report that the pressure is rising.”

However, Beijing immediately hit back saying that the US report was “full of prejudice, arrogance and ignorance.”

According to the Dharamshala based Central Tibetan Administration, 45 Tibetans have set themselves on fire since 2009, demanding freedom in Tibet and the return of the Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile.

Speaking on the self-immolations, Jamyang Norbu, a Tibetan writer and independence activist told Phayul that the fiery sacrifices were a protest against the Chinese colonial rule over Tibet.

“If the Tibetan monks in Tibet are burning themselves alive for religious freedom, then they can come to India and have religious freedom. But they are lighting themselves on fire in protest against the Chinese colonial occupation of Tibet,” Norbu said in a recent interview with Phayul.

Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: brian on August 03, 2012, 01:51:46 PM
And then again, i would urge anyone who is thinking of doing self-immolation should just think three times if not twice. To make a statement by destroying oneself is not going to help the situation but i feel will worsen it rather. This will cause uproar in the community and sorrow to the family members of the person. Aren't we taught to always solve misunderstandings or issues with a peaceful method? Aren't we all supposed to be kind to others? Aren't we supposed to be more understanding to others? Where has all the qualities one human being should possess? I think the answer is simple, degeneration. That is why the practice of Dorje Shugden is highly needed in today's degenerate times!
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on August 03, 2012, 02:49:44 PM
And then again, i would urge anyone who is thinking of doing self-immolation should just think three times if not twice. To make a statement by destroying oneself is not going to help the situation but i feel will worsen it rather. This will cause uproar in the community and sorrow to the family members of the person. Aren't we taught to always solve misunderstandings or issues with a peaceful method? Aren't we all supposed to be kind to others? Aren't we supposed to be more understanding to others? Where has all the qualities one human being should possess? I think the answer is simple, degeneration. That is why the practice of Dorje Shugden is highly needed in today's degenerate times!

To me, the act of self immolations that are in Tibet, and the way how the Tibetans justify it even though everyone can see very clearly that it is wrong shows me that the Tibetans would believe in something that is not real as long as it justifies what they want, like for instance, in this case, their independence although it is but a dream for now and will remain to be unless they improve in many ways. CTA needs to step up and learn to talk like a country by not covering their faults that are as clear as daylight, especially with regards to the ban on Dorje Shugden which goes against all that they are fight against: oppression, lies, tyranny, cover-ups, disappearing people -- every single time CTA does and action to harm the Dorje Shugden practitioners, their karma comes back that one of their spies and representatives in Nepal or China get caught or disappears. And again, other than being a news item on Phayul (of course, the story is glossed up and edited to sound like a poor me story to get the sympathy of the readers), nothing else happens.

All Tibetan sources of the self immolation reports point to one thing: that the self immolators died for the betterment of the Tibetan people, probably by promoting arrests in that area and causing the police to clamp down on that area more. Perhaps, the areas of the town needed more policemen or that their family members required police protection which is why they did what they did? And that is what they called dying for the culture and freedom of Tibet? How would anyone come up to such a conclusion on that it would be for the betterment of the country unless of course, someone has been talking to them and putting ideas into their head. I wonder who would do such a thing? Hmmmm
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on August 03, 2012, 03:57:47 PM
Yes. Do hold prayers and show the whole world that you do support the self immolations. Wrong move. Especially on Phayul. Why pray for them? what about the lady who immolated herself because she lost her land? did you prayers for her? but you did for these two!

Now it is clear who has been encouraging the self immolations.

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CTA holds prayer service for Ngawang Norphel
Phayul[Friday, August 03, 2012 16:15]

([url]http://phayul.com/images/thumb.aspx?src=120803042059EV.jpg[/url])
Tibetans in the exile headquarters of Dharamshala holding a prayer service for Ngawang Norphel at the Tsug-la Khang temple on August 2, 2012. (Phayul photo/Norbu Wangyal)

DHARAMSHALA, August 3: Hundreds of Tibetan including the Tibetan Chief Justice Commissioners, Kalons, and members of Parliament attended a prayer service yesterday held in honour of Ngawang Norphel, the Tibetan self-immolator, who passed away in a Chinese hospital on July 30.

The prayer service held at the Tsug-la Khang, the main temple, was organised by the Department of Religion and Culture of the Central Tibetan Administration.

Ngawang Norphel, 21 and Tenzin Khedup, 24, had set themselves on fire in Zatoe town of Keygudo, Kham on June 20, protesting China’s continued occupation of Tibet. Both of them were carrying Tibetan national flags in their hands as they lit themselves up.

Tenzin Khedup sucummbed to his injuries shortly after his protest while Ngawang Norphel was taken to a hospital in a critical condition.

Ngawang Norphel’s father Lhakpa Dhondup, a native of Zurtso Truldul village in the Nyalam region of western Tibet, was informed about his son’s condition only a month or so later.

Phegyel, a close family member, who now lives in exile told Phayul that although the father and son were allowed to meet, they were constantly under Chinese surveillance.

“Whenever Ngawang Norphel, who was severely burned and in a very serious condition, tried to utter a few words to his father, Chinese officials at once came to interrogate him and ask questions,” Phegyel said. “Then he gradually stopped talking.”

Ngawang Norphel passed away on July 30 at around 3:30 pm.

In a video footage immediately shot after their self-immolation protest, Ngawang Norphel, severely burned, could be seen shouting, “What has happened to my Land of Snow?” and also enquiring for his “sworn brother” Tenzin Khedup.

Although under immense visible pain, Ngawang Norphel says that their sacrifice is for the sake of Tibet.

“We two “sworn brothers”, we won’t fail next time. [This is] for the sake of Tibet. We are in the land of snow. If we don’t have our freedom, cultural traditions and language, it would be extremely embarrassing for us,” Ngawang Norphel says.

In a note left behind by the two young Tibetans before taking their drastic action, they urged all Tibetans to be united in the fight for Tibet’s freedom and the return of the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama from exile.

Since 2009, 45 Tibetans have set themselves on fire demanding freedom in Tibet and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on August 07, 2012, 11:27:51 AM
Here's another self immolation case and with another fake report from the CTA about it. Everyone knows by now that the self immolations are caused by the CTA. Why does the US talk about the self immolations and ignore the Dorje Shugden ban? For political reasons of course. It would be fair for the US to talk about both the ban and the self immolations because their nature is the same: the result of suppression and oppression. This shows that the US is not sincere in helping the CTA and CTA just allows themselves to be used by the US. Sad.

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Breaking: Reports of another self-immolation in Tibet
Phayul[Monday, August 06, 2012 20:28]
DHARAMSHALA, August 6: There are reports of yet another self-immolation protest in Tibet as the fiery wave continues to burn across the Tibetan plateau.

Various sources in exile are confirming today’s self-immolation protest by a Tibetan in the beleaguered Ngaba region of eastern Tibet.

As of now, there are no details available on the identity of the self-immolator.

Talking to Phayul, Kanyag Tsering, a researcher at the exile base of Kirti Monastery in Dharamshala confirmed the reports.

“Yes, there was another self-immolation protest in Ngaba today but as of now we have very little details,” Tsering said.

Another monk in south India who has close contacts in the region, while confirming today’s self-immolation protest, said that all communication lines in the region have stopped working.

“According to the information that I have received, a Tibetan woman set herself on fire today in Ngaba,” Ghangri told Phayul. “But as of now it is impossible to get in touch with people in the region as all communication lines are not working.”

London based rights group, Free Tibet, also reported on today’s self-immolation protest but noted that the self-immolator was male.

“A man set fire to himself in Ngaba Town, Eastern Tibet at 5:30pm local time today,” Free Tibet said in a release. “According to an eyewitness, Chinese state security personnel quickly extinguished the flames at the scene on the main road in Ngaba. Locals now refer to this street as Martyr’s Street because of the number of self-immolations that have been carried out here.”

“The man who set fire to himself today was reported to be still alive, his upper body badly injured, when security personnel drove him away in a vehicle.”

With today’s self-immolation protest, 46 Tibetans have now set themselves on fire, since 2009, demanding freedom in Tibet and the return of the Dalai Lama from exile.

The United States last month blamed the Chinese government for the self-immolations in Tibet in an annual report on religious freedom.

“Official interference in the practice of these religious traditions exacerbated grievances and contributed to at least 12 self-immolations by Tibetans in 2011," the US State Department said in its annual International Religious Freedom Report.

The elected head of the Tibetan people, Kalon Tripa Dr Lobsang Sangay has called the self-immolations “political action” and blamed China’s failed policies in Tibet - founded on “political oppression, social marginalisation, cultural assimilation and environmental destruction” - as root causes of the protests.

“To understand these acts, it is crucial to know that within China, there is no room for freedom of speech and conventional forms of protest. A participant in a simple demonstration runs a high risk of arrest, torture and even death,” Dr Sangay had said.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on August 08, 2012, 11:50:52 AM
Here's another self immolation case in Kham. Again, there are no details on why did the self immolator did so. Perhaps she was tricked? or threatened? Does it  not raise any questions on why there are no letters or materials from the self immolators on why did they decide to take such a decision? Clearly, CTA is hiding something. I am still surprised as to why has nobody noticed this yet.

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Breaking: A Tibetan woman burns self to death, Second self-immolation in two days
Phayul[Tuesday, August 07, 2012 15:01]

([url]http://phayul.com/images/thumb.aspx?src=120807030653VN.jpg[/url])

A Tibetan woman identified as Dolkar seen here with her hands clasped in prayer, after she set herself on fire near the Tsoe Monastery in Kanlho, eastern Tibeton August 7, 2012.
DHARAMSHALA, August 7: Latest reports coming out of Tibet indicate that a Tibetan woman set herself on fire today in an apparent protests against China’s continued occupation of Tibet.

Tibetan media outlets are identifying the Tibetan woman as Dolkar, around 26 years of age. She is believed to have succumbed to her injuries.

Dolkar set herself on fire near the Tsoe Monastery in the Amdo Kanlho region of eastern Tibet at around 2.30 pm (local time).

Pictures coming out of the region show the disficured body of Dolkar lying on the ground with her hands clasped in prayer.

Eyewitnesses have been quoted as saying that although people who were around the monastery tried to douse the fire but Dolkar succumbed to her injuries at her protest site.

The monks at the Tsoe Monastery were able to carry Dolkar’s body inside the monastery, where it is being currently kept.

A growing build of local Tibetans at the monastery is also being reported.

Dolka’r self-immolation protest comes just a day after Lobsang Tsultrim, a 21 year of monk at the Kirti Monastery set himself on fire in the beleaguered Ngaba region.

The wave of self-immolations that began in 2009 has now witnessed 47 Tibetans set themselves on fire demanding freedom in Tibet and the return of the Dalai Lama from exile.

Dolkar is the eight women to have self-immolated in Tibet.

As of yet no personal details on Dolkar are available.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on August 10, 2012, 03:31:50 PM
Here's some updates regarding the previous news of self immolation of the woman. I find it important for us to understand and to know about these self immolations because we do care about the CTA and Tibetans and their plight, and also the current situation and also with hopes that since nobody can help these self immolation victims now, that Dorje Shugden would help guide them after such a painful death, and the further pain they will experience when they discover and realize that whatever that they were doing did not help Tibet at all.

That aside, is it just me, or are self immolations actually glorified? If they are, it would inspire more and more people to actually do them...

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Tibetans warn of major protests as tension rises over Dolkar Tso’s self-immolation
Phayul[Thursday, August 09, 2012 04:19]

[url]http://phayul.com/images/thumb.aspx?src=120809042754GS.gif[/url] ([url]http://phayul.com/images/thumb.aspx?src=120809042754GS.gif[/url])
Labrang Tashikhyil monks protest after being stopped from proceeding to Tsoe to pay their last respects to self-immolator Dolkar Tso, August 8, 2012. (Photo/RFA)
DHARAMSHALA, August 9: Around 300 monks sat down on the streets for a prayer protest in eastern Tibet after they were barred by Chinese authorities from paying their last respects to Dolkar Tso, Wednesday afternoon.

Dolkar Tso, mother of a 5-year-old daughter and a 2-year-old son, set herself on fire near the Tsoe Monastery in Kanlho on August 7. According to exile sources with contacts in the region, Dolkar Tso raised slogans for the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile and shouted that there was no freedom in Tibet.

She later succumbed to her injuries.

The monks from the nearby Labrang Tashikhyil Monastery were traveling in a large convoy of vehicles to Tsoe when local Chinese authorities apprehended them.

The authorities reportedly told the monks that their actions were illegal and warned that their vehicles will be confiscated if they proceeded further. They were also threatened with further actions.

However, the monks declared that they will walk on foot if necessary and warned of a major uprising if they were stopped.

As tension began to flare, representatives of the Monastery’s administration came and pleaded with the monks to stop their march. Compelled to listen to the requests, the monks instead sat down on the street and started offering prayers for Dolkar Tso.

Latest reports indicate that monks and lay Tibetans from the region have started joining the prayer service in large numbers.

There are also reports of growing tensions in Tsoe after two monks of the Tsoe Monastery were arrested late in the night of Dolkar Tso’s self-immolation protest by Chinese authorities on charges of sheltering her body inside the monastery.

The monks at the Tsoe Monastery had carried Dolkar Tso’s body inside the monastery premises immediately after extinguishing the flames. Later, the monks also helped carry her body back to the village where she was born, Tasur, in Nawu Township, around 10 km from Tsoe.

According to reports, when the fire was put out from her body, Dolkar Tso, barely alive, pleaded with the monks to hit her on the head with a stone and kill her so that she will not fall into Chinese hands alive.

Following the late night arrest of the monks, Chinese security personnel in about a dozen vehicles arrived at the Monastery early Wednesday morning to arrest 17 more monks.

A large number of monks and laymen then gathered at the Monastery to prevent the arrest and also to demand the release of the monks earlier detained.

According to exile sources, the gathered Tibetans have pledged to continue their protest.

Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: WisdomBeing on August 10, 2012, 04:43:42 PM
i personally find this latest self-immolation particularly sad as this lady leaves two young children - a 5 year old and a 2 year old behind.. and for what? Did her death change anything for the independence of Tibet? As a Buddhist watching the continuous slew of self-immolations, I still think that suicide is a sin, regardless of the motivation. I do not see any positive effect of their deaths. Instead, I see futility and if anything, there would be more resolve from the Chinese authorities NOT to give in to this emotional blackmail. If all the international pressure from media and governments (at least those who dare to be vocal) does not pressure the Chinese authorities to waver even slightly with regard to the Tibetan issue, I doubt that the self-immolations will.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on August 10, 2012, 05:05:14 PM
Why do public prayers when you KNOW this will happen next? They actually encourage the self immolations, and more statements that are condescending to self immolations released by the CTA as well as more prayer sessions encourage even more of these acts. What will it take CTA to know that increasing self immolations do not help anyone at all but it makes things a lot worse and it just keeps going and going: self immolation occurs, CTA says it feels sorry for the family of the self immolation victim and does prayers, nearby monasteries takes the cue from CTA and follows, more people think self immolation is a glorious thing and start doing it. What better way to die than to be remembered as someone who sacrificed themselves for the Tibetans, even tho in reality it only summoned the chinese troops to that area...

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Breaking: Tibet continues to burn, Man sets self on fire
Phayul[Friday, August 10, 2012 14:58]
DHARAMSHALA, August 10: In confirmed reports coming out of Tibet, yet another Tibetan has set himself on fire today in an apparent protest against China’s continued occupation of Tibet.

The self-immolator is being identified as Choepa, a Tibetan man around 24 years of age. The exile base of Kirti Monastery in Dharamshala, in a statement released just now said that Choepa carried out his fiery protest in the Me’uruma region of Amdo Ngaba, eastern Tibet at 10.15 am (local time).

As of now, there is no information on Choepa’s condition or his whereabouts.

The statement quoted eyewitness as saying that Choepa raised slogans before he was overpowered by Chinese security personnel and taken to an unknown location.

“Choepa’s body was engulfed in high flames as he raised slogans,” the release said. “Within minutes, Chinese security personnel arrived at the scene and doused the flames on his body before forcibly taking him away.”

Eyewitnesses have also raised serious concerns over Choepa’s survival.

“People who witnessed the fiery protest have said that Choepa has very little chances of survival as his body was severely burned,” the release said. “But as of now there is no confirmation whether Choepa is dead or alive.”

Choepa’s parents are Paelo and Madron.

Kangay Tsering, a researcher at the Kirti Monastery said that following the self-immolation protest, the situation in Me'uruma has become tense.

“Me'uruma is currently filled with armed Chinese forces as the situation there continues to become more tense,” Tsering said.

This is the third self-immolation in Tibet in the past five-days alone.

Since 2009, the growing wave of self-immolations has witnessed 48 Tibetans set themselves on fire demanding freedom in Tibet and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on August 12, 2012, 08:24:26 AM
The previous self immolator passed away and left behind a grieving family...

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Self-immolator Choepa passes away
Phayul[Saturday, August 11, 2012 23:45]
DHARAMSHALA, August 11: Choepa, the 24 –year-old Tibetan who set himself on fire on August 10 in an apparent protest against China’s continued occupation of Tibet, has passed away.

According to the exile base of Kirti Monastery in Dharamshala, Choepa breathed his last hours after his fiery protest in the Me’uruma region of Amdo Ngaba, eastern Tibet.

“Martyr Choepa passed away at around 3 pm (local time) the very day of his protest,” Kanyag Tsering, a researcher at the Kirti Monastery said. “He died while he was being forcibly taken to the nearby region of Barkham.”

Earlier, eyewitnesses had expressed deep concerns over Choepa’s survival after seeing the severe burn injuries that he had sustained.

Choepa, while engulfed in high flames had raised slogans, before Chinese security personnel arrived at the scene within minutes, doused the flames on his body and forcibly took him away to an undisclosed location.

Tsering said the deceased’s family members were denied the right to give him a traditional Tibetan funeral.

“Chinese authorities cremated Choepa’s body in Barkham itself and later handed over his ashes to the family members.”

This wasn’t Choepa’s first peaceful protest against the Chinese government. Earlier this year, he, along with other Tibetans had led a massive candle light vigil and demonstration in Me’uruma on January 23.

“Following the protests, Chinese security personnel carried out a large-scale manhunt for Choepa, but he had managed to escape,” Tsering said.

Choepa is survived by his parents Paelo and Madron and three other siblings.

As an immediate result of Choepa’s self-immolation protest, the situation in Me'uruma has grown tense with the deployment of a large number of Chinese armed forces in the region.

Since 2009, the growing wave of self-immolations has witnessed 48 Tibetans set themselves on fire deman
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on August 14, 2012, 08:19:01 AM
Oh no. Why is it that Tibet in China has been getting more and more unstable ever since the Kalon Tripa took over? could it be that people have lost confidence in him that they decided to die? Or is it the Kalon Tripa who has been planning this? Several Tibetans, including angrytibetangirl has suspected that the current katri might be encouraging them. I sincerely wish that the katri would say something more concrete and sincere to stop the self immolations, instead of seeing as a method for getting attention.

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Breaking: Two Tibetans torch themselves in Ngaba, One protestor beaten to death
Phayul[Tuesday, August 14, 2012 02:10]
DHARAMSHALA, August 14: In alarming reports coming out of Tibet, two more Tibetans set themselves on fire in protest against China’s rule over Tibet, Monday. There are also unconfirmed reports of a third self-immolation that took place later in the evening.

In more disturbing reports, following the self-immolations, local Tibetans carried out a protest in solidarity with the self-immolators, which reportedly resulted in the death of a Tibetan protestor.

According to sources, Chinese security personnel beat the Tibetan man to death.

The self-immolations and protests are being reported from the beleaguered Ngaba region of eastern Tibet, the nerve centre of the ongoing wave of fiery protests.

Tibetan media outlets based in the United States have quoted sources inside the region as saying that the two confirmed self-immolations took place at around 6:50 pm (local time) Monday.

Although Phayul, as of now, cannot independently confirm their identities, media reports have named the self-immolators as Lungtok, a monk from the Kirti Monastery in Ngaba, and Tashi, believed to be a layperson.

Soon after the protests, Chinese security forces arrived in large numbers and forcibly took both of them away.

There are no details currently available on their condition and whereabouts.

Soon after the fiery protests, Chinese security forces imposed severe curbs in the region. Local Tibetans responded with protests in solidarity with the self-immolators and against the Chinese government.

In ensuing “clashes,” a Tibetan man was reportedly beaten to death by Chinese armed forces.

As tensions escalated late into the evening, reports of a third self-immolation by a Kirti Monastery monk at around 8:00 pm (local time), reached exile from the same region.

The incident has not been confirmed as yet although the situation in Ngaba is being described as critical.

Last week alone, three Tibetans; a mother of two, a monk, and a Tibetan nomad, torched themselves, in a further intensification of the self-immolation protests that began in 2009.

The first eight months of 2012 have on an average witnessed nearly five self-immolations every month.

The two confirmed self-immolations on Monday have now taken Tibet’s self-immolation toll to 50.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: dsiluvu on August 14, 2012, 08:11:25 PM
Saw this post on FB... https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=524869920861446&set=a.345033165511790.99165.100000153284746&type=1&theater (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=524869920861446&set=a.345033165511790.99165.100000153284746&type=1&theater)

Yesterday two young Tibetans immolated themselves. This takes the count of self-immolations in Tibet to 49. This evening we marched in Dharamsala for all them...



I think it is high time that Lobsang Sangay step up and do something to stop his people from burning themselves!!!

This also shows that the Tibetans themselves are not really listening to their own government for they may have had enough of all talk and no show and well what is the progress they have done thus far... where is the the truth behind Nechung's prediction about Tibetan getting their country back? Clearly they are disappointed and wants to see some real actions. Looks like Tibetans are starting to take matters in to their own hands for there is definitely not enough nurturing towards positive thinking and activities to help calm these disappointed minds. If I was CTA i would focus more on making our people grateful, united and happy being in the peaceful land of India.

Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on August 15, 2012, 06:34:18 AM
Here's a full story on what happened. Notice how the news article at Phayul does not focus much on the self immolators, but only on the fact that they self immolated, and how they try to make China look bad with the protestor beaten to death. If you oppose the government of any country in their land, obviously you're gonna get repercussions...so why are they still trying to get sympathy again?

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Breaking: Two Tibetans torch themselves in Ngaba, One protestor beaten to death
Phayul[Tuesday, August 14, 2012 02:10]
DHARAMSHALA, August 14: In alarming reports coming out of Tibet, two more Tibetans set themselves on fire in protest against China’s rule over Tibet, Monday. There are also unconfirmed reports of a third self-immolation that took place later in the evening.

In more disturbing reports, following the self-immolations, local Tibetans carried out a protest in solidarity with the self-immolators, which reportedly resulted in the death of a Tibetan protestor.

According to sources, Chinese security personnel beat the Tibetan man to death.

The self-immolations and protests are being reported from the beleaguered Ngaba region of eastern Tibet, the nerve centre of the ongoing wave of fiery protests.

Tibetan media outlets based in the United States have quoted sources inside the region as saying that the two confirmed self-immolations took place at around 6:50 pm (local time) Monday.

Although Phayul, as of now, cannot independently confirm their identities, media reports have named the self-immolators as Lungtok, a monk from the Kirti Monastery in Ngaba, and Tashi, believed to be a layperson.

Soon after the protests, Chinese security forces arrived in large numbers and forcibly took both of them away.

There are no details currently available on their condition and whereabouts.

Soon after the fiery protests, Chinese security forces imposed severe curbs in the region. Local Tibetans responded with protests in solidarity with the self-immolators and against the Chinese government.

In ensuing “clashes,” a Tibetan man was reportedly beaten to death by Chinese armed forces.

As tensions escalated late into the evening, reports of a third self-immolation by a Kirti Monastery monk at around 8:00 pm (local time), reached exile from the same region.

The incident has not been confirmed as yet although the situation in Ngaba is being described as critical.

Last week alone, three Tibetans; a mother of two, a monk, and a Tibetan nomad, torched themselves, in a further intensification of the self-immolation protests that began in 2009.

The first eight months of 2012 have on an average witnessed nearly five self-immolations every month.

The two confirmed self-immolations on Monday have now taken Tibet’s self-immolation toll to 50.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on August 16, 2012, 01:24:39 PM
The result of the self immolation is that more and more people protesting and what does this achieve? If China has not listened for 50 years, why would they listen now? With these protests, other than being a news item at phayul and giving some false hope to everyone, what else can it accomplish? If protests and self immolations have worked, it would have worked a long time ago and not after 50 self immolations.

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Fresh protests in Rebkong
Phayul[Tuesday, August 14, 2012 18:40]

Tibetans in Rebkong, eastern Tibet carrying out a demonstration against local Chinese authorities on August 14, 2012. The banner in Tibetan reads “District authorities are torturing the people.”
DHARAMSHALA, August 14: After yesterday’s self-immolations and protests in Ngaba, fresh public demonstrations are being reported from Rebkong in the tradition Tibetan province of Amdo, north- eastern Tibet.

According to sources in exile with contacts in the region, around three hundreds Tibetans took to the streets today to protest against the local Chinese authority’s heavy-handed behaviour and repressive actions.

Photos that have made its way out to exile show hundreds of Tibetans carrying banners and placards marching in the streets. One of the banners written in Tibetan reads, “District authorities are torturing the people.”

The protests continued into the day with nearly 500 local Tibetans carrying their peaceful demonstration to the regional police station. Latest reports suggest that the number of protesters is swelling as they continue to assemble in front of the police station.

The protests were reportedly sparked by an overnight incident involving local Tibetans and Chinese officials.


Hundreds of Tibetans in Rebkong, eastern Tibet carrying out a demonstration against local Chinese authorities on August 14, 2012.
Sources have told Tibetan media outlets that four Tibetans travelling in a car yesterday evening were confronted by a handful of security personnel believed to be in an inebriated state. The Tibetans were first interrogated and then severely beaten, leaving them maimed. Live ammunitions were also reportedly fired by the security personnel.

One them is believed to be in a critical condition.

Rebkong has witnessed numerous protests in the past, including two self-immolations in March this year involving a 34-year-old monk Jamyang Palden and a 44-year-old father of three Sonam Dargye.

Following Sonam Dargye’s self-immolation protest, around 8000 people gathered in Rebkong to pay their last respects. In one of the biggest ever demonstrations, the gathered Tibetans had led a protest march to Rongwo town centre calling for freedom and the long life and return of the Dalai Lama.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on August 17, 2012, 01:47:43 PM
This is an interesting and refreshing news article about a chinese artist talking about the self immolations and what it has achieved: nothing. CTA please wake up because all the sacrificed lives do not equate to progress in talks with China.

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‘Ashamed of visiting Lhasa as Tibetans continue to burn,’ says Ai Wei Wei
Phayul[Friday, August 17, 2012 04:06]

DHARAMSHALA, August 17: China’s best known artist and a fierce critic of the authoritarian government in Beijing, Ai Wei Wei has said that he would “feel ashamed” to visit Lhasa, Tibet’s capital, following the ongoing wave of self-immolations by Tibetans.

In an interview with Foreign Policy, Ai remarked that the Tibetan people are burning themselves to death and nobody was taking notice.

“Already over 40 of them (Tibetans) in the past two years (have self-immolated), and nobody's talking about it,” Ai said.

The 54-year-old, who was last year hailed by ArtReview as the world’s most powerful artist, said that he would feel ashamed to visit Lhasa in response to a query on whether he has visited Tibet’s ancient capital city on earlier occasions.

“No. I would feel ashamed to go,” Ai said. “I think to respect [the Tibetans] is not to touch them, to leave them alone.”

The artist gained international prominence in 2008 as one of the designers of the Birds Nest stadium for the Beijing Summer Olympics, but later refused to attend the opening of the games, declaring them "a tool for propaganda."

Following the massive pan-Tibet uprisings in 2008 against Chinese rule, Ai had told reporters that simply blaming the Tibetans for the protests would deepen “hatred” among the Han and the Tibetan people.

“The Tibetan are now simplistically being blamed and scolded for infringing the law,” Ai had said. “I do not think this can solve the problem, because this will only deepen the hatred amongst the Han people and the ethnic minorities, thus further deepen their gap.”

He proposed that the Han people must stop looking upon the minorities as the slaves whom they freed and admit to mistakes committed by them in the past.

“They (Tibetans) have their own religion, their own cultural heritage and their own way of thinking. We have never fully understood their religion and their lifestyle,” the artist had said. “Historically, we destroyed their temples and statues, this is a basic fact.”

“These problems should be solved. If not, then this would be failure of policy. Must seek dialogue. It is not feasible to simply accuse them of just being separatists.”

In April 2011, Chinese police imprisoned Ai on politically motivated charges of tax evasion; when he was finally released after 81 days in custody, he was forbidden from leaving Beijing for a year. (He has since been given permission to travel domestically.)

The artist has continued to speak out against Chinese government censorship and repression, often through social media and through his art.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on August 18, 2012, 01:19:55 PM
To me, This is more or less the results of the self immolations that follow. I doubt that China will actually bow down as they have no reason to and they do not need to. And they will continue doing what they were doing but only with more force and more intensity. CTA and the Tibetans better wake up before it creates even more unhappiness for them.

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Five Tsodun monks arrested, Night raids and gunpoint interrogations at Monastery
Phayul[Saturday, August 18, 2012 00:45]

DHARAMSHALA, August 18: Amidst reports of five fatal self-immolations, major public demonstrations, and the death of two Tibetan protesters in the past two weeks alone, Chinese authorities in eastern Tibet continue with their repressive measures and arbitrary arrests.

On August 12, three young monks from the Gyalron Tsodun Kirti Monastery in the Barkham region were arrested from their quarters on unknown charges.

In a release Friday evening, the exile base of Kirti Monastery in Dharamshala said the whereabouts and wellbeing of the monks remain unknown.

“Three Tsodun monks - Lobsang Sengye, around 19 years old, Yarphel, and Namsey, both around 18 - were arrested in night raids from their monastic quarters on August 12,” the release said. “No information on their whereabouts and wellbeing has been released.”

A few days later, on August 16, two more monks from the monastery were arrested on unknown charges.

“Thubwang Tenzin , 20 and Asung, 22, were arrested from their quarters on August 16,” Kirit Monastery said. “They have been untraceable since their arrest.”

The release added that local Chinese authorities continue to carry out a series of repressive measures, including heavy surveillance, interrogation and beatings at the Tsodun Monastery.

“Chinese security personnel, armed with weapons, have been carrying out raids every night in each and every quarter of the monks in the Monastery,” the release said. “The monks are being beaten and interrogated at gunpoint.”

Since March this year, three monks from the Tsodun Monastery have set themselves on fire demanding freedom in Tibet and the return of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama from exile.

On March 30, Chime Palden, 21 and Tenpa Dhargyal, 22, set themselves on fire protesting China’s continued occupation of Tibet in Barkham. Chime Palden died a day after his fiery protest while Tenpa Dhargyal passed away a week later.

On July 17, Lobsang Lozin, 18, self-immolated near the monastery’s main prayer hall and began walking towards the local Chinese office in flames before falling down. Lobsang Lozin succumbed to his injuries the same day.

Speculations are rife that the monks could have been arrested in connection with the earlier self-immolations, said the release.

Gyalrong Tsodun Kirti monastery is located some 80 kilometers to the north of Barkham town and is one of the biggest Gelug monasteries in Gyalrong region.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on August 21, 2012, 11:49:53 AM
From here, it is very obvious that CTA is using self immolations as a tool to get the world's attention but it is failing miserably. Because the world is not that stupid anymore. Lobsang Sanggay, please stand up and do the right thing and tell people to stop self immolating and be good citizens instead if you're serious about the dialogue with China. Dont say you want a dialogue on one hand and act in ways that greatly displease China on the other.

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Dr Sangay expresses disappointment at global response to Tibet self-immolations
Phayul[Tuesday, August 21, 2012 14:30]

([url]http://phayul.com/images/thumb.aspx?src=1208210236067N.jpg[/url])
Jamphel Yeshi, 27, engulfed in flames runs at a protest rally demanding international intervention in the ongoing crisis inside Tibet on March 26, 2012. (Photo/Reuters/Adnan Abidi)
DHARAMSHALA, August 21: Tibet’s elected leader Dr Lobsang Sangay expressed disappointment at the global response to the unfolding crisis inside Tibet, even as the number of self-immolations touched 50 this month.

Addressing members of international press in the Indian capital New Delhi on Monday, Dr Sangay noted that the wave of fiery protests inside Tibet were a reflection of Chinese government policies.

“The fact that these Tibetans are going to such lengths of protest means the [promised Chinese] ‘socialist paradise’ never touched the land of Tibet – the welfare and education policies they always write on paper were never realised,” the de facto Tibetan prime minister was quoted as saying by media outlets.

He added that the self-immolating Tibetans have no recourse to other forms of protest against China's rule inside Tibet.

"Since I took over, the situation in Tibet became worse... and given the constraints on any freedom of speech, Tibetans have unfortunately resorted to self-immolation," he said.

50 Tibetans have set themselves on fire, since 2009, demanding freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama from exile.

"We have made several appeals to Tibetan people not to resort to drastic actions like self-immolation but it continues today. It brings sadness to Tibetan people and as Buddhists we pray for them."

Kalon Tripa urged other countries to pay attention to the plight of the Tibetab people.

"Ignoring us or not supporting us might send a message to other marginalized groups around the world that perhaps it is not worth investing in democracy and non-violence," he said.

Dr Sangay pushed for an international delegation to be sent to Tibet to investigate the causes behind the fiery protests and for unrestricted access of the international media to the region.

Calling his job one of the “most difficult in the world,” the Harvard law graduate said that the Tibetan leadership will be closely observing China’s once-in-a-decade leadership change.

“We need to study their background and personalities … Then only we can guess how they will deal with Tibet – but the past 50 years doesn’t give us much reason to be optimistic,” Dr Sangay said. “But as a human being one should remain always hopeful – and with so many changes in Arab countries and Aung San Suu Kyi freed, there are reasons to be hopeful.”

The Tibetan leader was in New Delhi on his way back from the Bihar’s capital city of Patna, where he addressed a seminar on the topic 'Role of Tibet in Future Geo-Politics' on a day-long visit.

Stressing that the Tibetan movement was based on the Indian ethos, Dr Sangay said, "The Tibetan freedom movement is a 'Made in India' concept as the exiled people of Tibet have adopted the Indian culture and democratic values, with a thrust on non-violence in their pursuit.”

While in the Indian capital, Kalon Tripa Dr Lobsang Sangay met some “dignitaries” and is scheduled to arrive back to the exile headquarters of Dharamshala later today.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: vajratruth on August 21, 2012, 02:35:45 PM

Quote
Dr Sangay expresses disappointment at global response to Tibet self-immolations
Phayul[Tuesday, August 21, 2012 14:30]

([url]http://phayul.com/images/thumb.aspx?src=1208210236067N.jpg[/url])
Jamphel Yeshi, 27, engulfed in flames runs at a protest rally demanding international intervention in the ongoing crisis inside Tibet on March 26, 2012. (Photo/Reuters/Adnan Abidi)
DHARAMSHALA, August 21: Tibet’s elected leader Dr Lobsang Sangay expressed disappointment at the global response to the unfolding crisis inside Tibet, even as the number of self-immolations touched 50 this month.

Addressing members of international press in the Indian capital New Delhi on Monday, Dr Sangay noted that the wave of fiery protests inside Tibet were a reflection of Chinese government policies.

“The fact that these Tibetans are going to such lengths of protest means the [promised Chinese] ‘socialist paradise’ never touched the land of Tibet – the welfare and education policies they always write on paper were never realised,” the de facto Tibetan prime minister was quoted as saying by media outlets.

He added that the self-immolating Tibetans have no recourse to other forms of protest against China's rule inside Tibet.

"Since I took over, the situation in Tibet became worse... and given the constraints on any freedom of speech, Tibetans have unfortunately resorted to self-immolation," he said.

50 Tibetans have set themselves on fire, since 2009, demanding freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama from exile.

"We have made several appeals to Tibetan people not to resort to drastic actions like self-immolation but it continues today. It brings sadness to Tibetan people and as Buddhists we pray for them."

Kalon Tripa urged other countries to pay attention to the plight of the Tibetab people.

"Ignoring us or not supporting us might send a message to other marginalized groups around the world that perhaps it is not worth investing in democracy and non-violence," he said.

Dr Sangay pushed for an international delegation to be sent to Tibet to investigate the causes behind the fiery protests and for unrestricted access of the international media to the region.

Calling his job one of the “most difficult in the world,” the Harvard law graduate said that the Tibetan leadership will be closely observing China’s once-in-a-decade leadership change.

“We need to study their background and personalities … Then only we can guess how they will deal with Tibet – but the past 50 years doesn’t give us much reason to be optimistic,” Dr Sangay said. “But as a human being one should remain always hopeful – and with so many changes in Arab countries and Aung San Suu Kyi freed, there are reasons to be hopeful.”

The Tibetan leader was in New Delhi on his way back from the Bihar’s capital city of Patna, where he addressed a seminar on the topic 'Role of Tibet in Future Geo-Politics' on a day-long visit.

Stressing that the Tibetan movement was based on the Indian ethos, Dr Sangay said, "The Tibetan freedom movement is a 'Made in India' concept as the exiled people of Tibet have adopted the Indian culture and democratic values, with a thrust on non-violence in their pursuit.”

While in the Indian capital, Kalon Tripa Dr Lobsang Sangay met some “dignitaries” and is scheduled to arrive back to the exile headquarters of Dharamshala later today.



There is one thing Dr Lobsang Sangay will need to address as a matter of urgency, if he expects to be taken seriously. That is the question that has been asked for a millionth time i.e. why the CTA is marginalizing Shugden practitioners, how come the democracy that the CTA is demanding of the Chinese has not been accorded to CTA's own people just because they refuse to obey an illegal ban, and how can the Kalon Tripa be asking for assistance when he himself is now the prime witness to CTA's crimes against humanity?

Its really very rich for the Kalon Tripa ti be expressing disappointment and to even suggest that Tibetans have no other recourse than to self immolate.

If it really hurts Dr Lobsang Sangay to see his own people suffer to the point of taking their own lives, and if he is serious about democracy, then he should immediately lift the Dorje Shugden ban which he is fully empowered to do now that HHDL has relinquished all secular powers, and engage the Chinese sincerely rather than insulting our intelligence any further.

The Tibetans in exile have lost their country and claim religious persecutions. I see these Tibetans having a place of their own even in asylum and I see that they are free to pursue their own beliefs. The people who are crying foul against China, are the very same people who have denied Shugdenpas their homes, livelihood, freedom and the right to continue in their religious practice.

This article with comments from the Kalon Tripa really upsets me because it reeks so heavily of hypocrisy and BS.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on August 22, 2012, 05:21:16 AM

There is one thing Dr Lobsang Sangay will need to address as a matter of urgency, if he expects to be taken seriously. That is the question that has been asked for a millionth time i.e. why the CTA is marginalizing Shugden practitioners, how come the democracy that the CTA is demanding of the Chinese has not been accorded to CTA's own people just because they refuse to obey an illegal ban, and how can the Kalon Tripa be asking for assistance when he himself is now the prime witness to CTA's crimes against humanity?
First of all, the Tibetans that got into trouble with China were those who broke the laws of the land. China has harsh punishments as this is the only way to control a huge country full of people. The Tibetans who followed the law were not punished at all. Then CTA used these stories as a basis for their poor me stories. In all instances, CTA used them as a basis for their poor me stories, but they failed to talk about how they suppressed their own people just for practicing something that they believed was right. Why talk about China giving them freedom when they deny that same freedom to their own people?

Its really very rich for the Kalon Tripa ti be expressing disappointment and to even suggest that Tibetans have no other recourse than to self immolate.
Many people including Tibetans have been suspecting that the self immolations were incited by the CTA, mainly because they increased after LS took office. This statement proves that CTA has been creating self immolations as their little campaign has failed. He said that they have made a number of appeals to the Tibetans to stop the self immolation, but none of these appeals were ever present in phayul. Invisible appeal letters? Wow. What advanced technology. OR a huge, big, fat lie.

If it really hurts Dr Lobsang Sangay to see his own people suffer to the point of taking their own lives, and if he is serious about democracy, then he should immediately lift the Dorje Shugden ban which he is fully empowered to do now that HHDL has relinquished all secular powers, and engage the Chinese sincerely rather than insulting our intelligence any further.
Rather than making more sarcastic statements about the Chinese and portraying them negatively, CTA should really just do what they are supposed to do and play nice with China. Else, they're just lying to the world and are using people and the world.

The Tibetans in exile have lost their country and claim religious persecutions. I see these Tibetans having a place of their own even in asylum and I see that they are free to pursue their own beliefs. The people who are crying foul against China, are the very same people who have denied Shugdenpas their homes, livelihood, freedom and the right to continue in their religious practice.
Such blatant and disgusting hypocrisy. Why cry help for oppression when you are oppressing others? It does not make sense to me at all.
This article with comments from the Kalon Tripa really upsets me because it reeks so heavily of hypocrisy and BS.
It is very disappointing to see the katri acting in this way. Instead of doing things in a straightforward way, he twists and turns and used underhanded methods for "freedom" when he could have done so much to gain the freedom. Tibetans can be law abiding citizens and later when they get in a position to influence the Chinese government, they could do a lot from there. 

If you can see the hypocrisy from the katri's statement, so can everyone else except probably the few people who are believing in the lies that they spout. the US is just using them to weaken China, but it wont work because China knows better.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on August 23, 2012, 02:48:33 AM
China’s best known artist and a fierce critic of the authoritarian government in Beijing, Ai Wei Wei has said that he would “feel ashamed” to visit Lhasa, Tibet’s capital, following the ongoing wave of self-immolations by Tibetans.

In an interview with Foreign Policy, Ai remarked that the Tibetan people are burning themselves to death and nobody was taking notice.

“Already over 40 of them (Tibetans) in the past two years (have self-immolated), and nobody's talking about it,” Ai said.

The 54-year-old, who was last year hailed by ArtReview as the world’s most powerful artist, said that he would feel ashamed to visit Lhasa in response to a query on whether he has visited Tibet’s ancient capital city on earlier occasions.

“No. I would feel ashamed to go,” Ai said. “I think to respect [the Tibetans] is not to touch them, to leave them alone.”

The artist gained international prominence in 2008 as one of the designers of the Birds Nest stadium for the Beijing Summer Olympics, but later refused to attend the opening of the games, declaring them "a tool for propaganda."

Following the massive pan-Tibet uprisings in 2008 against Chinese rule, Ai had told reporters that simply blaming the Tibetans for the protests would deepen “hatred” among the Han and the Tibetan people.

“The Tibetan are now simplistically being blamed and scolded for infringing the law,” Ai had said. “I do not think this can solve the problem, because this will only deepen the hatred amongst the Han people and the ethnic minorities, thus further deepen their gap.”

He proposed that the Han people must stop looking upon the minorities as the slaves whom they freed and admit to mistakes committed by them in the past.

“They (Tibetans) have their own religion, their own cultural heritage and their own way of thinking. We have never fully understood their religion and their lifestyle,” the artist had said. “Historically, we destroyed their temples and statues, this is a basic fact.”

“These problems should be solved. If not, then this would be failure of policy. Must seek dialogue. It is not feasible to simply accuse them of just being separatists.”

In April 2011, Chinese police imprisoned Ai on politically motivated charges of tax evasion; when he was finally released after 81 days in custody, he was forbidden from leaving Beijing for a year. (He has since been given permission to travel domestically.)

The artist has continued to speak out against Chinese government censorship and repression, often through social media and through his art.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on August 24, 2012, 03:07:07 PM
Interesting report of the situation from the US. but I am not surprised as the US is just using it as a way to generate bad press against China. China can either learn from it or become even more secretive from here. In any case, I am amused by this one sided and biased report, the US can complain about the self immolations but say nothing about the ban. CTA is allowing themselves to be used...how sad they are.

Quote
US report says Tibet self-immolations sign of Beijing’s policy failure
Phayul[Friday, August 24, 2012 17:01]
DHARAMSHALA, August 24: A special report by the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China, on the ongoing wave of self-immolations inside Tibet, notes that the Chinese government is unwilling to address the grievances of the Tibetan people and has refrained from admitting policy failure in Tibet.

“The Party and government have not indicated any willingness to consider Tibetan grievances in a more constructive manner and to hold themselves accountable for Tibetan rejection of Chinese policies,” the report says. “The Party and government have handled the crisis as a threat to state security and social stability instead of a policy failure.”

The CECC says the “frequency, geographic spread, and diversity” of self-immolations in Tibet has increased since its last report in December 2011.

The special report, released August 22, maintains that the wave of self-immolations is “concurrent with increasing Chinese Communist Party and government use of legal measures to repress and control core elements of Tibetan culture, and with the failure of the China-Dalai Lama dialogue process to achieve any sign of progress.”

The report titled, ‘Special Report: Tibetan Self-Immolation Rising Frequency, Wider Spread, Greater Diversity,’ covers the period from January to August 10, 2012 and documents 33 instances of self-immolations within that period.

The CECC studies the spread of the fiery protests to other parts of Tibet and notes the greater involvement of laypeople in the protests.

“As of August 10, 2012, an additional 33 Tibetans reportedly have committed similar self-immolation protests (29 reported fatal). Of these 33 self-immolations, 13 took place outside Sichuan province and 14 were persons who did not have a monastic background (i.e., laypersons),” the report reads.

The Commission believes that several factors and trends that “developed or worsened” following the major Tibetan uprisings in March 2008 “may have contributed” to the current situation forcing Tibetans to self-immolate as a last resort of protest.

The report lists multiple political, social, and environmental factors, including the “erosion or elimination” of future potential for ethnic autonomy as China “promotes demographic transformation” and the “deteriorating outlook” for the Tibetan culture, language, and environment in the face of the government “continuing to prioritise development initiatives that accelerate infrastructure construction and resource exploitation.”

The US Congressional Commission also notes that the “steepening decline” in the status of religious freedom; the ongoing security crackdowns and enforced “education” campaigns; and the “lack of hope” of China engaging in substantive discussions with the Dalai Lama’s envoys are factors leading to the rise of self-immolations inside Tibet.

Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on August 26, 2012, 01:41:32 AM
Unfortunately for CTA, it seems that China has stepped up on his stance on self immolation and they are getting very serious. "Unknown reasons" probably translates to suspected of being CTA's spies. China is kind enough to not disclose that to not complicate things, but I dont know how long will it last if CTA keeps poking the dragon. I dont think China is that callous to arrest people without proof.

Quote

Crackdown continues in Kirti, More monks arrested
Phayul[Saturday, August 25, 2012 17:16]

([url]http://phayul.com/images/thumb.aspx?src=12082505283238.jpg[/url])
Arrested Kirti monk Lobsang Sangay in an undated photo. (Photo/Kirti Monastery)
DHARAMSHALA, August 25: Amidst continuing crackdown at the Kirti Monastery in Ngaba, eastern Tibet, more monks of the Monastery have been arbitrarily detained for unknown reasons.

Dharamshala based rights group Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in a release today said two more monks were arrested by Chinese authorities in the past two weeks.

“Around 14 of this month, Lobsang Sangye, 30, a monk from Kirti Monastery, who hails from Chilgdril (Chinese: Jiuzi) County in Golog (Chinese: Guoluo) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, was arbitrarily detained for unknown reasons,” the release said.

“On August 17, another monk from Kirti Monastery, Lobsang Konchok, 40, who belongs to Gyatsotang family in Chashang Chukle Gongma Township in Ngaba County was also detained on unknown charges.”

Lobsang Sangye, son of Rabten and Yumkho is a student of Pharchin class (En: Perfection of Wisdom).

Lobsang Konchok, Tharten and Atso is pursuing his Karampa degree (equivalent to a Bachelor’s degree in Tibetan Buddhism) at the Kirti Monastery.

“Both monks were detained by the Public Security Bureau personnel of Ngaba County,” TCHRD said. “Their condition and whereabouts remain unknown at the time of reporting.”

([url]http://phayul.com/images/thumb.aspx?src=120825053029TS.jpg[/url])
Arrested Kirti monk Lobsang Konchok in an undated photo. (Photo/Kirti Monastery)
The rights group added that two more monks of the Monastery were also detained for over a week and later released.

“On an unknown date this month, security personnel detained two more monks from Kirti Monastery, Lobsang Tenzin and Sangdhue,” the release said. “They were held in custody for a week during which they were subjected to prolonged interrogations. Both were released without any explanation for their detention.”

In 1998, Lobsang Tenzin had received a three-year prison term and was again detained for a month in 2008 during the widespread Tibetan uprisings.

With over 2500 monks, the Kirti Monastery is one of the largest seats of learning inside Tibet.

Since Tapey, a Kirti monk set himself on fire demanding freedom in Tibet and the return of the Dalai Lama from exile in February 2009, 18 more monks and former monks from the Monastery have self-immolated.

The monastery remains under heavy military blockade with armed soldiers strictly controlling the movement of the monks. Hundreds of monks from the monastery have been disappeared, while many have been sentenced to lengthy jail terms on charges of “subversion”.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on August 28, 2012, 03:30:54 PM
On a side note, there is yet another article from the net of Tibetans justifying the self immolations...this time by associating it with Buddhism and glorifying it in the name of Buddhism. Have a read...does it convince you that self immolations is good and not bad, and in fact it is a very Buddhist thing....? It didint really work for me in any way, tho, but neverthenless it is an interesting read.

Quote
SELF-IMMOLATION AND BUDDHISM
 
The Yiddish word “chutzpah”, pronounced “huspa”, has the exact same meaning as the Tibetan word “hamba”, and even shares a passing tonal quality to it. Leo Rosten, the humorist, defined chutzpah as “that quality enshrined in a man who, having killed his mother and father, throws himself on the mercy of the court because he is an orphan.”

Dai Qingli, an official of the Chinese Embassy in Britain brilliantly demonstrated that quality in a letter to the Guardian (25 Nov. 2011) titled “Tibetan Deaths violate Buddhism”. Dai wrote, “The self-immolations of Tibetan monks and nuns were truly tragic. They were also a fatal violation of the spirit of peace and tolerance that defines Tibetan Buddhism. And, as such, these acts have met anger and disapproval from the local people and the religious community.”

Bhuchung K.Tsering of the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) expressed himself in a similar manner in his article “This Chinese is Right About Tibetan Self-Immolation!”

“Yesterday, i.e. December 1, 2011, I was reading an article in People’s Daily by  “renowned Tibetologist” Li Decheng concerning self-immolations by Tibetans in Tibet in which he says these actions are against “core Buddhist code of ethics.” He further says, “In Buddhism, particularly Tibetan Buddhism, scripture has never encouraged killings and suicide, nor has Buddhist dogma incited others to carry out killings or commit suicide.” I have no hesitation in saying I agree with him here.’

Bhuchung went on to request the Chinese that they should pay attention to the self-immolations “as it is an important social issue for China and its future.”  Bhuchung also attempts to explain why Tibetans were – and I use his exact word – “indulging” in this behavior. Bhuchung and his colleagues at ICT might not approve of the self-immolations but they should realize that the monks and nuns were hardly “indulging” themselves in any way.

The Dalai Lama chose his words more carefully. In his statement to UPI on Nov 21 he said he didn’t encourage self-immolation by monks and nuns protesting China’s control over Tibet and questioned the usefulness of the acts as a protest tool. He did acknowledge that the monks and nuns had courage, but he gave the impression that it wasn’t a Buddhist thing to do.

So is self-immolation against Buddhist teachings or not?

In 1963, Thich Quang Duc, a Vietnamese monk set fire to himself at a busy Saigon intersection. The famous Pulitzer Prize winning photograph by Malcolm Browne of the burning monk sitting serenely in the lotus position surrounded by flames, became a worldwide sensation and contributed to fall of the Diem regime. At the time Beijing openly praised the action of the Vietnamese monk and distributed millions of copies of the photo (pirated of course) throughout Asia and Africa as evidence of “US imperialism”. Other Vietnamese monks and a nun subsequently set fire to themselves to protest the war.



Self-immolation appear to be an unusual though accepted Buddhist traditio in China and parts of South East Asia. There are numerous cases in Chinese history, especially during the Qing period, of such acts being performed as political protest (see  Burning for the Buddha: Self-immolation in Chinese Buddhism by James A. Benn). In 1948 in the city of Harbin a monk seated himself in the lotus position on a pile of sawdust and soybean oil and set fire to himself in protest against the treatment of Buddhism by Mao Zedong’s Communists.

The main inspiration for the practice appears to be based on a teaching in The Lotus Sutra (Tib. dam chos pad-ma dkar po’i mdo). One chapter of this sutra recounts the life story of the Bodhisattva Medicine King who demonstrated his insight into the selfless nature of his body by ritualistically setting his body aflame, spreading the “Light of the Dharma” for twelve hundred years.

But I think that the spiritual motivation for the sacrifice of our young monks and nuns in Tibet might have come from another direction. Forty-five kilometers south-east of Katmandu is one of the most popular pilgrimage sites for Tibetans visiting Nepal. The hill of Namo Buddha (or Tagmo Lujin in Tibetan) is – the Golden Light Sutra (phags pa gser ‘od dam pa’i mdo) tells us – the very place where the Buddha (in a previous incarnation) gave up his body to feed a starving tigress and her four cubs. This is a popular Jataka story with all Tibetans and is often brought up in conversations whenever an example of self-sacrifice or selfless conduct is required.  There are other such Jataka or Avadana stories of the Buddha giving up his life for others, a well known one from the mahakapi jataka being the tale of the Great Monkey King who died saving the lives of his “80,000” monkey subjects.

The courageous action of the thirteen self-immolators in Tibet must be seen in this specific doctrinal light. I emphatically disagree with the opinion some people are circulating that the monks and nuns burnt themselves in despair because they were not allowed to practice their religion. If that were the main concern of these monks and nuns then the logical course of action for them to take would have been to escape to India, as many others had done so before. Kirti monastery, where most of the young self-immolators had studied, even has a large branch at Dharamshala where they would have been welcome.

Hence we must see the self-immolations in Tibet as action taken for the welfare of others, for the freedom of the Tibetan people and the independence of Tibet (as some of the self-immolators expressly stated). Even the call by most of the self-immolators for the return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet must be interpreted as a call for the restoration of an independent Tibet, as the Dalai Lama is regarded as the legitimate sovereign ruler of independent Tibet, and should not merely be interpreted as a plea for the return of a personal spiritual leader, as those attempting to de-politicize the events have been claiming.

The deed of the thirteen self-immolators is not only Buddhist in an unquestionably absolute sense, but furthermore comes from within a heroic and action-oriented tradition of Buddhism. Some scholars have viewed this approach as truer to the original teachings of the historical Buddha, in contrast to the quietist, passive, even escapist perception of Buddhism which has gained more widespread acceptance, especially in the West.

The historical Buddha was a member of the warrior class, a Kshatriya. Though he accepted all classes and castes into the sangha he was given to addressing his followers thus “We are Kshatriya, all”. He did this, of course, not to highlight his own caste, but probably to lay emphasis on the qualities of commitment and courage that he required of his disciples. The sutra’s tell us that Siddhartha was a tall man of powerful build, trained in the martial arts, in which he excelled, even defeating other Shakya warriors to prove his worth for the hand of the princess Yashodhara. The warrior’s fearlessness and commitment were evident in his first attempt to achieve enlightenment, and which is powerfully represented in the Gandhara image of the Buddha, after six years of extreme self-mortification had seen his body reduced to skin and bone.



Even after he realized that his first attempt was a failure his warrior’s commitment and courage were never in doubt. The Buddha’s next method, the “Middle Way” was not an excuse for inaction, weakness or impotence. When Siddhartha finally sat under the Bodhi tree he fixed his resolve on the goal of enlightenment with an unshakable resolution. A beautiful and dramatic verse is attributed to him by some early compilers of the sutras. “Let blood dry up, let flesh wither away, but I shall not stir from this spot till Enlightenment be attained.”

A few of the titles by which Siddhartha was known after his enlightenment appear to acknowledge this heroic quality, as in “jina” or “conqueror” and “mahavira” or “great hero (also the title of the founder of Jainism).

The Bodhisattva as hero is delineated clearly in a passage from the Prajnaparimita Sutra where he is said to fearlessly lead all sentient beings out of the deep forests of samsara, fighting of attacks from “inimical forces”. At the end of this passage he asks his disciple Subhuti “If, then, more and more hostile and inimical forces should rise up against him in that forest, would this heroic man decide to abandon his family and take himself alone out of that terrible and frightening forest?” and Subhuti of course replies, “No, O Lord”.

The historical Buddha himself, when stalked by the bandit and murderer Angulimala, chose not to flee or leave the problems to others. Instead he confronted and subdued the killer through what has traditionally been regarded as magical power. No matter how swiftly Angulimala ran after the casually strolling Buddha, he could not catch up with him. About a hundred years earlier the Greek philosopher Zeno posited such a situation in his “time paradox” of Achilles never being able to catch up with a tortoise. These day physicists might explain it as a “Quantum Zeno effect”, the name which E.C.G. Sudarshan and B. Misra coined to describe “the suppression of unitary time evolution caused by quantum decoherence…”

Then there is the story of how in a previous life the Buddha killed a mass-murderer on a ship to save the lives of the other travelers on board. The context in which Buddha told this avadana story to his disciples is interesting and relevant to the overall point I am trying to make. One day a disciple noticed that the Buddha had received a wound on his feet. The disciple asked how this could happen to some one who had attained nirvana. The Buddha then told his disciples the above story. The lesson being that no one can wholly escape the consequence of a violent deed even if its performance is necessary and righteous. But there is another logical corollary to the story, that if the Buddha had chosen, for reasons of cowardice or ethical fastidiousness, not to kill the murderer and not to save those many lives, he would have committed a more far more immoral and evil act.

It is this essentially non-violent yet nuanced and dynamic interpretation of Buddhist action that is completely absent from the passive, comfortable, sanitized, hands-off, and inherently self-serving interpretation of the Dharma dominating much of the contemporary Buddhist world.

A noticeable aspect of this “New Age” Buddhism is its preoccupation with money, celebrity and a kind of low-maintenance intellectualism disseminated in a plethora of unreadable self-help books with catchy Zen style titles (Watching the Watcher, Silent Mind Holy Mind, Living Through Dying and so on). Something like this is, I suppose, prevalent in institutionalized religions worldwide, and is probably a waste of time to work yourself up about it. But I think Tibetans would wholeheartedly join me in condemning Buddhist teachers charging extortionate ticket prices for their sermons, and Dharma centers discouraging, sometimes forbidding, their members from participating in political action, even for the cause of Tibetan freedom and human rights.

And how can you argue with them when even the former prime-minister of the exile government, a Tibetan lama and learned geshe has not only not participated in any Free Tibet demonstrations but has even ordered Tibetans not to demonstrate against Chinese leaders visiting the West. Yet Samdhong Rinpoche was seen on European TV, in 2006, as one of the leaders of a major demonstration against the Swiss company SYNGENTA in India, a leading agri-business company that Indian environmentalists opposed. So perhaps the spiritual lesson here is that political activism is permissible so long as it is fashionable, profitable and does not upset Beijing. The Dalai Lama has publicly joined the opposition to the proposed oil pipeline from Alberta to Texas. I am enough of an environmentalist not to take issue with the Dalai Lama’s initiative, but I wish His Holiness had been as opposed to the Beijing Olympics or China’s “population-transfer” railway line to Tibet.

Yet the most cynical thing I have seen recently, especially in relation to the self-immolations, is a fund raising letter sent out by the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT), asking people to donate money to it because “…13 Tibetans have set fire to themselves,” This from the organization that opposes the Tibetan independence struggle, and whose senior official wrote in enthusiastic support of China’s condemnation of self-immolation as being against Buddhism.


Original article: http://www.jamyangnorbu.com/blog/2012/01/03/self-immolation-and-buddhism/ (http://www.jamyangnorbu.com/blog/2012/01/03/self-immolation-and-buddhism/)
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on August 28, 2012, 04:21:59 PM
Here's an interesting analytical of the self immolation issue from a more technical and psychological viewpoint. It does add a refreshing degree of neutrality to the whole issue, without those pro and anti Tibet/China sentiments hanging around.

Quote
Self-Immolations In Tibet: Altruism, Fatalism Or Anomie? – Analysis
By Bhavna Singh, IPCS, August 25, 2012
Lhasa, Tibet (China) -- In its Annual International Religious Freedom Report released on 30 July 2012, the US held the Chinese government responsible for the wave of self-immolations amongst Tibetans over the recent years (45 deaths so far).
It identified that ‘there was marked deterioration’ in the government’s approach in handling religious issues during 2011 and increased restrictions were placed on religious practices especially in Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and nunneries. Beijing’s obvious immediate reaction has been to ridicule the report as being highly prejudiced, arrogant and ignorant. However, it is beyond doubt that the concerned actors are giving up their lives to send a definite message across the international community.

These are against religious repression, or for an end to the colonial style administrative set up, or against the forced patriotic education campaigns. Paradoxically, they are also cognizant of the fact that such acts are intrinsically a violation of their own religious beliefs and pacifist way of life. Then why have they turned to self-immolation as a strategy? This article makes a socio-psychological foray into the underpinnings of ‘self-immolation’ as a phenomenon and whether it will prove to be an evolutionarily stable strategy.

Altruism


 Three particular concepts can be adduced to explain the rationale behind these self-immolations. First, the concept of ‘altruistic suicide’, a term popularized by Emile Durkheim in context of a community-bound consciousness which propels one to sacrifice for the benefit of others. Durkheim identified that individuals who commit such acts feel overwhelmed by a group’s goals and beliefs and are highly integrated into the norms and customs of a society. In the Tibetan case, a significant proportion of these monks are institutionally integrated via their religious scriptures and practices into a code of beliefs, religious freedom being the principal one. Their identification as a single community as opposed the rest of Chinese citizens (barring other autonomous regions) provides greater scope for integration within the group. And though it would be an unfair comparison to make, but altruistic suicides seem to be emerging as an alternative strategy for these non-state actors given the stress on non-violence amongst Buddhist practitioners, and as a corollary, their inability to endorse suicide terrorism as a way to force the governments to yield to their cause.
Fatalism

Secondly, fatalism as an attitude has also contributed to the growing levels of frustration amongst the Tibetan population who for the lack of options feel excessively regulated and choked by oppressive discipline by the Chinese authorities. They face, what in the terms of Game theory would be called, Prisoner’s dilemma, where cooperation with fellow Tibetans would manifest in achieving the goal of a free Tibet while destabilizing the Chinese state and noncooperation would result in the obliteration of their own ilk.

Anomie

Thirdly, the concept of Anomie also helps to explain the directionless-state of the Tibetans who reflect moral confusion and lack of social direction due to the two-directional pull from the Chinese state and the Tibetan fraternity. They confront conflicting choices due to lack of definitions on legitimate aspirations within a framework of desirable social ethics, which could otherwise impose meaning and order on the individual conscience. Pursuit of desires is restrained by constant abuse and excessive regulation. Viewed from this prism, the endorsement of self-immolations as a strategy could evince a breakdown of moral regulation within the Buddhist paraphernalia as well as Chinese visions of integration of its autonomous regions.

Inadvertently, a mix of the above mentioned three factors explains the occurrence of this phenomenon in Tibet, but will it prove to be an evolutionary stable strategy is a question that requires further probing.

Self-Immolations as Evolutionary Stable Strategy?

Two crucial factors need to be kept in mind while assessing the potential for success of this strategy: first, the nature of the Chinese state and second, the sustainability of the strategy itself. In a certain way, an unyielding authoritarian polity provides enough space for devising a stable strategy as the reactions are largely predictable and the element of surprise is greatly reduced, though execution is a problem in the long run. For self-immolations to succeed it would require larger participation from the Tibetan community, which seems to be a dim possibility in this case. In the long-run the strategy might run out of steam as the grave personal losses encumbered by the community as a whole could impinge on the larger Buddhist precepts thus drawing rebuke from the spiritual gurus. Also, it seems impracticable as no specific time-frame can be ascertained to achieve their aspired goals which will render the efforts of the martyred few fruitless.

There is a pressing need for correction of their strategy by the Tibetans so as to not advance the anomie resulting from the amalgamation of religious and political ends. Moreover, the credentials of self-immolations as an evolutionarily stable strategy are highly questionable.


Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Tenzin Gyatso on August 28, 2012, 04:58:06 PM
Brave Tibetans fiercely loyal and proud of their culture, religion and country. It is sad China has pushed them to this desperate plea for help to liberate Tibet from the yoke of Red China's illegal rule.

I salute those who sacrificed themselves for others unfortunately by self immolation.

Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: harrynephew on August 28, 2012, 05:57:34 PM
I find it sad that this immolation thing is still going on. Discussions over discussions have been carried out with not one single solution at hand. We bring the subject up to world discussion but we very well know that no matter how many people are going to burn themselves, it would not change one bit of the current situation of Tibetans inside and outside of the country.

Why be so stuck to just having things done one way and not find another peaceful and more amicable solution  to make everybody happy?

Self-immolation is heroic, one person get burned and dies, a handful mourns but the situation remains the same. I don't understand this equation.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on August 29, 2012, 02:07:20 PM
Let's just put it this way, that if self immolations worked for the freedom of Tibet, it would have worked a long time ago. It would have worked after the first or second ones, but after 50 self immolations have happened and still China does not do what they want and release Tibet back to them, should they not be getting the hint that their approach is wrong? Why are they not doing about that and cant they  just work together with China to ensure that the Tibetans get what they need instead of demanding for their independence incessantly, which is also making no progress at all and they should really try an alternative method. But sadly, they seem to refuse to change their ways although many people have died and there has been no progress at all with their current set of methods.

The sad part is, the methods that they have chosen costs human lives, and they are not stopping even though so many people have died. No matter how you want to see it, the self immolations are caused by the CTA and them saying very little to overcome it really shows that they are guilty of inciting them.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on August 29, 2012, 04:30:05 PM
This is what the self immolations have resulted in: more arrests and raids on the monasteries. Perhaps China is aware that there are CTA spies in the monastery, which is why it has been subjected to the raid. China would not be so silly as to simply raid monasteries without proof. Of all the monasteries there are in Tibet, why did China target that one? Surely there must be a reason behind it...

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One more Tsodun monk arrested on unknown charges
Phayul[Wednesday, August 29, 2012 16:18]

([url]http://phayul.com/images/news/articles/12082904312113.jpg[/url])
Lobsang Rabten, monk of Gyalrong Tsodun Kirti Monastery in an undated photo. (Photo/Kirti Monastery)

DHARAMSHALA, August 29: In continuing crackdown at the Gyalrong Tsodun Kirti Monastery in Barkham, eastern Tibet, another Tibetan monk has been arrested by Chinese security personnel on unknown charges.

Lobsang Rabten, 34, an official with the Monastery Management Committee of Tsodun Monastery, was detained on August 19, according to the Dharamshala based rights group Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy.

His whereabouts remained unknown for almost ten days following his arrest.

“After sustained inquiries by friends and relatives, it has emerged that Rabten is now being held at Barkham (Chinese: Ma'erkang), capital of Ngaba Prefecture,” TCHRD said. “However, there is no information on the location of his detention and the reasons for his detention.”

Lobsang Rabten hails from Tsukde nomadic village in Tsodun and is the son of Tsering Popo and Dolma.

The Tsodun Monastery has come under increased surveillance and severe crackdown following the self-immolation protests by three of its monks since March this year.

On March 30, Chime Palden, 21 and Tenpa Dhargyal, 22, set themselves on fire protesting China’s continued occupation of Tibet in Barkham. Chime Palden died a day after his fiery protest while Tenpa Dhargyal passed away a week later.

On July 17, Lobsang Lozin, 18, self-immolated near the monastery’s main prayer hall and began walking towards the local Chinese office in flames before falling down. Lobsang Lozin succumbed to his injuries the same day.

Five Tsodun monks were earlier arrested this month in night raids by Chinese security personnel.

On August 12, Lobsang Sengye, around 19 years old, Yarphel, and Namsey, both around 18, were arrested in night raids from their monastic quarters while Thubwang Tenzin , 20, and Asung, 22, were arrested from their quarters on August 16.

All the arrests were made on unknown charges and their whereabouts and wellbeing remain unknown till date.

The exile base of the Kirti Monastery in Dharamshala earlier told Phayul that Chinese security personnel, armed with weapons, have been carrying out raids every night in each and every quarter of the monks in the Monastery. The monks are being “beaten and interrogated at gunpoint.”

Gyalrong Tsodun Kirti monastery is located some 80 kilometers to the north of Barkham town and is one of the biggest Gelug monasteries in Gyalrong region.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on September 01, 2012, 12:29:35 PM
As usual, another prayer session for the self immolators from the CTA. Again, what is worse is that CTA is taking this opportunity to blame China on the self immolations. It dosent work anymore, CTA. People have realized what is going on. If you really wanted to help Tibet, demeaning and accusing China does not help at all. Do us a favor and show that you are sincere in working with China for Tibet's safety. Holding prayer sessions for the self immolators will only fan the fire. Please dont anger China anymore.

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CTA holds prayer service, Says Tibet effectively under undeclared martial law
Phayul[Friday, August 31, 2012 22:31]

([url]http://phayul.com/images/thumb.aspx?src=120831103153X8.jpg[/url])
Kalon Tripa Dr Lobsang Sangay addressing the mass prayer service held for Tibetan self-immolators at the Tsug-la Khang, Dharamshala on August 31, 2012. (Photo/Norbu Wangyal)

DHARAMSHALA, August 31: Hundreds of Tibetans and supporters, including the Tibetan Chief Justice Commissioners and Kalon Tripa Dr Lobsang Sangay today attended a mass prayer service held in honour of Tibetan self-immolators Lobsang Kalsang and Dhamchoe.

The special prayer service held at the Tsug-la Khang, the main temple, also mourned and expressed solidarity with all Tibetans who have sacrificed their lives for the cause of Tibet.

Lobsang Kalsang, 18, a monk at the Kirti Monastery in Ngaba, eastern Tibet and Dhamchoe, 17, a former monk at the Monastery, set themselves on fire on August 27 protesting China’s continued occupation of Tibet. Both of them succumbed to their injuries later in the day.

Dhamchoe was the younger brother of Tenzin Choedron, a nun at the Mamae nunnery in Ngaba, who passed away in her self-immolation protest earlier this year on February 11.

In a release, the Dharamshala based Central Tibetan Administration expressed “grave concern” over the deteriorating situation in Tibet and noted that despite their “repeated appeals, over 51 Tibetans have now set themselves on fire in protest against the Chinese government's repressive policies.”

The exile Tibetan administration said Tibet is “effectively under undeclared martial law” and blamed the Chinese government for the increasing number of self-immolations.

“The whole of Tibet is effectively under undeclared martial law, and remains closed to foreign tourists and journalists. Such brutal response from the Chinese government has pushed an increasing number of Tibetans to continue taking drastic steps,” the release said.

“The responsibility for the tragic self-immolations in Tibet lies entirely with the Chinese government, so does the solution.”

Since 2009, 51 Tibetans inside Tibet have set themselves on fire demanding Tibet’s freedom and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile. The month of August alone has witnessed seven self-immolations and a spate of protests, leading to the death and brutal beatings of Tibetan demonstrators.

The CTA, while taking note of resolutions and statements issued by numerous countries calling on China to take proactive steps to ease security clampdown in Tibet and address the underlying grievances of Tibetans through dialogue, urged the Chinese government to heed to those urgent appeals.

The exile Tibetan administration further appealed individual governments to engage China during the September UN General Assembly meeting to end the crisis in Tibet.

“We appeal to individual governments to use their good offices to engage the Chinese government to end the crisis in Tibet at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly meeting in September, to allow fact-finding delegation and international media to visit Tibet, and to pursue substantive dialogue with the Central Tibetan Administration to resolve the issue of Tibet.”
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Tenzin Gyatso on September 02, 2012, 01:52:19 AM
Pray for those who have sacrificed their greatest possession for the sake of others, their own lives. Pray for their good rebirth and their huge compassion. There is no criticism necessary here. They are dead.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: wang on September 02, 2012, 04:28:36 AM
Pray for those who have sacrificed their greatest possession for the sake of others, their own lives. Pray for their good rebirth and their huge compassion. There is no criticism necessary here. They are dead.

I pray that HHDL will say no to this kind of 'self-sacrify'.  If he did so,  90% of those who died will still be there today.

I pray that Kirti Rinpoche will say no to this kind of  'self-sacrify'.  If he did so,  50% of those who died will still be there today.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on September 05, 2012, 06:32:56 AM
Seems that China is actively ratting out monks with links to CTA in monasteries. Phayul puts "unknown reasons", but many are aware of the reasons behind the arrests of these monks. I dont think China will do random arrests on people because it is not conducive to their goal of having a united China, which is what they want from the start and they will do anything at all to preserve that. It most probably is that they found out that the said monks were CTA agents. That's just my theory, tho, knowing China and CTA.

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Zilkar Monastery tense following arrest of five monks
Phayul[Tuesday, September 04, 2012 18:28]
By Phuntsok Yangchen

([url]http://phayul.com/images/thumb.aspx?src=120904065507JF.jpg[/url])

DHARAMSHALA, September 4: In growing cases of arbitrary detention of Tibetans by Chinese authorities, five more monks in eastern Tibet have been detained on unknown charges.

In reports received by Phayul, five monks of the Nyitso Zilkar Monastery in Tridu region of eastern Tibet were detained on September 1 from the monastery in a surprise raid by a large number of Chinese security personnel.

Lobsang Sangyal, a monk in south India, with contacts in the region identified the arrested monks as Sonam Sherab, 45, Lobsang Jinpa, 30, Tsultrim Kalsang, 25, Ngawang Monlam, 30, and Sonam Yignyen, 44.

“Monastery officials were informed by the local Chinese authorities that they will be visiting the Zilkar Monastery regarding certain government houses built after the earthquake that hit in the region in 2009,” Sangyal told Phayul. “But instead they arrived with a large number of armed security personnel and raided the monastery.”

Sangyal said power supply to the Monastery was cut off and electronic items of the monks were confiscated.

“The quarters of the five arrested monks were raided and their computers and CD’s were confiscated,” the same source said. “When other monks of the Monastery pleaded for the release of those arrested, they were severely beaten as well.”

The conditions and whereabouts of the arrested monks remain unknown.

Sangyal added that the Zilkar Monastery is currently under strict surveillance.

Earlier this year in February, three Zilkar monks Sonam Gyewa, Lobsang Samten, and Lobsang Nyima were arrested on suspected charges of their roles in a massive protest that rocked the region.


Thousands of Tibetans in Tridu area had led a peaceful protest, carrying banners demanding the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile and respect for Tibetan lives, coinciding with the global solidarity vigil on February 8, called by the elected leader of the Tibetan people, Kalon Tripa Dr Lobsang Sangay.

Around 400 monks from the Zilkar monastery had led the protest march to Dza Toe town, which later swelled to over a thousand.

The monks unfurled banners, written in blue and red ink, symbolic of the two protector deities of Tibet, calling for the Dalai Lama’s return, release of Tibetan political prisoners including the XIth Panchen Lama and respect for Tibetan lives.

Again in June, more than 800 Chinese security personnel were deployed in and around the Zilkar Monastery and Zatoe town to block local Tibetans from paying their last respects to Tenzin Khedup, who set himself ablaze with Ngawang Norphel, on June 20 calling for Tibet’s independence and long-life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

However, monks from the Zilkar Monastery went against the official decree and attended the cremation in their hundreds.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on September 07, 2012, 09:17:28 AM
DHARAMSHALA: A special report on Tibetan self-immolation by a US Congressional Committee said that the “trend of self-immolations in Tibet occurred and worsened with an increasing Chinese government repression”.

In its special report titled ‘Tibetan Self-Immolation—Rising Frequency, Wider Spread, Greater Diversity’ released on 22 August, the Congressional Executive Commission on China said: “The frequency, geographic spread, and diversity of Tibetans who reportedly have committed self-immolation as they called for Tibetan freedom and the Dalai Lama’s return has increased since its December 2011 report.” The report covers the period up to 10 August 2012.

“The wave of self-immolations is concurrent with increasing Chinese Communist Party and government use of legal measures to repress and control core elements of Tibetan culture, and with the failure of the China-Dalai Lama dialogue process to achieve any sign of progress. The Party and government have also not indicated any willingness to consider Tibetan grievances in a more constructive manner and to hold themselves accountable for Tibetan rejection of Chinese policies. The Party and government have handled the crisis as a threat to state security and social stability instead of a policy failure,” the report said.

The December report covered 13 self-immolations (8 reported fatal) that occurred from February 2009 to December 2011. All 13 of those self-immolations involved current or former monks or nuns; 12 took place in Sichuan province. Since then, as of August 10, 2012, an additional 33 Tibetans reportedly have committed similar self-immolation protests (29 reported fatal). Of these 33 self-immolations, 13 took place outside Sichuan province and 14 were persons who did not have a monastic background (i.e., laypersons), the Commission said.

The CECC created by the US Congress in October 2000 with the legislative mandate to monitor human rights and the development of the rule of law in China, and to submit an annual report to the President and the Congress. The Commission consists of nine Senators, nine Members of the House of Representatives, and five senior Administration officials appointed by the President.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on September 07, 2012, 04:28:39 PM
How about a football match to remember those who have died while immolating themselves? Let's kick footballs and score goals in memory of those who killed themselves for Tibet's freedom (under CTA's direction) because they are worth it. How much more do the Tibetans want to provoke China? It's already reached the point of no return for quite sometime now, anyway. It's just a bit more before it tips over for them.

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FC Rangzen Minnesota wins first Martyrs Memorial Cup
Phayul[Tuesday, September 04, 2012 20:44]

An unforgettable event that started off with exhilaration and excitement ended with more energy and stronger bond between all those involved throughout the three-day ‘Martyrs Memorial Cup’ football tournament from Sept 1-3.

The Regional Tibetan Youth Congress Minnesota organised the first ever ‘Martyrs Memorial Cup North America Tibetan Soccer Tournament’ to honor those who have sacrificed their lives for our nation’s freedom and bring together Tibetan communities from different parts of North America through sports.

The opening ceremony of the Tournament paid tribute to the brave Tibetan martyrs who have sacrificed their lives for the cause of Tibet. Chief Guest Dorjee Gyalpo who was part of an indefinite hunger strike at New York earlier this year gave the keynote speech at the opening ceremony. Tibetan Pop artist Phurbu T. Namgyal also performed during the event.

The tournament consisted of six teams; Chicago (Nomads), California (Lungta FC), Madison (Yaks) and three from Minnesota – MN United, Tsam FC and FC Rangzen.

Following the first day of pool matches, the second day of the Tournament saw thrilling matches with a semifinal showdown between FC Rangzen (MN) and Madison Yaks, carrying on with their one all draw in the previous game. FC Rangzen eventually triumphed over Madison with a 2-0 scorecard. The second semifinal between MN United and Chicago Nomads went down to the wire to a penalty shootout with Chicago squeezing a 5-4 win.


RTYC-MN also put together TSEN-ZOM (A celebration of Tibetan Spirit) event at Tibetan Community Center that included talent shows, open mic, and a fashion show. A wonderful drama was also performed in memory of Tibetan martyrs.

Before the finals of the Tournament between Chicago and Minnesota, a Fathers Friendly soccer game was played. The match saw spectacular goals, many a tumble, and exhausted players as the kids cheered for their fathers.

Facing off in the finals, FC Rangzen scored first with a speedy run from the corner. Chicago tried hard but failed to find the back of the net. FC Rangzen went on to score two more goals to emerge champions of the first Martyrs Memorial Cup.

All teams displayed wonderful teamwork throughout the tournament.

As the tournament ended and people drove home, the message of the tournament was stronger than when it had started - to stand united with Tibetans inside Tibet for freedom and justice for Tibet.

Based on a report submitted by Tenzin Choendhen Waleag
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on September 17, 2012, 05:39:48 PM
What happens when a self immolator survives? They still end up in a dire state...financial difficulties? sigh. At the end of the day they still dont contribute much to Tibet's independence aside from generating a bit more traffic for phayul....

can someone explain why is it that only Gelug monks are self immolating but not other monks?

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Recuperating Tibetan self-immolator faces jail threat, Financial difficulties
Phayul[Monday, September 17, 2012 16:32]

([url]http://phayul.com/images/thumb.aspx?src=120917044741DU.jpg[/url])
Dawa Tsering in an undated photo. (Photo/TCHRD)
DHARAMSHALA, September 17: A Tibetan self-immolator, who is reportedly making good recovery from his burn injuries, faces an uncertain future coupled with jail threats and a slim chance of re-entering his monastery.

Dawa Tsering, a monk at the Kardze Monastery in eastern Tibet, set himself on fire within the walls of his Monastery on October 25, 2011 during a religious ceremony. While engulfed in flames, he shouted slogans for the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile and the re-unification of the Tibetan people.

The Dharamshala based rights group Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in a release today said Dawa Tsering’s health condition is “quite well” and “longs to return back to his monastery” citing an unnamed source with contacts in the region.

"But his future remains unknown and uncertain because he might not be allowed to return back to his monastery. Instead, he would be jailed at any time," TCHRD said.

In a latest picture released by the group, the severity of Dawa Tsering’s burn injuries is clearly visible.

([url]http://phayul.com/images/news/articles/120917044920BV.jpg[/url])
Dawa Tsering in an undated photo before his self-immolation protest.
Soon after his self-immolation protest, Dawa Tsering had refused medical attention and pleaded not to be taken away by the Chinese security personnel.

His family has been taking care of him at their home in Kardze.

“But the family is facing financial problems as they struggle to meet Dawa’s medical expenses,” TCHRD said.

Kardze has witnessed repeated protests since the mass uprisings of 2008. Tsewang Norbu, a 29-year old monk from Nyitso monastery in Kardze passed away on the spot after setting himself ablaze protesting China’s continued occupation of Tibet and demanding the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile on August 15, 2011.

A few months later in November, Palden Choetso, a 35-year old Tibetan nun from the Ganden Jangchup Choeling nunnery in the same region, passed away immediately after setting her body on fire demanding the return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet.

In April this year, more than 2000 Tibetans carried out a mass protest in Kardze, demanding the release of around 250 Tibetans who were arrested after Chinese authorities ordered the closure of a locally founded Tibetan organisation called the ‘Dayul Unity Association.’

The Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, which is currently holding its fourth session in Dharamshala, dedicated the entire proceedings of the first day to deliberate on the critical situation inside Tibet.

Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on September 17, 2012, 05:46:35 PM
Sadly no matter how anyone wants to see it protests against the Chinese government wont really work. Neither does self immolations. It's just a one trick pony and the person gets arrested. What would work better are Tibetans actually making their way into the Chinese administration and slowly change them from there. Sadly that aint happening. protests and self immolations will just lead to more arrests.

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A Monk Sentenced in Eastern Tibet, Another Presumed Dead
The Tibet Post International , 17 September 2012
Dharamshala, India -- Shonu, a monk as well as a staff member of Drakgo Monastery, Drakgo county, eastern Tibet whose whereabouts remained unknown since his arrest in February 2012, is in Mianyang Prison (Sichuan Province), according to Dharamshala based Tibetan Human Rights group.

According to Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy (TCRD), Shonu, 42, was sentenced in June 2012 to 18 months in prison for charges unknown at the moment.

In February 2012, security officers detained Shonu and four other staff members of Drakgo Monastery at an Internet café in Tridu (Chinese: Chengdu) city, capital of Sichuan Province. The whereabouts of the four monk officials: Tulku Lobsang Tenzin, a reincarnated lama; Geshe Tsewang Namgyal , a teacher and a staff; Thinlay, manager; and Tashi Topgyal aka Dralha, accountant, remain unknown to this day.


 Shonu was born in 1969 in Garwa village in Drakgo County. In 1987, he joined Drepung Loseling Monastery in south India to study Buddhism. He returned and began working at Drakgo Monastery. He was arrested soon after the 23 January 2012 protests in Drango (Chinese: Luhuo/Chaggo).
The case of another ‘missing' monk, Tsering Gyaltsen of Drakgo Monastery, has taken a curious turn. In May 2012, less than four months after his arrest and subsequent ‘disappearance', Tsering Gyatsen's family and relatives held necessary rites and rituals to observe his ‘death' after sustained efforts to know about his whereabouts failed, the same source told TCHRD. Although he is presumed dead by his family members, they have yet to receive his 'body'.

On 9 February 2012, Tsering Gyaltsen, 40, was severely beaten and detained by Public Security Bureau personnel. He was born in Norpa village in Drakgo County. At a young age, he became a monk at Drakgo Monastery.

An unspecified number of Tibetans had been detained or ‘disappeared' soon after the 23 and 24 January 2012 protests in Drakgo, Sertha (Chinese: Seda) and Ngaba County. The protests themselves were violently suppressed by security forces who fired upon unarmed Tibetan protesters in Drakgo, injuring over 36 and killing six known Tibetans.

On 22 March 2012, Xinhua, the Chinese government-owned news agency reported the sentencing of seven Tibetans to 10 to 13 years imprisonment for their participation in the protest in Drakgo. On 26 April 2012, the Intermediate People's Court in Kardze (Chinese:Ganzi) Prefecture sentenced 16 Tibetans, including both monks and laymen, for their alleged involvement in the 23 January 2012 protest in Drakgo.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Amitabha on September 18, 2012, 07:17:27 AM
They ought to read, understand and contemplate this awesomic sutra..

The Sutra about the Deep Kindness of Parents and the Difficulty of Repaying It
http://oaks.nvg.org/filial-piety.html (http://oaks.nvg.org/filial-piety.html)

Buddha commented further, "Most women also give birth to and raise children, quite as an inborn duty. Each child relies on its mother's milk for life and nourishment. Each child drinks a lot of its mother's milk. It may deplete the mother unless she gets good nourishment."

When Ananda heard these words, he felt a pain inside and said to the Blessed One, "How can one repay one's mother's kindness and virtue?"

Buddha answered, "By the ninth month the foetus is ready to assimilate the different nutrients of the foods - child's food. There is more into it too. And during the tenth month the foetus is ready to be born.

Now, to explain more clearly, there are ten types of kindness bestowed by the mother on the child:
 8)
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on September 18, 2012, 04:37:34 PM
Here's a nice, long, opinion piece article on self immolations which I find quite interesting. From this piece, it is very clear that not everyone supports the whole self immolations thing and people are fully aware that it is but a political move. I wonder, if Dorje Shugden practitioners immolate themselves and demand that the ban be lifted, would CTA pay attention?

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Tibet's Self Murder: Tragedy or Transformation?

By John Halpern and Maria Sliwa

The charred, bodily remains of many self-immolators have been unceremoniously disposed of by local Chinese police, according to reports. Scores of Tibetans have reportedly committed self-immolation in protest against what they say are increasing atrocities committed by China.

What was in the minds of these Tibetans that caused them to set themselves on fire? Were these the final acts of frustration, despair and defiance, as Tibetans say? Or, were they treasonous acts of political perpetrators, as China's officials claim?

If these self-immolations are intended as the ultimate rejection of Chinese control, a cry for independence and a declaration of human rights, what does this imply to the outside world? And what can this mean to us?

At least 41 Tibetans have set themselves on fire since Feb. 27, 2009, and 31 have died, according to the International Campaign for Tibet, an advocacy group in Washington. If these acts were born of extreme desperation, having exhausted all other means of prayer, petition or protest, what else can our response be other than immense sadness and pity?

Passing the Baton

In a previous article, published in The Huffington Post, John Halpern examined the motivations in the hearts and minds of the resolute Hunger Strikers at the United Nations and the impact the self-immolation phenomenon is having toward a desired "Buddhist Spring in Tibet." The strike ended after promises were made by the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva (OHCHR).

Halpern's article also traced the edges where religion becomes politics and where a nation's policies transfer to the greater domain of international humanitarian initiatives, intervention and action.

At the core of these world developments and of this story, is the blossoming of a "culture of activism," a rarely addressed but vital subject. This non-governmental force, independently initiated by communities, internationally and functioning within legal boundaries (or not) challenges the frontiers of freedoms of expression, assembly, demonstration, civil liberty and civil rights.

Most importantly, the legacies of the Tibetan self-immolators leave behind some mysterious and delicate questions about religion and its relation to activism:
What, if at all, is the religious component of suicide, given the circumstances?

Is the act one of blasphemy?

When one's religious freedom is terminated and the last of one's acts is suicide, if the mind of the victim is of an altruistic, compassionate nature (albeit desperate and defiant), can self-immolation be considered a spiritual act?

The Tibetan suicides, whether motivated religiously, spiritually, politically or some hybrid of the three, occur after 60 years of Chinese occupation. They also occur at a time in history when instant activism and international communication are possible wherever a cell phone is in range.
Yet despite modern technology, history reveals that war, invasions and crusades often result in the vanquishing of an entire culture, regardless of the contributions and gifts that culture had made for a greater, human civilization. For Tibetans, the suicides of their nuns, monks and fellow compatriots are not in vain. They are a rallying cry, literally and symbolically, for independence, freedom and cultural survival. In contrast, if Mao Tse Tung's Cultural Revolution implicitly intended to extinguish Tibet's religion, and the source of its identity and culture, then the self-immolations could mean that Tibet, as we know it, is dying.

Encouraging self-immolation for political purposes would be seen as nihilistic, from a Tibetan Buddhist standpoint. But to honor the sacrifices and politicize them is a passing of the baton, spiritually and morally, through invoking their memory and lives: and pragmatically, by casting the self-immolations into the activist and humanitarian arena.

At this point in time, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, whose credo, "My religion is kindness," achieved billboard status following his acceptance speech for the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize, refuses comment. He no longer considers himself a spokesperson for Tibet, since his March 16, 2011 resignation from political office.

U.S. Senate candidate Tammy Baldwin applauded his decision. "At a time when despots cling to power, as their people yearn for democracy, the Dalai Lama's willful ceding of power is a tribute to his vision to fulfill the aspirations of the Tibetan people and should inspire others around the world," Baldwin said.

As a result, Tibetans are now speaking for themselves. While the Dalai Lama has passed them the baton, is there a correlation between his self-absolving his post and the self-immolations? The connection is tangible. After six decades of Chinese occupation, criticism, speculation and rejection of the Tibetan Government in Exile's policies, within the Tibetan community, has been erupting in many forms. Nevertheless, as Tibetans deliberate and debate these topics within their community, worldwide activism for the Tibetan cause has mobilized millions, Tibetan and non-Tibetan.

"We are raising our voices in support of the fundamental rights of Tibetan people at this critical time. The Chinese Government must immediately and unconditionally release all Tibetan political prisoners," said Laima Andrikiene, a long-serving member of the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Human Rights. "The persecution of Tibetans for their legitimate demands of freedom of religion and their fundamental rights is not only in contradiction with the principles of humanity, but is a clear infringement of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."

Activism and Transformation

It doesn't hurt this movement to have had the Dalai Lama, a favored personality of Hollywood celebrities and a pop-culture icon, champion its cause for 60 years until his strategic resignation in March 2011.

Further, it is a little known fact that the entire Tibetan Diaspora, outside China's borders, numbers only 200,000. Let's think about that. Only 200,000 have managed to mount a formidable, international campaign for their culture's survival against the Chinese leading superpower.

From Feb. 21 to March 22 of this year, four Tibetans (three lay people and one lama) sat in vigil outside the United Nations and were fasting until death against the atrocities. Six thousand of the 8,000 local Tibetan New York region residents joined there for a rally on March 10 to mark the 1959 Lhasa Uprising in Tibet. Numerous "political theater" type demonstrations occurred in India, across the United States, Canada and elsewhere, transforming tactics right out of the Greenpeace, Occupy Wall Street activists' handbooks into a new Post China Oppressed Tibetan lexicon of dramatic protest. Letters and calls flooded news rooms and the U.N. Office for Human Rights at both New York and Geneva branches. Celebrity and activist Richard Gere paid the strikers a visit. Media slowly raised its head and reported. The hunger strikers officially ended their strike following Kofi Annan's public statements and the direct intervention of the OHCHR, with an official visit to the strikers by two representatives bearing a personal letter from Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay. A bottle of orange juice and the promise to investigate the atrocities in Tibet was offered to the strikers at that time. All these activities seemed to occur in a concerted, focused way. Never before had the Tibetan cause achieved such depth at the United Nations. Was history in the making?

When asked about the progress made with China since Pillay's letter, Christine Chung, program officer for the OHCHR sent the following response in an e-mail on June 6:
Special Procedures are mechanisms established by the Human Rights Council to investigate human rights issues. The mandates of the special procedures are established and defined by the resolution creating them. Mandate-holders of the special procedures serve in their personal capacity. The independent status of the mandate-holders is crucial in order to be able to fulfill their functions in all impartiality. They make requests for invitations to visit countries, and it is up to the countries to issue these invitations. The High Commissioner remains very concerned about developments in Tibetan areas of China.

Intervention in Switzerland
An intervention for Tibet occurred during the annual U.N. Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva, Switzerland on July 3rd, before Special Rapporteur Mutuma Ruteere. To initiate a formal investigation inside a country like China, Darfur, Sudan, Bosnia, etc., where reputed human rights violations, atrocities, genocide and torture are reported, official steps called "mechanisms" must be taken both outside, by petitioning the U.N. and officially inside the U.N. Every protest or demonstration, every petitioning phone call, news report, personal letter or other declaration of a violation is recorded and is instrumental to mobilize action by the High Commissioner for an investigation. Finally, it is up to the country in question to allow access by a rapporteur like Mr. Ruteere. The country in question, in this case, is China. According to their letter and our follow up inquiry, the OHCHR has requested China's cooperation. What will China do?

Happy Birthday Dalai Lama

It has been 51 years since the Dalai Lama left Tibet's border, along with 2,000 of his followers. He has never been back. This month he is celebrating his 77th birthday. Whether retired or not, as the Dalai Lama becomes older and his generation begins to die, the plight of his people and their culture weighs heavily in the balance.

Admitting that (pre-1959) Tibet's policies and conditions towards its people were "feudalistic" and "change was needed," the Dalai Lama sights some benefits Tibetan Buddhism and culture have brought to the outside world. "So, the negative, unfortunate events bring benefit to these people. Now, actually not as a religion, but as a philosophy, it seems nowadays some scientists, especially in the field of the brain or human psychology, scientists working in the field of human emotions. It seems in that field, Tibetan Buddhism has some potential to help them. And we also can learn the results of their research, experiments and explanations," says the Dalai Lama in the film "Talking With the Dalai Lama."

But as he enters his 78th year, China is building a series of massive dams, diverting three major rivers from Tibet that feed India, Bangladesh and billions in other South Asian lands, to supply water and hydropower to China's major cities. In addition to the devastation to the high Himalayan plateau and its already rapidly melting glaciers, the consequences to Tibetan nomadic life and its wildlife are deadly.

Will 21st century activists and their technology succeed to supplant human rights and environmental violations in China?

When Politics Become Meditation

Mixing politics with religion, as Tibetan Buddhism instructs, is considered an obstacle to a path of liberation and detachment from worldly matters. However, an advanced Tibetan meditation called Tonglen (exchange) points out that others' suffering (our relatives in former lives) is none other than our own suffering. The target of this meditation is the relationship all living creatures have and the compassionate exchange of others' pain with our cherished joy. How does Tonglen figure in the case of Tibet's self-immolators?

What is the tipping point where empathy transfers to politics and activism, and meditation becomes action?

Would Buddhists consider it sacrilegious to take actions that obstruct human rights violations and ecological destruction in Tibet?

Whether we feel that self-immolation is a bad or a good idea; whether we believe it to be a spiritual or profane thing, the conditions and policies where it is flourishing in China are inhumane and intrepid.

The future of Tibet, its people and culture, are on the chopping block.

John Halpern is a New York based documentary filmmaker and artist. His films "Refuge" and "Talking With The Dalai Lama" explore the cultural journeys of East and West and the evolution of Buddhism in popular, western culture.

Maria Sliwa is an adjunct professor at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute, New York University and at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. She is founder of Freedom Now News, a human rights news service.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on October 05, 2012, 06:22:37 AM
I think this is getting old, but yet another person has self immolated. This is starting to get sad and it does not move me anymore now simply because too many of them has happened and it does not result in anything so far. No results at all. So why continue something that has no results? It only brings more chaos to the area where the self immolation happens..does not help with anything at all long term...

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Breaking: Tibetan man dies in self-immolation protest, Leaves message of pride and unity
Phayul[Thursday, October 04, 2012 17:18]

([url]http://phayul.com/images/thumb.aspx?src=121004062633WI.jpg[/url])
Tibetan writer Gudrup in an undated photo.
DHARAMSHALA, October 4: In reports coming out of Tibet, another Tibetan man has set himself of fire today in an apparent protest against China’s continued occupation of Tibet, taking Tibet’s self-immolation toll to 53.

Sources from inside Tibet, using a popular phone interface programme, have said that Gudrub, 43, torched himself in Nagchu town in central Tibet at around 10 am (local time). He is believed to have passed away at the site of his protest.

Dharamshala based Tibetan language new portal, Tibet Express, in a report cited eyewitnesses as saying that Gudrup raised slogans for Tibet’s freedom and the return of exiled Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama before setting himself on fire.

“Eyewitnesses have said that Gudrup shouted, “Wherever we go, we have no freedom,” “Freedom for Tibet,” “Let His Holiness the Dalai Lama return to Tibet,” before setting himself on fire,” the report said.

At the time of reporting, Gudrup’s body has not been handed over to his family members.

Before carrying out his self-immolation protest, Gudrup left a last message addressed to all Tibetans calling for unity and pride in one's race on qq.com, China’s largest online network.

“My brothers and sisters of the land of snows, although, looking back at our past, we have nothing but a sense of loss, anger, sadness, and tears, I pray that the coming new year of the Water Dragon brings you health, success, and the fulfillment of aspirations,” Gudrup writes.

“We must distinguish and give prominence to our pride in ourselves as a people and even in the face of loss and suffering, must never lose our courage and spirit in our endeavour to uphold our unity.”

Gudrup is a native of Driru in Kham eastern Tibet and was a writer who read extensively on Tibet’s history.

Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on October 07, 2012, 05:46:47 PM
Here's another sad news: a father of two sets himself on fire. Does he not care about his young family? His wife and his children that will grow up without a father...why would someone like that consider self immolation? This is getting rather disturbing...

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Breaking: Tibet continues to burn, Second self-immolation in three days
Phayul[Saturday, October 06, 2012 13:51]

([url]http://phayul.com/images/thumb.aspx?src=121006015446BT.jpg[/url])
Sangay Gyatso's charred body lies on the ground after his self-immolation protest against China's occupation of Tibet on October 6, 2012.
DHARAMSHALA, October 6: In confirmed reports and photos coming out of Tibet, another Tibetan set himself on fire today in an apparent protest against China’s continued occupation of Tibet.

Exile sources say that a Tibetan man, Sangay Gyatso, 27, set himself on fire in Tsoe region of Kanlho, Amdo eastern Tibet at around 12 pm (local time).

He carried out his protest near the Dokar Monastery.

Sangay Gyatso, a father of two, is believed to have passed away in his self-immolation protest. In the photos of his fiery protest that have reached exile, Sangay Gyatso’s body is seen completely charred.

Since 2009, a known number of 54 Tibetans have now set themselves on fire demanding freedom in Tibet and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile.

Sangay Gyatso’s protest comes only two days after a Tibetan writer, Gudrup passed away in his self-immolation protest on October 4 in Nagchu.

The recently concluded meeting of exile Tibetans to discuss the ongoing crisis in Tibet had sent a strong message of unity and solidarity with Tibetans inside Tibet and a call for greater activism in exile.

The special meeting, while expressing concern over the loss of Tibetan lives, declared that the Chinese government will be held solely responsible in the event of the situation inside Tibet escalating further.

In light of the critical situation inside Tibet, the meeting had also recommended the revival of the ‘Tibetan Solidarity Committee’ to head the global Tibet activities and also pushed for the creation of a ‘voluntary emergency fund’ to finance the campaigns.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on October 08, 2012, 03:24:30 PM
As we can see here, it is pretty obvious that the CTA is actively supporting and encouraging the self immolations. Notice how never once did the CTA appeal for the self immolations to stop, but only have words of pity with underlying currents of encouragement, that this is the 'right thing' to do.

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Dharamshala pays homage to Tibetan self-immolators
Phayul[Sunday, October 07, 2012 23:15]
By Phuntsok Yangchen

([url]http://phayul.com/images/thumb.aspx?src=1210080137000O.jpg[/url])
Tibetans and supporters in Dharamshala hold a prayer service for Tibetan self-immolators at the Tsug-la Khang on October 5, 2012. (Phayul photo/Norbu Wangyal)
DHARAMSHALA, October 7: Tibetans and supporters in the Tibetan exile headquarters of Dharamshala held special prayers and led a candle light protest Friday in solidarity with Tibetan self-immolators.

The Central Tibetan Administration held a prayer service at the Tsug-la Khang in honour of Tibetans who have sacrificed their lives in protest against China’s occupation in Tibet. Hundreds of Tibetans, including the Chief Justice Commissioners, Kalons and Members of Parliament paid tribute to Jamyang Palden, Yungdrung, and Gudrup, three Tibetans who recently passed away after setting themselves on fire demanding freedom and the Dalai Lama’s return.

Jamyang Palden, a monk at the Rongwo Monastery in Rebkong, eastern Tibet, succumbed to his injuries at his monastery quarters on September 29, after an ordeal that lasted for more than six months.

On March 14, Jamyang Palden had set himself on fire in protest against the Chinese government on a ground in front of his monastery.

Yungdrung, 27, set himself ablaze in Zatoe town of Yushul, eastern Tibet on September 29, while calling for independence of Tibet, the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Gyalwang Karmapa from exile. He also addressed Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay (the elected leader of Tibetan people) as the “king of Tibet.”

Yungdung reportedly passed away while being taken by Chinese security personnel to a nearby place.

On October 4, a Tibetan writer, Gudrup, 43, set himself on fire in Nagchu town in central Tibet and later succumbed to his injuries.

Before carrying out his self-immolation protest, Gudrup left a last message addressed to all Tibetans calling for unity and pride in one's race.

“My brothers and sisters of the land of snows, although, looking back at our past, we have nothing but a sense of loss, anger, sadness, and tears, I pray that the coming new year of the Water Dragon brings you health, success, and the fulfillment of aspirations,” Gudrup writes.

“We must distinguish and give prominence to our pride in ourselves as a people and even in the face of loss and suffering, must never lose our courage and spirit in our endeavour to uphold our unity.”

Later in the evening, hundreds of Tibetans and foreigners marched in McLeod Ganj, carrying candles in one hand and with the other, holding a long stretch of khatak (Tibetan scarf) fastened together, as a mark of respect and solidarity with the Tibetan self-immolators.

Organisers said that a similar vigil was carried out in Ngaba, eastern Tibet after the demise of 20-year-old monk Losbang Puntsok who self-immolated on March 16, 2011.

Speaking at the a candle light protest organised by the regional chapters of the Tibetan youth and women’s groups and SFT, India, Tenzin Kalden, a monk who is from Gudrup’s village relayed the last moments before his fiery protest.

“Gudrup went inside a public toilet in the market of Nagchu town, poured kerosene on himself and set himself on fire,” Kalden said citing sources inside Tibet. “He then started walking towards a Chinese government office located nearby but was resisted.”

Gudrup was born in Kham Driru and had one sister and four brothers. He lost his parent at the very young age.

Gudrup had stayed in India for over a year and upon his return to Tibet in 2006, was arrested and later released in 2008.

Gudrup always had a keen interest in Tibetan history and kept a blog. Two of his short writings have emerged, one written in March 2012.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on October 09, 2012, 03:53:09 PM
And this is the result of more self immolations. All these self immolations are resulting in China being more and more upset with the CTA and refuse to engage in more talks with them.  And they wonder why China does not like them and has not engaged in talks with them despite them being 'ready'...because China dislikes hypocrisy...saying that you wanna engage in talks while creating disharmony and discord isnt very sincere if you ask me..

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Situation tense in Tsoe after self-immolation
Phayul[Tuesday, October 09, 2012 15:54]
DHARAMSHALA, October 9: The situation in Tsoe region of Kanlho, eastern Tibet is being described as tense following the self-immolation protest of Sangay Gyatso on October 6.

Exile sources with contacts in the region have told Phayul that the entire region is under strict surveillance with severe restrictions on the movement of local Tibetans.

Sangay Gyatso, 27, father of two, set himself on fire near the Dokar Monastery, shouting slogans for the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and freedom in Tibet. He passed away at the site of his protest following which monks and local Tibetans carried his charred body inside the Monastery premises.

Choe Gyatso, a Tibetan monk in south India with close contacts in the region, told Phayul that Chinese armed forces have been deployed in large numbers around the Monastery and restrictions have been placed on the movement of Tibetans.

“The Chinese security officials also attempted to arrest the Dokar Monastery monks responsible for taking care of Sangay Gyatso’s body and taking pictures of his charred body,” Choe said. “The deceased’s family members have also been questioned by the Chinese officials.”

Sangay Gyatso’s body is believed to be in the possession of his family and special prayers have been performed at the Monastery.

According to the same source, Tibetans from nearby villages have also gathered to offer their prayers and final respects.

Sangay Gyatso is survived by his wife Dorjee Kyi and two children - a son, Dorjee Dhundup, 7 and a daughter, Tenzin Tso, 5.

During the massive uprisings of 2008 that engulfed the entire Tibetan plateau, around 70 Tibetans were arrested from the Tsoe region for carrying out peaceful.

Since then, Chinese officials have kept a close watch over the region, enforcing monks and local Tibetans to undergo “patriotic re-education” classes.

The Dharamshala based Central Tibetan Administration in a release today said it was “extremely concerned” over the increasing self-immolations by Tibetans in Tibet and “strongly urged” the Chinese government to address the underlying causes which are pushing Tibetans to set themselves on fire.

Since 2009, 54 Tibetans have set themselves on fire demanding thereturn of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile and freedom in Tibet.

“It is high time for the international community, especially the United Nations, to take tangible actions to press the Chinese leadership to find a lasting solution to the crisis in Tibet. We also reiterate our appeal to Tibetans inside Tibet not to resort to drastic actions,” said Kalon Dicki Chhoyang, Department of Information and International Relations, CTA said.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on October 12, 2012, 04:32:17 PM
Yup another prayer. Why publicize these prayer sessions when you're supposed to have discouraged self immolations? Isnt doing prayer sessions like this encouraging more and more self immolations?

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CTA holds prayer service in honour of Sangay Gyatso
Phayul[Thursday, October 11, 2012 23:53]

([url]http://phayul.com/images/thumb.aspx?src=121012124920AO.jpg[/url])
Tibetans and supporters holding a prayer service for Tibetan self-immolators at the Tsug-la Khang, the main temple in Dharamshala, north India on October 10, 2012. (Phayul photo/Norbu Wangyal)
DHARAMSHALA, October 11: Hundreds of Tibetans and supporters, including the Tibetan Chief Justice Commissioners, Kalons, Parliamentarians and school students attended a prayer service held at the Tsug-la Khang, the main temple in Dharamshala, Wednesday.

The special prayer service was held in honour of Sangay Gyatso, 27, who self-immolated in Tsoe region of Kanlho, eastern Tibet on October 6, protesting against China’s continued occupation of Tibet.

Sangay Gyatso, a father of two, set himself on fire near the Dokar Monastery and passed away at the site of his protest, following which monks and local Tibetans carried his charred body inside the Monastery premises.

According to eyewitnesses, he raised slogans demanding the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile and freedom of religion and language in Tibet.

Kalon Tsering Dhondup of the Department of Finance, in his brief remarks, paid homage to Sangay Gyatso and recalled the slogans he raised during his fiery protest.

“When Tibetans in Tibet are sacrificing their lives calling for the freedom of language and religion, it is our duty for those of us living in freedom in exile to protect and promote our language and religion,” Kalon Dhondup said.

Earlier reports had said that Tibetans from nearby towns and villages had gathered in large numbers at the Dokar Monastery to offer prayers and their last respects to Sangay Gyatso.

The situation in Tsoe region has been described as tense with the deployment of a large number of Chinese armed forces around the Monastery. The entire Tsoe region is under strict surveillance with severe restrictions on the movement of local Tibetans.

The Chinese security officials had earlier attempted to arrest the Dokar Monastery monks responsible for taking pictures of Sangay Gyatso’s charred body and also questioned the deceased’s family members.

Sangay Gyatso is survived by his wife Dorjee Kyi and two children - a son, Dorjee Dhundup, 7 and a daughter, Tenzin Tso, 5.

Since 2009, 54 Tibetans have set themselves on fire in Tibet demanding freedom and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on October 23, 2012, 02:35:32 PM
October 23, 2012, one more man self-immolated in Tibet asking freedom. Dorje Rabten (or Dorje Rinchen), a lay man from Tsayei Village Near Labrang Monastery put himself on fire in front of military camp of the Region at 4:30 PM local time. A huge number of Chinese troops were deployed around the area after the incident. Phone lines and Internet connectivity has been cut off,
according to different reliable sources on wechat and facebook.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on November 17, 2012, 12:35:03 AM
80, Martyr Tenzin Dolma, 23 Self Immolation for Tibet on November 15th 2012 Amdho Rebgong, Tibet
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on November 23, 2012, 04:49:13 PM
Today, November 23, 2012, Tamdring Kyab, 22, set himself on fire at Kanlho Kul, Luchu Dzong in Amdo.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on November 24, 2012, 02:41:03 AM
“Tamding Kyab, 23 years of age, set himself on fire on November 22 at around 10 pm (local time) in the Kluchu region of Kanlho, eastern Tibet,” exile Tibetans hailing from the region told Phayul. “After local Tibetans recovered Tamding Kyab's charred body this morning, they carried it to his home."
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on November 28, 2012, 04:21:34 PM

Tibetan self-immolator Sangay Dolma in an undated photo with the words 'Tibet independent nation' written on it.
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.”


Tibetan nun Sangay Dolma, 17, who passed away in her self-immolation protest on Sunday, November 25, 2012.
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 snowland’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.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on December 02, 2012, 08:04:07 AM
DHARAMSHALA, November 29: In fresh reports coming out of Tibet, a Tibetan man set himself on fire today in Luchu region of eastern Tibet in an apparent protest against China’s continued occupation of Tibet.

Sources have identified the Tibetan as Tsering Namgyal, 31, a father of two, from Zamtsa Lotso Dewa region of Luchu.

“Tsering Namgyal set himself on fire near the local Chinese government office in Luchu earlier today for the cause of Tibet,” Sonam, a Tibetan monk living in south India told Phayul, citing sources in the region. “Tsering Namgyal passed in his fiery protest.”

Further details on the self-immolation protest are not available at the time of filing this report.


The burning body of Tibetan self-immolator Tsering Namgyal
Tsering Namgyal is survived by his wife Choekyong Tso, their two children, Dorjee Kyi, 7, and Kalsang Dolma, 3, and his parents.

This is the third self-immolation protest in Luchu region in the last ten days. On November 26, Gonpo Tsering, 24, father of three children, all below the age of six, passed away in his fiery protest while raising slogans for Tibet’s freedom, human rights in Tibet, and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile. Earlier on November 22, Tamding Kyab, 23, a nomad and former monk, passed away in his self-immolation protest in the same region.

Following the self-immolations, Luchu has been placed under heightened restrictions with the deployment of a large number of Chinese security personnel and armed forces.

89 Tibetans inside Tibet have set themselves on fire demanding freedom and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile since the wave of fiery protests began in 2009. The recent alarming escalation in the self-immolation protests has now witnessed 27 Tibetans set themselves on fire in the month of November alone.

Speaking to CNN, US Ambassador to China, Gary Locke in an interview broadcast on November 27, said the United States is “very concerned about the situation, the heightened tensions in the Tibetan areas, the deplorable self-immolations and of course just the Chinese policies of the Chinese government at all levels.”

“Preserving the ethnic, religious, linguistic identity of the Tibetan people is a top priority for the U.S. government just as we are very concerned about all human rights issues and we believe that human rights has to be a fundamental part of U.S. foreign policy and we, very much urge the Chinese government publicly and privately to adhere to the universal principles, universal declaration of human rights, which are also part of the Chinese constitution,” Locke said.

In September, Locke had visited two Tibetan monasteries in the Zungchu region of Ngaba in eastern Tibet as part of a broader business trip to the region
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on December 02, 2012, 08:08:19 AM
DHARAMSHALA, November 30: In reports just in, a Tibetan man today set himself on fire in Shagdom region on Ngaba, eastern Tibet in an apparent protest against China’s occupation of Tibet.

The Tibetan man has been identified as Kunchok Kyab, 29, from Akyi region of Zoegey in Ngaba.

According to the exile base of Kirti Monastery in Dharamshala, the situation in the region, at the time of filing this report, is being described as 'very tense' with fears over eruption of major protests in the region.

“At around 9 am (local time) Kunchok Kyab set himself on fire near a gas station in the Shagdom region of Ngaba,” Kirti Monastery said in a release. “Shortly afterwards, Chinese security personnel arrived at the site and bundled him away after dousing the fire.”

“He was taken straight to regional headquarters of Barkham and it is not yet known whether he is dead or alive.”

According to the release, a group of young Tibetans, after seeing Kunchok Kyab being taken away, immediately followed the Chinese police vehicles. The wellbeing and whereabouts of those young Tibetans are also not yet known.

“According to latest reports coming in at 7 pm IST, a large number of local Tibetans have gathered to demand for the return of Kunchok Kyab and the young Tibetans,” Kirti Monastery said. “The crowd is planning to carry out a major protest and the situation has become very tense.”

Kunchok Kyab has two children, a nine-year-old and a six-year-old.

The deepening crisis inside Tibet has witnessed large scale anti-China protests and a series of self-immolations that has now seen 90 Tibetans set themselves on fire, since 2009, demanding freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama from exile.

November alone has reported 28 self-immolations and protests by thousands of Tibetans, including by school students in Chabcha and Rebkong
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on December 02, 2012, 09:15:11 AM
DHARAMSHALA, December 1: Family members of three Tibetans who set themselves on fire in protest against China’s rule met with a top US official who expressed Washington’s grave concern over the critical situation in Tibet.

The assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor, Michael Posner met with families of three Tibetan self-immolators at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department on Thursday, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Friday.

"He (Posner) expressed our deepest condolences and our grave concern for the spiraling violence and harsh crackdown in Tibetan areas as well as, you know, grief with regard to the self-immolations," Nuland told reporters without disclosing the identities of the family members.

"I think in order to protect them and their families, I won't go into any more details," she said.

The recent escalation in self-immolation protests in Tibet has witnessed 28 Tibetans set themselves on fire in the month of November alone, demanding freedom and the return of the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama from exile. An alarming total of 90 Tibetans have self-immolated since the fiery wave began in 2009.

“We remain very concerned about rising tensions that result from counterproductive policies, including those that limit freedom of religion, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and association in Tibet,” Nuland said.

The State Department said it was disturbed over reports that Chinese police injured 20 Tibetan students earlier this week in a mass students’ protest against “a government-issued booklet which derided the Tibetan language, the Dalai Lama and self-immolators.”

"We are going to continue to raise this publicly and privately and urge the Chinese government, at all levels, to address policies in Tibetan areas that have created tensions and that threaten the distinct religious, cultural and linguistic identity of the Tibetan people," Nuland said.

She added that the State Department will issue “a larger statement” on the Tibetan situation next week.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on December 03, 2012, 09:55:10 AM
Here's another one :(

The sad part is that all the people who self immolated are at the prime of their lives, with families, even.

Quote
Breaking: Tibet continues to burn, Tibetan man self-immolates
Phayul[Sunday, December 02, 2012 23:10]
DHARAMSHALA, December 2: The wave of fiery protests inside Tibet continues unabated with reports of another self-immolation protest today in Bora region of Sangchu region in eastern Tibet.

According to exile sources, a young Tibetan man, identified as Sungdue Kyab, set himself ablaze in Bora town of Sangchu, Labrang Tashikhyil region of eastern Tibet.

Sungdue Kyab reportedly carried out his self-immolation protest in the afternoon today on the main street in Bora town near the Bora Monastery. Soon after he set himself on fire, Chinese security personnel arrived at the site of his protest, doused the flames and bundled him away. He is believed to have survived his protest.

According to eyewitnesses, Sungdue Kyab was alive when Chinese security personnel took him away, reportedly to a hospital in Tsoe.

Following the self-immolation protest, monks from the Bora Monastery and local Tibetans reportedly began to make preparations to go to Tsoe but were denied permission by the Chinese authorities. The situation in Bora is being described as tense and communication lines have been heavily hampered.

Further details are awaited at the time of filing this report.

On October 20, Lhamo Kyab, a 27-year-old father of two, passed away in his self-immolation protest near the Bora Monastery. He raised slogans calling for the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet.

The recent escalation in self-immolation protests in Tibet has accounted for 28 self-immolations in the month of November alone. 91 Tibetans have self-immolated inside Tibet since the wave of fiery protests began in 2009, demanding freedom and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile.

Last month, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, in a strong statement, 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.”

Pillay said she was disturbed by "continuing allegations of violence against Tibetans seeking to exercise their fundamental human rights," and called on the Chinese authorities to release detainees, allow independent human rights monitors to visit Tibet, and to lift restrictions on media access to Tibet.

Speaking to reporters, Pillay's spokesman, Rupert Colville, told a news briefing in Geneva on Friday that the self-immolations “are an illustration of how serious the situation is."

"We don't see any progress in dealing with the underlying problems facing Tibetans both in Tibet and in other areas,” Colville said.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on December 03, 2012, 10:55:12 AM
here's an opinion piece on all the self immolations that have been going on around lately. It's not much, but it does bring another dimension to this topic.

Quote
   
 

Home > Opinion

On self-immolations in Tibet
By John Whalen Bridge, Exclusive to The Buddhist Channel, Nov 26, 2012
DHARAMSALA, India --  I've just returned from the Special International Meeting of Friends of Tibet in Dharamsala and the number of self-immolations had been spiking up in November.

([url]http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/picture/upload/nunburn.JPG[/url])
<< This image from video footage released by Students For A Free Tibet via APTN purports to show Buddhist nun Palden Choetso engulfed in flames in her self-immolation protest against Chinese rule on a street in Tawu, Tibetan Ganzi prefecture, in China’s Sichuan Province Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011.

Around the 18th Congress of Chinese Communist Party, there were about 78 self-immolations.  Approximately half have been committed by lay people, half by monks/nuns. The activities are not coordinated by any organization within Tibet and are not directed by Tibetan leadership outside Tibet. This voluntary, self-determined form of activist resistance is in line with the "lhakar" movement.

A few words about Lhakar. First, Lhakar means "white Wednesday," as Wednesday is associated with HH Dalai Lama. Activists choose ways to resist, meaning to assert Tibetan identity in the face of its repression. One fits the resistance to the practicalities of the
situation - i.e., how to do it without getting arrested/tortured. This might include wearing traditional dress (chupa) or a kata (white scarf), or it might involve speaking Tibetan in situations where Chinese is being forwarded in ways meant to displace Tibetan language/culture (e.g., educational contexts).


 The same kind of repression has happened many times in the world, e.g., punishments for speaking Gaelic in Ireland under British rule and punishments for speaking Okinawan dialect (Hogen) in Okinawa/Ryukyu/Uchina under Chinese rule.  Lhakar is always peaceful, voluntary, and motivated by the wish to preserve Tibetan culture.
No one who speaks about self-immolation directly has spoken in favor of it, to my knowledge.  The Prime Minister (PM) of the CTA (Central Tibetan Administration, or govt in exile), Lobsang Sangay, is a Harvard-educated PhD who did his comparative research on govts in exile.  He insists that CTA is not even encouraging PROTEST in Tibet, since anything like that will result in political imprisonment and probably torture.  There is, therefore, no lawful way to express "civil disobedience" whatsoever. Furthermore, the world has more or less lost interest in the Tibetan plight, relative, say, to the "angry monk syndrome" protests of 2008, around the Chinese Olympics.  Tibetan soft power is running against the wall of Chinese financial leverage (Confucius Institutes, etc), which, Joseph Nye explained to Lobsang Sangay, is not the same thing at all as "soft power." Soft power is the invitation to respond as one will without manipulation or power-politics determination.

One might respond:  "Okay, the Tibetans are not encouraging self-immolation, but neither are they condemning it."  Prof. Stephen Prothero has written in the CNN Blog that the Dalai Lama has "blood on his hands" for not condemning self-immolation absolutely.  I asked prominent Tibetan intellectuals what they made of this.  Geshe Lhakdor, director of the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, finds it a "precious" response.  His feeling is that some people who have no understanding of the degree of repression of Tibetans as a whole condemn the violence of self-immolation without understanding the courageous willingness to take pain on oneself in order to call attention to the issue in ways that will reduce the suffering of others.

Dr Lobsang Sangay, in his address to the Special International Meeting, said that his government did not wish Tibetans to self-immolate or even protest, but, given the fact of such actions, they felt it would be unconscionable to condemn such selfless self-sacrifice. Going further, he said it was a "sacred duty" to understand such actions properly in terms of the real causes, e.g., the rampant repression of Chinese culture.

Extrapolating just a bit, one could say that the most constructive way to be against self-immolation, since we can't even communicate directly in closed Chinese Tibet with potential self-immolators, would be to do everything we possibly can to call attention to the conditions that lead people citizens with husbands/wives and children, as well as monks and nuns, many of them quite young - to self immolate.  Calling attention to these conditions does not mean hating Chinese people that was emphasized several times but, rather, doing everything possible to encourage China to come to a constructive form
of engagement.

There have been ideological attempts in the Chinese media to discredit self-immolaters, e.g., by saying they are depressed or otherwise mentally disturbed people.  Tibetan spokespersons have been attempting to publish information of the suicide notes and biographical particulars of the self-sacrificers in order to counter these claims.

One non-Tibetan, a British monk, has self-immolated. I don't know why he's not listed on the International Campaign page. Some Tibetans in Dharamsala were worried that his motivations were not proper. It was believed that he died alone in his room, but this link from the Daily Mail says that he immolated himself in the monastery garden.

Lobsang Sangay (PM), Tempa Tsering, and Chimme Rinzin (sect. to HHDL) all insist that we must acknowledge than any self-immolater could have run into a Chinese shop or otherwise have hurt a Chinese person if the wish was to do violence against another person.  HH Dalai Lama, in his address on 17 November to the Special International Meeting (Nov 16-18, Tibetan Children's Village, Dharamsala, HP) acknowledge that there was an element of violence to self-immolation, but he said we must acknowledge the context: there is no other way for these Tibetans to call attention to their plight, and they are specifically tailoring their actions in such a way that they do not burn other people.

We should recall that there was plenty of ambiguity about monks protesting in 2008.  The question, "Is angry-looking a protest?"  looks quite anachronistic now.  We might ask, was it self-violence for Martin Luther King's satyagraha activists to sit at all-white restaurant counters, knowing that their actions would lead to abusive and even violent behavior?  That response would be, as Geshe Lhakdor has said, "precious." Oh, look at me: I'm SO committed to non-violence. Let's go have a latte and talk about how ambivalent we are about this matter.

When I gave talks at Central University of Tibetan Studies in Varanasi (March 2012), the Q&A session turned to self-immolation no matter what the topic was.  After a talk on Khyentse Norbu's THE CUP students wanted to ask whether I thought self-immolation was Buddhist.  I can't really say it is.  I discouraged self-immolation as much as I possibly could - one of those passionate students might very well be sitting on the fence.  That said, it's a bit stomach-turning, to me personally, to turn around after a self-immolation and say "That person did a bad thing."  One wouldn't wish death-by-fire on one's worst enemy, but it
could be seen as interpretive violence to construe this act as "violence" when we cannot imagine a better response than passively allowing the systematic destruction of one's culture.

Anyone who does not understand that China is systematically destroying Tibetan culture is not paying attention. Repression of language, ideological conditioning in the schools, displacement of nomadic peoples, torture and disappearance of activists or even mild resistors, mass colonization through the influx of ethnic Chinese into the region, and billion-dollar investments in railroads and theme parks intended to condition tourist understanding of Tibet - if this is not the systematic destruction of a culture, what would be?

No one I have spoken to is "for" self-immolation. It is really a question of how to end it.  Tibetans-in-exile will insist that the answer has to include the amelioration of oppressive conditions for Tibetans in Tibet.  The best way to be "against self-immolation" would be to find ways to help that happen.

For information via wikipedia on self-immolation,
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-immolation[/url] ([url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-immolation[/url])

The wiki on Tibetan self-immolation is not up-to-date and does not
reflect the dramatic spike in the last month:
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-immolation_protests_by_Tibetans_in_China[/url] ([url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-immolation_protests_by_Tibetans_in_China[/url])

Complete list available from International Campaign for Tibet:
[url]http://www.savetibet.org/resource-center/maps-data-fact-sheets/self-immolation-fact-sheet[/url] ([url]http://www.savetibet.org/resource-center/maps-data-fact-sheets/self-immolation-fact-sheet[/url])

----------
John Whalen-Bridge is Associate Professor at the Department of English Language & Literature, National University Of Singapore. He is currently co-editing a series of books for SUNY Press with Gary Storhoff called "Buddhism and American Culture.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on December 04, 2012, 10:02:34 AM
Yet another news of self immolation :( this is a bad image for CTA actually, not a good one. I wonder how long is it before they realize that?

Quote
Breaking: Self-immolations continue in Tibet, Monk burns self to death in latest protest
Phayul[Monday, December 03, 2012 20:28]

([url]http://phayul.com/images/thumb.aspx?src=121203083233OM.jpg[/url])
Lobsang Gendun, a 29-year-old Tibetan monk passed away in his self-immolation protest against Chinese rule in Golog, eastern Tibet on December 3, 2012.

DHARAMSHALA, December 3: In confirmed reports coming out of Tibet, yet another Tibetan set himself on fire today in Golog region of eastern Tibet in an apparent protest against China’s continued occupation of Tibet.

Lobsang Gendun, a 29-year-old Tibetan monk self-immolated in Golog Pema Dzong at around 7:45 pm (local time). He succumbed to his injuries at the site of his protest.

Tsangyang Gyatso, an exiled Tibetan told Phayul that Lobsang Gendun was a monk at the Penag Kadak Troedreling Monastery in Seley Thang region of Golog Pema Dzong.

“According to eyewitnesses, Lobsang Gendun had his hands clasped in prayers as he raised slogans while engulfed in flames,” Tsangyang said. “He walked a few steps towards a busy road intersection and then fell to the ground.”

Following the self-immolation protest, a minor scuffle broke out between local Tibetans and Chinese security personnel, who tried to confiscate Lobsang Gendun’s body.

“Chinese security personnel arrived at the site of the protest and began to forcibly remove Lobsang Gyatso’s body,” the same source said. “But local Tibetans rushed in and rescued his charred body from falling into the hands of the Chinese authorities.”

They later carried Lobsang Gyatso’s body to his monastery, where it is believed to be currently kept.

Security has been heightened in the region following today’s fiery protest.

Lobsang Gendun is survived by his parents, Golog Lokho and Sago Dewang, and his 11 siblings.

The global rights group, Human Rights Watch last week said the unprecedented increase in the number of self-immolation cases in Tibet highlights the “failure of Chinese authorities to address Tibetan grievances” and blamed China’s “increasingly pervasive and punitive security measures” for having “exacerbated the situation” in Tibet.

HRW renewed its calls for the formation of a contact group on Tibet while noting that “coordinated, international expressions of concern are essential to get Beijing to substantively address the issues being raised by Tibetans.”

An alarming total of 92 Tibetans have self-immolated inside Tibet since the wave of fiery protests began in 2009, demanding freedom and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile.

Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on December 05, 2012, 05:42:18 AM
Here is a chilling account of a self immolator.....he wants a unified Tibet...but even in Dharamsala, the Tibetans are divided due to the Dorje Shugden issue.

He died in vain.

And CTA still applauds such actions passively.

Quote
Self-immolator leaves message of ‘unity and solidarity’ among Tibetans
Phayul[Wednesday, December 05, 2012 04:19]

([url]http://phayul.com/images/news/articles/121205042241IQ.jpg[/url])
Tibetan self-immolator Lobsang Gendun in an undated photo.

DHARAMSHALA, December 4: Minutes before setting himself on fire, Tibetan self-immolator Lobsang Gendun left a message of hope for the unity and solidarity of all Tibetans.

According to Tsangyang Gyatso, an exiled Tibetan with contacts in the region, Lobsang Gendun called a friend of his, moments before burning himself to death, and left a message of unity to all Tibetans.

“I am right now preparing to self-immolate,” Lobsang Gendun told his friend (name not revealed). “I have already doused my body with petrol. I am only left with the battery water to drink before I burn myself.”

“Although I wanted to leave a note, but for my poor handwriting, I could not. So, I am calling you,” Lobsang Gendun told his friend. “My hope is for Tibetans from all the three provinces of Tibet to be united, have solidarity with each other, and not to indulge in internal quarrels. Our aspirations will be fulfilled if we all do this.”

Lobsang Gendun, 29, a monk, at the Penag Monastery, self-immolated in Golog Pema region of eastern Tibet at around 7:45 pm (local time) Monday, December 3. He succumbed to his injuries at the site of his protest.

According to eyewitnesses, Lobsang Gendun’s hands were clasped in prayers as he raised slogans urging Tibetan to be united and avoid in fighting, while engulfed in flames.

His charred body was later carried to the Penag Monastery by local Tibetans following a minor scuffle with Chinese security personnel.

Gyatso told Phayul that following the self-immolation protest, a respected Tibetan from the region, Washul Dodrub was detained by Chinese authorities in connection with the protest.

Dodrub was earlier arrested in 2008, during the pan-Tibet uprising, on suspicion of leading protests in the region. His current wellbeing and whereabouts are not known.

According to the same source, a large number of monks and local Tibetans visited Penag Monastery today to pay their last respects and prayers and offer their condolences and solidarity with the deceased’s family members.

“Around one thousand of those visitors also pledged to fulfill Lobsang Gendun’s last wishes of harbouring unity and solidarity,” Gyatso said.

Preparations have been made to carry out Lobsang Gendun’s final rites on December 5.

Reportedly, many Tibetans from the nearby areas have been barred from travelling to Penag, by Chinese authorities, fearing further protests.

“A large number of additional armed forces have been deployed in Pema region,” Gyatso added citing sources in the region. “Heavy restrictions have been placed in the entire region, especially around the Penag Monastery.”

Lobsang Gendun is survived by his parents, Golog Lokho and Sago Dewang, and his 11 siblings.

An alarming total of 92 Tibetans have self-immolated inside Tibet since the wave of fiery protests began in 2009, demanding freedom and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile.

Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on December 07, 2012, 05:46:38 AM
China on the other hand, is taking a very hard stance on self immolations, so the Tibetans can no longer claim that it does not hurt anyone anymore because it does hurt their own community.

Quote
China to charge those ‘inciting’ Tibet self-immolations with murder
Phayul[Thursday, December 06, 2012 15:26]

([url]http://phayul.com/images/thumb.aspx?src=121206033700A3.jpg[/url])
A screen grab of a video of Palden Choetso's self-immolation on November 3, 2011 in Tawu, eastern Tibet
DHARAMSHALA, December 6: In a further hardening of stance on the ongoing wave of self-immolations in Tibet, China will now charge anyone caught aiding or inciting Tibetan self-immolations with murder.

The state run Gannan Daily on Wednesday cited a joint legal opinion issued by China’s supreme court, top prosecution body and police as saying that the charge of “intentional murder” should apply to anyone urging Tibetans to set themselves alight.

Since 2009, as many as 92 Tibetans have set themselves on fire protesting China’s continued occupation of Tibet and demanding freedom and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile. The month of November, during which China held its 18th Party Congress, was the deadliest, since the wave began, with 28 self-immolation protests.

“The recent self immolations in Tibetan areas are mutually linked to hostile forces in and out of China, they are plotted, organised and incited by separatist nations and are seriously odious incidents aimed at destroying ethnic unity and fomenting social disorder,” AFP quoted the paper as saying.

“The legal opinion clearly points out that those criminals behind the scenes who plan, incite, aide, abet ... and help those perpetrating self immolations will be investigated for criminal liability in the crime of intentional murder.”

Following the escalation in self-immolation protests, Chinese authorities have announced a series of strict measures targeting the ongoing wave of self-immolations with further restrictions, punishments, and threats.

The global rights group Human Rights Watch recently blamed China’s “increasingly pervasive and punitive security measures” in response to the protests for having “exacerbated the situation” in Tibet.

HRW in a release said that the Chinese government has authorised “increasingly aggressive moves” against both individual Tibetans and Tibetan communities where immolations have taken place while pointing out that the use of “collective punishment” is contrary to international human rights law.

“Since late October, officials have responded to immolations by punishing the families and communities of protestors, characterising immolations as criminal offenses, arresting those associated with immolators, and by deploying paramilitary forces and restricting communications and travel in areas where immolations have occurred,” the group said.

“The central government should devote as much energy to addressing the deep-rooted problems facing Tibetans as it is on punishing the families of those who have taken the drastic step of protesting by self-immolating,” HRW noted.

“Instead of stepping up repression and driving people to believe there is no hope of change, Beijing needs to take steps to respond to Tibetans’ grievances.”

Dozens of Tibetans have been sentenced to lengthy jails terms, including life imprisonment, in connection with the ongoing wave of fiery protests. Tibetans have been arbitrarily arrested while many have ‘disappeared.’

The exile Tibetan administration maintains that the current situation in Tibet has stemmed from “several decades of Chinese misrule in Tibet” and discontent of the Tibetan people arsing from “political repression, cultural assimilation, economic marginalisation, and environmental destruction.”
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: dsdisciple on December 07, 2012, 08:37:41 AM
I find the use of SI as a political tool and the subtle influence of CTA call to exile tibetans to support them the start of a slippery slope indeed and possibly a sign of even worse things to come.

I am not terribly surprised given the previous antics of the CTA but I have had a niggling thought regarding SI over the past few days...

I may be off the mark or not but how different is supporting SI’s any different from....the situations where suicide bombers and their handlers provide the training and tools to complete their missions all in the name of their point of view? Is that not wrong view resulting in more negative karma.

Alternatively these actions could be used by the other side to support their point of view. For example they reacted this way so we had to reply with an equal or greater force to counterbalance that perceived threat or opponents position.
Examples of this Israel / Palestine? US / Russia US Nuclear Race or current India / Pakistan Nuclear Race and Iran / North Korea (recent examples)

My question is that these actions only serve to harden the position of China’s view of SI as fanatic opponents that cannot be reasoned with.

If we are talking about the modern world that CTA / Tibet supporters want to embrace how would the average person view these actions?

It certainly is not noble, no one was saved through these actions certainly Tibet Independence was not?

What was the results of these actions? What happened to the basic premise of all life is precious let alone a human rebirth to practice dharma...It seems that the real loss is not Tibet’s independence or autonomy but the further degeneration of the Dharma.

One of the recent SI left behind 2 very young children? What will happen to them? Will they follow in their Fathers footsteps? Who will look after them? Karma is not infallible, Karma does not discriminate for Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike.

So does that mean supporting someone to shorten their life by taking their life shorten the life of the supporter who supports their position.

Or alternatively someone who is a monk or nun who SI’s does that mean that in their next rebirth they are born further away from the Dharma? just a thought...

What happened to embracing the modern world and providing opportunities for the people you are meant to represent CTA?

xo
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on December 07, 2012, 08:40:45 AM
CTA's stupidity in causing self immolations will only make things worse for them and make it more difficult for them to get Tibet's independence. China is not stupid. they are aware that the self immolations come from the CTA directly.  Even in Dharamsala everyone knows that the self immolations are created and incited by the CTA. The more of this that happens, the more angry China will be, and the less chance they have for a dialogue.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on December 09, 2012, 10:45:47 AM
How sad to report another self-immolation again.  This happened just 22 hours ago:

DHARAMSHALA, December 8: In no respite to the wave of fiery protests inside Tibet, a second Tibetan today set himself on fire protesting China’s continued occupation of Tibet.

Pema Dorjee, 23, set himself on fire in the Luchu region of eastern Tibet at around 4:30 pm (local time). A group of exiled Tibetans from the region told Phayul that he succumbed to his injuries at the protest site.

“Martyr Pema Dorjee set himself on fire in front of the main assembly hall of the Shitsang Monastery in Luchu,” the group said. “A large number of Tibetans who were at the Monastery to offer prayers witnessed the self-immolation protest.”

Today, the 25th day of the 10th month of the Tibetan Lunar calendar is observed as Gaden Ngamchoe, the day of Je Tsongkhapa's Parinirvana. Tibetans all over, observe this day by offering lamps in monasteries, temples, stupas, and at homes to venerate the mortal departure of Lama Tsongkhapa, a great 14th century Tibetan Buddhist master.

According to Sonam, an exiled Tibetan, Pema Dorjee raised slogans calling for the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Tibet’s independence.

“Pema Dorjee raised slogans calling for the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, independence of Tibet, unity of Tibetans and for the land of Tibet to be ruled by Tibetans,” Sonam said citing a contact in the region.


“There are heavy restrictions placed around the monastery as of now,” the same source added.

Pema Dorjee is a native of Chokhor village in Shitsang region of Luchu. His village is located at around a distance of 30kms from the Shitsang Monastery.

With two self-immolations today, the ongoing wave of fiery protests in Tibet, which began in 2009, has witnessed 94 Tibetans set themselves on fire demanding freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama.

The exile Tibetan administration maintains that the current situation in Tibet has stemmed from “several decades of Chinese misrule in Tibet” and discontent of the Tibetan people arsing from “political repression, cultural assimilation, economic marginalisation, and environmental destruction.”

Urging people not to remain “idle bystanders,” the elected head of the Tibetan people Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay recently called for a Global Solidarity Day to be observed on December 10, Human Rights Day.

Sikyong Dr Sangay urged Tibetans and supporters to “light a candle or lamp, observe a minute’s silence, and a say a prayer for all those who have died for the cause of Tibet, and locally organise vigils and rallies."
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on December 09, 2012, 10:52:41 AM
Now and again another self-immolation Monk passes away.  What a sacrilege of a precious human body.  Would not be better if this monk were to practice the Dharma and gain enlightenment to help others more effectively?

DHARAMSHALA, December 8: The alarming escalation in self-immolation protests continues in Tibet with another Tibetan setting himself on fire protesting China’s continued occupation of Tibet.

In fresh reports coming out of Tibet, Kunchok Phelgye, a 24-year-old-monk from the Sumdo Monastery in Dzoege region of eastern Tibet passed away in his self-immolation protest today.

The exile base of the Kirti Monastery in Dharamshala, in a release, said that Kunchok Phelgye set himself on fire in front of the main assembly hall of the Taktsang Lhamo Kirti Monastery at around 5:20 pm (local time).

“Kunchok Phelgye was enveloped in flames and his hands were joined in prayers as he raised slogans for the long life and return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Kyabje Kirti Rinpoche, the exiled head of Kirti Monastery,” the release said citing sources in the region. “He also raised slogans calling for the return and reunification of Tibetans.”

Kunchok Phelgye succumbed to his injuries at the site of his protest.

Monks of the Monastery surrounded Kunchok Phelgye’s burning body and began to recite the prayer, “Losang Gyalwa Kungi Nyingje Ter…” (usually recited in Kirti Rinpoche’s honour). Later, Kunchok Phelgye’s body was carried to his quarters in the Monastery where hundreds of monks and local Tibetans continue to visit to offer their last respects and prayers.


24-year-old Tibetan monk Kunchok Phelgye's body burns outside the Taktsang Lhamo Kirti Monastery in Dzoege, eastern Tibet after he self-immolated demanding the reunification of Tibetans on December 8, 2012.
“Right now hundreds of monks are gathered and offering prayers for the deceased,” the release said. "Local Chinese authorities have now placed Taktsang Lhamo Kirti monastery and the surrounding villages under security blockade."

Kunchok Phelgye has nine members in his family. His parents are Kunchok Kyab and Dolma Tso.

Since his early childhood, he was a monk at the Sumdo Monastery and in 2010 joined Taktsang Lhamo Kirti Monastery to continue his Buddhist studies.

In the same Dzoege region, Kunchok Kyab, a 29-year-old father of two, set himself on fire on November 30. He was forcibly taken away by Chinese security personnel, reportedly to a hospital in Barkham, where he passed away on December 1.

The United States this week expressed its “deep concern and sadness” over the “increasing frequency” of self-immolations by Tibetans and blamed China for further exacerbating tensions in the region.

The U.S. Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues Maria Otero in a statement issued December 5 accused Chinese authorities of responding to the wave of fiery protests with “measures that tighten already strict controls on freedoms of religion, expression, assembly and association of Tibetans.”

“The United States is deeply concerned and saddened by the continuing violence in Tibetan areas of China and the increasing frequency of self-immolations by Tibetans,” Otero said. “Official rhetoric that denigrates the Tibetan language, the Dalai Lama, and those who have self-immolated has further exacerbated tensions.”

Now, 93 Tibetans have set themselves on fire inside Tibet demanding freedom and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama since the fiery wave of protests began in 2009.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on December 09, 2012, 11:11:41 AM
This is the photo of the 24-year-old Tibetan monk Kunchok Phelgye's body burns outside the Taktsang Lhamo Kirti Monastery in Dzoege, eastern Tibet after he self-immolated demanding the reunification of Tibetans on December 8, 2012.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on December 10, 2012, 07:18:58 AM
Make that two. Another monk have self immolated himself when things could have been done in a better way. They are for sure, not representing Buddhism in this. And done on Lama Tsongkhapa's day...no less :(

Quote
Breaking: Burning Tibetan calls for independence, Two self-immolations in a day
Phayul[Saturday, December 08, 2012 18:47]

([url]http://phayul.com/images/thumb.aspx?src=121208065056I7.jpg[/url])
Tibetan self-immolator Pema Dorjee set himself on fire demanding the Dalai Lama's return and Tibet's independence outside the Shitsang Monastery in Luchu, eastern Tibet on December 8, 2012.

DHARAMSHALA, December 8: In no respite to the wave of fiery protests inside Tibet, a second Tibetan today set himself on fire protesting China’s continued occupation of Tibet.

Pema Dorjee, 23, set himself on fire in the Luchu region of eastern Tibet at around 4:30 pm (local time). A group of exiled Tibetans from the region told Phayul that he succumbed to his injuries at the protest site.

“Martyr Pema Dorjee set himself on fire in front of the main assembly hall of the Shitsang Monastery in Luchu,” the group said. “A large number of Tibetans who were at the Monastery to offer prayers witnessed the self-immolation protest.”

Today, the 25th day of the 10th month of the Tibetan Lunar calendar is observed as Gaden Ngamchoe, the day of Je Tsongkhapa's Parinirvana. Tibetans all over, observe this day by offering lamps in monasteries, temples, stupas, and at homes to venerate the mortal departure of Lama Tsongkhapa, a great 14th century Tibetan Buddhist master.

([url]http://phayul.com/images/thumb.aspx?src=12120806515911.jpg[/url])

According to Sonam, an exiled Tibetan, Pema Dorjee raised slogans calling for the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Tibet’s independence.

“Pema Dorjee raised slogans calling for the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, independence of Tibet, unity of Tibetans and for the land of Tibet to be ruled by Tibetans,” Sonam said citing a contact in the region.


“There are heavy restrictions placed around the monastery as of now,” the same source added.

Pema Dorjee is a native of Chokhor village in Shitsang region of Luchu. His village is located at around a distance of 30kms from the Shitsang Monastery.

With two self-immolations today, the ongoing wave of fiery protests in Tibet, which began in 2009, has witnessed 94 Tibetans set themselves on fire demanding freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama.

The exile Tibetan administration maintains that the current situation in Tibet has stemmed from “several decades of Chinese misrule in Tibet” and discontent of the Tibetan people arsing from “political repression, cultural assimilation, economic marginalisation, and environmental destruction.”

Urging people not to remain “idle bystanders,” the elected head of the Tibetan people Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay recently called for a Global Solidarity Day to be observed on December 10, Human Rights Day.

Sikyong Dr Sangay urged Tibetans and supporters to “light a candle or lamp, observe a minute’s silence, and a say a prayer for all those who have died for the cause of Tibet, and locally organise vigils and rallies."

Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Big Uncle on December 11, 2012, 09:49:50 AM
I found something interesting on the net recently. Apparently, self-immolation was not a practice that began with the famous Vietnamese monk but with the great Mahayana monks of ancient China. I found a whole book on the topic. I have personally not read the book yet but just read the synopsis and found compelling spiritual reasons for self-immolation.

This is a highly controversial aspect of Chinese Buddhism that received careful deliberation, study and discussion in this very interesting book. I think it is pretty selfless to self-immolate but ultimately not a very smart way to handle the Tibetan-Chinese relations. I see it as the failure of the Tibetan authorities' failure to use diplomacy to solve the growing tensions boiling within the Tibetan cultural sphere within China. Nonetheless, the book is a very good read on the motivation behind this practice.



(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51BjUlTqx2L._SS500_.jpg)

Burning for the Buddha: Self-Immolation in Chinese Buddhism is the first book-length study of the theory and practice of "abandoning the body"(self-immolation) in Chinese Buddhism. Although largely ignored by conventional scholarship, the acts of self-immolators (which included not only burning the body, but also being devoured by wild animals, drowning oneself, and self-mummification, among others) form an enduring part of the religious tradition and provide a new perspective on the multifarious dimensions of Buddhist practice in China from the early medieval period to the present time. This book examines the hagiographical accounts of all those who made offerings of their own bodies and places them in historical, social, cultural, and doctrinal context.

Rather than privilege the doctrinal and exegetical interpretations of the tradition, which assume the central importance of the mind and its cultivation, James Benn focuses on the ways in which the heroic ideals of the bodhisattva present in scriptural materials such as the Lotus Sutra played out in the realm of religious practice on the ground. His investigation leads him beyond traditional boundaries between Buddhist studies and sinology and draws on a wide range of canonical, historical, and polemical sources, many of them translated and analyzed for the first time in any language. Focusing on an aspect of religious practice that was seen as both extreme and heroic, Benn brings to the surface a number of deep and unresolved tensions within the religion itself and reveals some hitherto unsuspected aspects of the constantly shifting negotiations between the Buddhist community and the state.

Self-immolation in Chinese Buddhism was controversial, and Burning for the Buddha gives weight to the criticism and defense of the practice both within the Buddhist tradition and without. It places self-immolation in the context of Chinese Mahâyâna thought and explores its multiple religious, social, and historical roles. These new perspectives on an important mode of Buddhist practice as it was experienced and recorded in traditional China contribute to not only the study of Buddhism, but also the study of religion and the body.


http://www.amazon.com/Burning-Buddha-Self-Immolation-Chinese-Buddhism/dp/0824829921 (http://www.amazon.com/Burning-Buddha-Self-Immolation-Chinese-Buddhism/dp/0824829921)
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on December 11, 2012, 10:56:46 AM
I found something interesting on the net recently. Apparently, self-immolation was not a practice that began with the famous Vietnamese monk but with the great Mahayana monks of ancient China. I found a whole book on the topic. I have personally not read the book yet but just read the synopsis and found compelling spiritual reasons for self-immolation.

This is a highly controversial aspect of Chinese Buddhism that received careful deliberation, study and discussion in this very interesting book. I think it is pretty selfless to self-immolate but ultimately not a very smart way to handle the Tibetan-Chinese relations. I see it as the failure of the Tibetan authorities' failure to use diplomacy to solve the growing tensions boiling within the Tibetan cultural sphere within China. Nonetheless, the book is a very good read on the motivation behind this practice.



([url]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51BjUlTqx2L._SS500_.jpg[/url])

Burning for the Buddha: Self-Immolation in Chinese Buddhism is the first book-length study of the theory and practice of "abandoning the body"(self-immolation) in Chinese Buddhism. Although largely ignored by conventional scholarship, the acts of self-immolators (which included not only burning the body, but also being devoured by wild animals, drowning oneself, and self-mummification, among others) form an enduring part of the religious tradition and provide a new perspective on the multifarious dimensions of Buddhist practice in China from the early medieval period to the present time. This book examines the hagiographical accounts of all those who made offerings of their own bodies and places them in historical, social, cultural, and doctrinal context.

Rather than privilege the doctrinal and exegetical interpretations of the tradition, which assume the central importance of the mind and its cultivation, James Benn focuses on the ways in which the heroic ideals of the bodhisattva present in scriptural materials such as the Lotus Sutra played out in the realm of religious practice on the ground. His investigation leads him beyond traditional boundaries between Buddhist studies and sinology and draws on a wide range of canonical, historical, and polemical sources, many of them translated and analyzed for the first time in any language. Focusing on an aspect of religious practice that was seen as both extreme and heroic, Benn brings to the surface a number of deep and unresolved tensions within the religion itself and reveals some hitherto unsuspected aspects of the constantly shifting negotiations between the Buddhist community and the state.

Self-immolation in Chinese Buddhism was controversial, and Burning for the Buddha gives weight to the criticism and defense of the practice both within the Buddhist tradition and without. It places self-immolation in the context of Chinese Mahâyâna thought and explores its multiple religious, social, and historical roles. These new perspectives on an important mode of Buddhist practice as it was experienced and recorded in traditional China contribute to not only the study of Buddhism, but also the study of religion and the body.


[url]http://www.amazon.com/Burning-Buddha-Self-Immolation-Chinese-Buddhism/dp/0824829921[/url] ([url]http://www.amazon.com/Burning-Buddha-Self-Immolation-Chinese-Buddhism/dp/0824829921[/url])


The act is the same, but the motivation and the context is different.

In Chinese Buddhism, there are many things that you have to do to show your sincerity. I have heard of stories of monks who burn their fingers until they melt as an offering to the Buddha. It is for them to test their mental strength but in a more extreme way. If you have never watched an old movie about Bodhidharma before, an example of this practice was shown in that film, when the 2nd patriarch of Chinese Buddhism requested the transmission lineage from Bodhidharma, Bodhidharma replied "I will not transmit any Dharma in this land, until the snow turns red". On hearing that, the 2nd patriarch chopped off one of his arms and it caused the snow to turn red and by this sincerity, Bodhidharma transmitted the lineage of Chan/Zen teachings to him.

It is VERY different than self immolation as those were physical sacrifices done for the Dharma, self immolation in Tibet is just for their independence, not Buddhism.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on December 12, 2012, 10:22:28 AM
It's funny that CTA issues this challenge when people in Dharamsala is already aware that the self immolations were caused by the CTA themselves. There is evidence of them talking about that around the net. Shouldnt CTA quell those before challenging China? It would be extremely embarrassing and vexing for China to find proof. Be careful now, CTA.

Quote
CTA challenges China to prove self-immolation charges
Phayul[Tuesday, December 11, 2012 23:59]

([url]http://phayul.com/images/news/articles/1212120103160C.jpg[/url])
Arrested Kirti monk Lobsang Konchok in an undated photo.

DHARAMSHALA, December 11: The exile Tibetan administration challenged China to prove their assertions after Beijing laid out fresh charges against Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration of inciting self-immolations in Tibet.

CTA said it was ready for a probe by the Chinese authorities and invited them to send an investigative team to the exile Tibetan headquarters in Dharamshala.

China’s state news agency Xinhua said Sunday that police in the Ngaba region of eastern Tibet detained a monk and his nephew and accused them of instigating the self-immolations of eight Tibetans on the instructions of the Dalai Lama and his followers.

Although the report did not detail what evidence police had of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader's involvement, it cited a police statement as saying that the detained monk, Lorang (Lobsang) Konchok, 40, “confessed” of his crimes. His nephew, Lorang Tsering, 31, was also arrested on similar charges.

The exile Tibetan administration on Monday said, “such statements from a state known to resort to torture and detention of individuals without due judicial process can only be received with scepticism from the international community.”

“If China genuinely wishes to end the self-immolations, instead of resorting to the blame game it should allow unfettered access to international bodies to Tibetan areas to investigate the root causes for these self-immolations,” Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay, the elected head of the Tibetan people said.

China’s claims of “confession” were also sorely contested by independent observers.

London based Free Tibet noted that confessions in Tibet are “frequently obtained through torture, which the UN has reported is ‘widespread’ and ‘routine.’”

“Available independent evidence indicates that self-immolations are mostly solitary acts which usually come as a surprise to those who know the individual involved,” Free Tibet said Monday. “The Dalai Lama has never expressed support for the protests and the Tibetan government in exile has called for them to end. China’s policy is to blame resistance to its occupation of Tibet on “the Dalai clique”, and to reject any suggestion its own policies lie behind the self-immolations.”

Lobsang Konchok, a monk at the Kirti Monastery in Ngaba, which was the epicenter of the self-immolation protests earlier this year, was arrested on August 17. He belonged to Gyatsotang family in Chashang Chukle Gongma town in Ngaba and was pursuing his Karampa degree (equivalent to a Bachelor’s degree in Tibetan Buddhism) at the Monastery. Reasons for his arrest were not known at the time of his detention.

Last week China announced that it will pres murder charges against anyone caught aiding or inciting self-immolations.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: dsiluvu on December 13, 2012, 07:24:12 AM
16 year old is the fourth child to die in self-immolation protests
Eight Tibetans under-18 have now set themselves on fire


Monday, 10 December 2012

The youngest self-immolator, Dorjee, who died in November 2012
On the evening of 9 December, 16-year-old Wanchen Kyi became the eighth Tibetan aged under 18 to self-immolate in protest at China’s occupation of Tibet, and the latest to die.

On holiday from Tsekog County Second National Middle School in eastern Tibet at the time of her protest, she shouted “Long live His Holiness the Dalai Lama, long live Tibetan People” and leaves her parents and two sisters.

The local community claimed her body and an estimated three thousand local people attended her cremation service.

Quote
It is VERY different than self immolation as those were physical sacrifices done for the Dharma, self immolation in Tibet is just for their independence, not Buddhism.

Can't Agree with you more Ensapa. They are setting themselves on FIRE for the wrong reasons, for something that is not universal to everyone's heart. The whole campaign's strategy is wrong, cos if it were right and universal, you would see more support, even from their own side. If it for the sake of Tibet independence then it is such an unfortunate waste and small wish to self-immolate. It is obvious although they are a Buddhist nation, but Dharma is just a mere promo tool used for political agenda. Underneath it all, there is no application of Dharma... very sad.

It is very disheartening to read and see that the ones burning themselves are getting younger and younger. They actually have a lot more to offer if the improve themselves in the right way. They could have brushed up their skills, get educated, be the change they wanna see and perhaps show the world Tibet's real strength, perseverance and determination.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on December 13, 2012, 10:44:43 AM
16 year old is the fourth child to die in self-immolation protests
Eight Tibetans under-18 have now set themselves on fire


Monday, 10 December 2012

The youngest self-immolator, Dorjee, who died in November 2012
On the evening of 9 December, 16-year-old Wanchen Kyi became the eighth Tibetan aged under 18 to self-immolate in protest at China’s occupation of Tibet, and the latest to die.

On holiday from Tsekog County Second National Middle School in eastern Tibet at the time of her protest, she shouted “Long live His Holiness the Dalai Lama, long live Tibetan People” and leaves her parents and two sisters.

The local community claimed her body and an estimated three thousand local people attended her cremation service.

Quote
It is VERY different than self immolation as those were physical sacrifices done for the Dharma, self immolation in Tibet is just for their independence, not Buddhism.

Can't Agree with you more Ensapa. They are setting themselves on FIRE for the wrong reasons, for something that is not universal to everyone's heart. The whole campaign's strategy is wrong, cos if it were right and universal, you would see more support, even from their own side. If it for the sake of Tibet independence then it is such an unfortunate waste and small wish to self-immolate. It is obvious although they are a Buddhist nation, but Dharma is just a mere promo tool used for political agenda. Underneath it all, there is no application of Dharma... very sad.

It is very disheartening to read and see that the ones burning themselves are getting younger and younger. They actually have a lot more to offer if the improve themselves in the right way. They could have brushed up their skills, get educated, be the change they wanna see and perhaps show the world Tibet's real strength, perseverance and determination.

The motivations of the self immolators were probably not for the freedom, but for the glamor and for the pomp that they will get in the eyes of the Dalai Lama and his followers, and also for the respect of the locals around that area. Many of them want to be heroes, but in the quick way and they do so by self immolating. It is not exactly the best way or the most pleasant way to die, but it does turn heads and it does get them the respect and recognition that they so crave for in Dharamsala, in the eyes of the Dalai Lama and his followers, at least. So the question that I would like to ask CTA again is, dont look down on China as they rarely throw in accusations that are not based on anything. Besides, its common knowledge in Dharamsala that the kalon tripa is the instigator.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: dsiluvu on December 15, 2012, 02:29:31 PM
Tibetans blames China and China Blames His Holiness the Dalai Lama.... all this politics because Tibetans especially the youth are not given clear direction as to what to do. They object His Holiness middle way, but does that mean the CTA remains quiet???

Isn't there an alternative way of encouraging? And thus far they have yet to hear a strong voice from His Holiness to tell Tibetans in China to stop killing themselves for a cause that will never happen. As China will never relent to their demands. It is clear in the Chinese daily news below... you either work with them or you end up killing yourself. This is perhaps the best time for His Holiness to actually show his people and no doubt the world would see and hear it too, Buddha's teaching on so many levels. Or it is too late, that basically whatever advice is given to them... they, the Tibetans will longer heed. And amidst all this chaos... where is the PM - Mr Sangay and the elected new so called "Democratic" Government in exile that represents these Tibetans??? 

Quote

Two Tibetans detained in China for 'inciting' self-immolations

Chinese news agency says monk and his nephew have recruited eight people to set themselves on fire
[/b]
Jonathan Kaiman in Beijing and Jason Burke in Delhi
guardian.co.uk, Monday 10 December 2012 15.05 GMT

([url]http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2012/12/10/1355150770130/Dalai-Lama-010.jpg[/url])
The Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, whose 'clique' has been blamed by China for directing self-immolations. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Two Tibetans have been detained in China for "inciting" self-immolations just days after authorities announced that anybody accused of abetting the fiery protests could be charged with homicide.

China's official Xinhua news agency said 40-year-old Lorang Konchok, a monk at Kirti monastery in Aba prefecture, Sichuan province, and his 31-year-old nephew, Lorang Tsering, had recruited eight people to self-immolate since 2009. Three died from their injuries.

Citing a statement from the Aba police, it said there was "ample evidence" to implicate the "Dalai Lama clique" in directing the self-immolations, but did not specify how it had done so.

More than 90 Tibetans have set themselves on fire since 2009 as a dramatic protest against Chinese rule, according to Tibetan rights groups; at least 77 of them have died. More than 80 self-immolations have been reported this year alone.

Xinhua said Lorang had collected information on the participants after they agreed to self-immolate – including their pictures and family backgrounds – and told them they were "heroes" and their actions would be honoured abroad. Lorang promised to "pass the information on to India", it said.

The report said the two were detained in August after a string of self-immolations and police had completed their investigation. The Aba government and police could not be reached for comment.

Kirti monastery has been the site of almost a third of all Tibetan self-immolations since 2009. The self-immolations have been widespread in ethnically and culturally Tibetan parts of western China, suggesting they do not spring from a single centre of command.

A recent spike in Tibetan self-immolations coincided with last month's 18th Communist party congress, a once-in-a-decade leadership transition in Beijing. Twenty-nine cases of self-immolations were reported in November.

The state-run Gannan Daily newspaper published a report in early December stating that anybody who "organises, plots, incites, coerces, entices, abets, or assists" in self-immolations would face criminal charges. The regulation, which indicates "intentional homicide" as a possible charge, was jointly drafted by China's supreme court, public security ministry and top prosecuting body, according to the newspaper.

Michael Davis, a professor at the University of Hong Kong, said the Chinese government might be using the case to shift responsibility for the self-immolations from itself to outside groups.

He added that the authorities were unlikely to give the two accused Tibetans a transparent trial. "They could probably, if they want to, produce a result where they find that this guy is guilty of doing what they accuse him of, and that he was prompted by instructions from outside," Davis said. "There's no way anyone else would be in a position to contest it."

Chinese authorities have punished Tibetans for abetting self-immolations in the past.

In August 2011, a Chinese court sentenced three Tibetan monks to long prison terms for "plotting, instigating and assisting" the self-immolation of 16-year-old Rigzin Phuntsog. One was accused of preventing Phuntsog from receiving medical care for 11 hours after he set himself alight, leading to his death.

People accused of assisting with suicides in China are typically charged with murder, yet often receive lenient sentences, said a Chinese university law professor who requested anonymity because of the topic's sensitivity. He added that sentencing in Lorang's case would probably be more severe because of political factors. "The criminal code has a very broad range for sentencing for convicted murderers," he said.

Tempa Tsering, representative of the Dalai Lama in India, denied the world-famous spiritual leader was responsible and said the cause of the self-immolations was "the Chinese policy of repression, discussion and denial of fundamental human rights".

"For years we have requested people to not take drastic steps. The Chinese government needs to allow independent journalists, NGOs and others to go into Tibet and investigate the causes. The solution to the self-immolations lies in Beijing," Tsering, who is based in Delhi, said.

Tenzin Jigdal, an activist in Dharamsala, where the Dalai Lama has been based for more than 50 years, said the "repression and heavy restraint" on "friends, families [of self-immolators] and entire communities" would lead to further deterioration of the situation. "These people are sending messages, highlighting the situation within Tibet and how serious it is. They are delivering that message through inflicting pain on their own bodies, not on the Chinese people," Jigdal told the Guardian.


[url]http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/dec/10/tibetans-detained-china-self-immolations[/url] ([url]http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/dec/10/tibetans-detained-china-self-immolations[/url])
   



Quote
Self-immolations won't help Dalai Lama: Chinese daily
IANS / Beijing December 11, 2012, 20:15

Instigating self-immolations in China's ethnic Tibetan areas was "among the latest tactics that the Dalai clique has taken in recent years to achieve their political purposes", the article said.

Since fleeing China in 1959, the Dalai Lama and his followers "have masterminded a series of seriously violent incidents, including the March 14 riots in Lhasa in 2008", it said.
 
"All of them are aimed at 'Tibet independence'," the article noted.
"Soon after self-immolations occur, the Dalai clique repeatedly demands 'peace talks' to be held between China's central authorities and the self-declared 'Tibetan government-in-exile' for 'solving Tibet-related issues', China's state-run news agency Xinhua said.

Leaders of the "Tibetan government-in-exile" in Dharamsala in India's Himachal Pradesh have also publicly voiced "hopes" that self-immolations in China's ethnic Tibetan areas will lead to turmoil similar to the 2011 riots in the Arab world, it said.

The article in People's Daily followed "some Western media" in pointing out that self-immolations of Tibetans have already became a means for the Dalai Lama and the "Tibetan government-in-exile" to pressure China for political interests.

"But China's unity, strength and rising international status will never be shaken by these inhumane acts", it said.

"Whatever means they take, the Dalai Lama and his followers can't change the general situation of Tibet's development and stability, nor their doomed chances of splitting Tibet from China," the author said.


According to the Tibetan government-in-exile, a total of 92 self-immolation cases have taken place since 2009. Over 20 cases took place in November this year.


[url]http://www.business-standard.com/generalnews/ians/news/self-immolations-wont-help-dalai-lama-chinese-daily/92184/[/url] ([url]http://www.business-standard.com/generalnews/ians/news/self-immolations-wont-help-dalai-lama-chinese-daily/92184/[/url])
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on December 16, 2012, 01:18:52 PM
Quote
Xinhua said Lorang had collected information on the participants after they agreed to self-immolate – including their pictures and family backgrounds – and told them they were "heroes" and their actions would be honoured abroad. Lorang promised to "pass the information on to India", it said.

This is exactly what I have been suspecting all along about the self immolations: someone from the CTA has been instigating them and giving them the heroes' welcome when they're dead. China has found proof of CTA's involvement of this and I dont think this is something China would make up. One really does wonder why is the CTA not doing more Dharma related works but would rather do things that harm others and their own cause, such as inciting the self immolations and the Dorje Shugden ban itself.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on December 16, 2012, 01:51:56 PM
China seems to be more and more stirred up by the self immolations and they are taking more steps to counter them....

Quote
Two more Buddhist caves discovered in Jajpur
by AKSHAY ROUT, DAILY PIONEER,12 DECEMBER 2012
Jaipur, India -- Two Buddhist caves were recently discovered by villagers of Sukhuapada in Jajpur district. Eminent historian Harish Chandra Prusti said, “The caves found at Sukhuapada have similarities with the caves discovered by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) three decades back in the hillocks at Neulipur, Kaima, Deuli, Gokarneswar, Brajagiri, Biddhalinga, Lalitagiri and Udayagiri.”

 According to Prusti, “Buddhist monks used to stay in these caves in the rainy season. A 50-feet-long tunnel in the hillock is a rare discovery in the State as in the past archaeologists had never stumbled across any tunnel at any Buddhist places.
However, large-scale of illegal quarrying by violating court order at several Buddhist sites at the Lalitagiri, Udayagiri, Sukhuapada and Landa hillocks in the district have been posing serious a danger to the ancient Buddhist places. The authorities are not taking steps to stop the rampant illegal quarrying, alleged vice-president of Buddhayan, a Buddhist cultural centre of Lalitagiri, Pradeep Bhuyan.

Contractors in clear nexus with Government officials have been lifting stones and morum from the hillocks. The 80-km-long road widening works on NH-5(A) from Chandikhol to Paradip have been going on since last five years for which the contractors are supplying morum to the Hindustan Construction Company.

The High court had banned lifting of stones by contractors from the hillocks to protect the Buddhist sculptures three years back after hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Buddhayan. But the contractors nonchalantly continue to extract stones from the bottom of the hills under the very nose of the authorities. Each day, about 50 to 70 trucks carry stones and morum from the hills, alleged Bhuyan.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on December 16, 2012, 02:09:27 PM
And China is getting more and more aggressive against self immolations...when will one side concede?
(wrong article above, pls ignore)

Quote
Legal action underway against self-immolations
CCTV, Dec 12, 2012
Beijing, China -- In order to combat the growing number of self-immolations in Tibetan communities across China, the country’s top court and public security authorities have now issued a directive that allows for criminal charges, including intentional homicide, to be filed against people who organize, plot or incite others to commit such suicidal acts.

 CCTV reporter Li Qiuyuan spoke with one legal expert based in Beijing to find out more about the legal actions against self-immolations.
Tibetan Buddhism has long been known for its love and respect for life, but the recent series of self-immolations in Tibetan communities tells a different story.

Lorang Konchok, a 40-year-old monk and his nephew from an ethnic Tibetan area in southwest China’s Sichuan province, were arrested for encouraging eight people to set themselves on fire, three of whom died.

Police reported the two have confessed to encouraging and publicizing the protests under orders from their exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and his followers.

Dr. Liu Renwen, a legal expert on criminal law, says they could be charged with "intentional homicide", and face 10 years plus in prison.

Liu Renwen, Director of Department of Criminal Law, CASS, said,“China’s supreme court, top prosecution body and police have jointly issued the legal opinion, stating that organising, directing, and plotting as well as actively participating in inciting others to carry out self-immolations, is a criminal act that intentionally deprives another of his or her life. And people who commit such acts should be held liable for "intentional homicide" according to Article 232 of Criminal Law of People’s Republic of China. And self-immolators who intend to harm others, according to Article 114 of Criminal Law, should be held liable for "endangering public security"."

Self-immolations have never occurred in Tibetan history until 2009. Many Tibetan scholars believe the extreme act was deliberately introduced to Tibet from foreign countries with political motives.
Police reported most of those who undertook self-immolations were young people- those in their teens or early twenties.

"I agree with the government’s legal opinion of taking tougher measures against self-immolations. I believe that most Tibetan people will also agree with this legal opinion because any increase in self-immolation cases will only do this region harm.” Liu said.
Dr. Liu hopes the new directive will help bring down the tragic and violent practise.

Further details regarding the legal process can be expected when the case of plotting self-immolations goes to court.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on December 18, 2012, 07:09:36 AM
China has again used more methods to clamp down on the self immolations, and this time it is clear that the self immolators would get their families into trouble if they are doing this:

Quote
Chinese authorities issue ultimatum, offer cash prize for “crimes” linked to Tibet self-immolations
Phayul[Monday, December 17, 2012 16:48]

([url]http://phayul.com/images/thumb.aspx?src=121217045237XM.jpg[/url])
Notice by Chinese authorities in Malho, eastern Tibet announcing cash rewards for information on self-immolations.

DHARAMSHALA, December 17: Chinese authorities in Malho region of eastern Tibet have announced cash rewards for those “exposing crimes” related to the ongoing wave of self-immolations and issued an ultimatum warning those who have “committed fault” to turn themselves in.

The notices were jointly issued by the Malho People’s Intermediate Court and the Public Security Bureau in the Tibetan areas of Rebkong, Tsekhog, and Chentsa which fall under its jurisdiction.

The Malho region of eastern Tibet carried a major part of the casualties in the recent alarming escalation in self-immolation protests and mass demonstrations by thousands of Tibetans, including school students against the Chinese government. Since October, 44 Tibetans have set themselves on fire demanding freedom and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, with the latest being a teenaged schoolgirl Bhenchen Kyi from Tsekhog.

In copies of the notices sent to Phayul by a Swiss based Tibetan, Sonam, Chinese authorities have given an ultimatum to Tibetans who have “committed fault,” to turn themselves in before November 30 in lure of “lesser” punishment.

The notices, issued in Tibetan and Chinese languages, encourage people to “accept their crimes” of inciting self-immolations, displaying portraits of His Holiness the Dalai Lama during mass funerals of the self-immolators, raising “separatist” slogans, offering condolences to the family members of self-immolators, “unlawfully” taking pictures and videos of self-immolations and sending them out and spreading rumours and indulging in provocative talks.

The authorities have warned that those who are caught under these crimes after the given deadline will be dealt severely according to the law.

In recent weeks, authorities have engineered a heavy security clampdown in the region, arresting several Tibetans from Rebkong and Tsekhog in connection with the self-immolation protests.

Along with the ultimatum, Chinese authorities have employed its age-old policy of sowing distrust in the society by announcing heavy monetary rewards for information on self-immolators and those who “incite” such protests.

Cash prizes ranging from 1,000 Chinese Yaun (US $ 160) of 200,000 Chinese Yuan (US $ 32,000) have been announced for information exposing self-immolators, those inciting self-immolations, and those who have visited families of self-immolators to offer condolences. Rewards have also been announced for those who avert self-immolations from occurring at the site of the protest.

The authorities further promised to protect the identity of the informants and called the self-immolation protests a “bad influence” on social harmony and stability, not just of the region but also of the entire nation.

Similar tactics of announcing cash rewards and offering bribes to families of self-immolators to state that the protests were not against the Chinese government, have been employed earlier in other parts of Tibet as well.

A phone call to the Tsekhog Public Security Bureau Office by Phayul yielded little result as the official who answered the call in the supposedly Tibetan office refused to speak in Tibetan and spoke only Mandarin.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on December 28, 2012, 11:09:03 AM
When self immolators survive, it is one of the most painful things to watch....

Quote
Tibetan self-immolator may lose both legs, Battles for life
Phayul[Thursday, December 27, 2012 12:12]
DHARAMSHALA, December 27: Tibetan self-immolator Sungdue Kyab, who set himself on fire in Bora region of Sangchu in eastern Tibet earlier this month, is reportedly battling for his life in a Chinese hospital in Lanzhou city, capital of Gansu Province.

According to the Dharamshala based rights group Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, doctors have told Sungdue Kyab’s family members that both his legs need to be amputated in order to save his life.

“At the government hospital in Lanzhou, Sungdue Kyab's parents were called in to give their approval to amputation of both his legs,” TCHRD cited sources as saying. “The doctors told Kyab's family that amputation of both the legs was necessary to save his life.”

The group said that Sungdue Kyapís parents were not allowed to meet or speak with him at the hospital and were only allowed to see him through a glass window.

Phayul earlier reported that Sungdue Kyab, 29 was being kept in a heavily guarded hospital and was denied any visits by family members. It is now known that he was first admitted to a Chinese hospital in Kanlho where doctors found it difficult to treat him and was thus admitted to the larger hospital in Lanzhou.

Sungdue Kyab, father of an infant son, set himself on fire on December 2 in protest against China’s continued occupation of Tibet on the main street near the Bora Monastery.

Soon after he set himself on fire, Chinese security personnel arrived at the site of his protest, doused the flames and bundled him away.

Eyewitnesses had earlier reported that when Sungdue Kyab was apprehended by Chinese security personnel stationed at the monastery, he began to smash his head against the walls.

TCHRD noted that local Chinese authorities have increased their efforts “to sow seeds of discord and division among” local Tibetans in Bora town. The group said many government cadres and workers hailing from Bora town but working in adjoining areas are being transferred back to “carry out measures to combat self-immolation incidents and other protests.”

“In an ongoing crackdown on the besieged Bora Monastery, these cadres and workers are being assigned the responsibility of providing proper 'guidance' and monitoring the activities of some monks who are under government surveillance,” the group said. “The cadres and workers are given the responsibility of reining in the blacklisted monks; each monk from the list is under the direct surveillance of a government cadre."

An alarming total of 95 Tibetans have self-immolated inside Tibet since the wave of fiery protests began in 2009, demanding freedom and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on January 12, 2013, 03:27:58 PM
DHARAMSHALA, January 12: In confirmed reports coming out of Tibet, a young Tibetan man set himself on fire today in the Amchok region of eastern Tibet in continued protest against China’s occupation of Tibet.

Tsebhe, who is in his early 20s, succumbed to his injuries at his protest site.

Speaking to Phayul, Ajam Amchok, an exiled Tibetan with close contacts in the region said Tsebhe self-immolated in the middle of Amchok town in Sangchu region of Kanlho, eastern Tibet.

“Tsebhe set himself on fire in Amchok town at around 1 pm (local time),” Ajam said. “He succumbed to his injuries at the protest site following which local Tibetans were able to rescue his body from falling into the hands of Chinese security personnel.”

The same source noted that getting further information on today’s fiery protest is “very difficult” as his contacts are wary of growing Chinese surveillance and monitoring on all modes of communication.

“All that we know as of now is that Tsebhe’s body has been carried to his home in Keynang village and monks are performing prayers,” Ajam said.

Tsebhe’s self-immolation protest, the 96th known instance in Tibet since 2009, marks the continuation of the fiery protests into the new year.


Burning body of Tsebhe, who self-immolated in Amchok region of Sangchu in Kanlho, eastern Tibet on January 12, 2013, protesting Chinese rule over Tibet.
The protests recorded an alarming spike in November last, coinciding with the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in Beijing, during which 28 Tibetans set themselves on fire. The self-immolators have demanded freedom in Tibet and the return of exiled Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Following the wave of self-immolation protests, Chinese authorities in the region have announced cash rewards for those “exposing crimes” related to the self-immolation protests and issued an ultimatum warning those who have “committed fault” to turn themselves in.

Despite repeated international calls for restraint and reconsideration of its policies, China has hardened its stance on the self-immolation protests and announced stricter measu
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on January 13, 2013, 06:18:04 AM
Here's another opinion piece on the self immolations that I find interesting to read:

Quote
Buddhism And Suicide - Righteous Or Wrong, Tibetans Who Burn Themselves Alive?
By Frédéric Bobin, LE MONDE/Worldcrunch, Dec 7, 2013
DHARAMSALA, India -- Sacrifice of life for Tibet. Under this scarlet red title, the giant poster displays photos of deceased Tibetans.
<< Dorjee Rinchen, 58, self-immolation in Labrang to protest of China's occupation of Tibet - (Freetibet.org)

The poster was put up on a steep road in McLeod Ganj, a village on the slopes of Dharamsala, home of the Tibetan government in exile, in northern India. The street leads to the Tsuglakhang Buddhist temple, where exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, resides.

Their names are Lobsang Phuntsok, Tsewang Norbu, Sopa Rinpoche and Lobsang Jamyang. On the poster, their faces are encircled by flames, created with naïve yet gutsy computer effects. They are either monks wearing burgundy robes or youths in jeans. The date of their “sacrifice” is noted below their portraits. Since 2009, there have been 72 self-immolations, according to Tibetan website Phayul, which is based in Dharamsala. The large majority of the self-immolations happened in “Inner Tibet,” China’s western Qinghai province – an ethnically Tibetan region known as Amdo to the Tibetans.


 During the Chinese Communist Party Congress that was held in November in Beijing, there were at least six new self-immolations.
Among the exiled Tibetans living in Dharamsala, this macabre chronicle is perceived with a mix of passion and pain. “It makes me sick, physically sick,” says Lobsang Yeshi, a monk from the temple of Kirti, in the Chinese Sichuan province. He fled Tibet 10 years ago, across Nepal and India, risking his life in the frozen passes of the Himalayas. His former monastery of Kirti was one of the epicenters of the tragedy. “The Chinese police beat up the crowds watching the immolations,” recalls his friend, Kanyag Tsering. Chinese authorities are so frustrated by the string of suicides that they are offering rewards for anyone willing to give out information on people who are planning to commit suicide by self-immolation. To no avail. Chinese state-run media is also doing its part by minimizing the political aspect of the suicides and giving them personal reasons.

Every single time, the “martyrs” leave a note explaining why they sacrificed their lives: They want “freedom for Tibet” and the “Dalai Lama’s return to Lhassa.” The Dailai Lama left the Chinese-ruled Tibetan capital for Dharamsala in 1959. That 72 Tibetans chose to set themselves alight to get their plea out to the world is interpreted by the Tibetan exiles in Dharamsala as the symbol of the profound crisis that is plaguing the Roof of the World, as Tibet is sometimes called.

“This is a desperate plea, which shows that the occupation and repression of Tibet by China is a failure,” says Lobsang Sangay, the new head of the Tibetan government in exile, who inherited the Dalai Lama’s status as political leader of the diaspora in 2011.

These acts are also seen as a way to raise public awareness about the Tibetan issue. “I believe these immolations are also addressed to Western governments, who are so busy doing business with China that they have forgotten about Tibet, and are legitimizing the Chinese system,” says Tenzin Tsundue. The Tibetan activist is famous for the red headband he wears to every anti-China demonstration in India.

What the sacred texts say

In Dharamsala, added to the suffering is the fact that suicide, which is a novel tool in the Tibetan struggle, betrays the sacred Buddhist principle of non-violence.

Chinese “Tibetologists” are only too happy to qualify these acts as being against the fundamental principles of Buddhism. This point of view is being relayed in Western countries as well, which profoundly irritates Dharamsala. “In the West, people are adhering to a clinical form Buddhism where almost everything is seen as violent,” says activist Tenzin Tsundue.

Dharamsala's Tibetans tell the critics to read what the sacred texts of Buddhism have to say about suicide. In one story, for instance, Buddha gives up his body to feed a starving tigress and her four cubs.

It should be said that the Tibetan struggle hasn’t always been about extreme pacifism – as shown by the CIA-sponsored armed resistance against the Chinese occupation that started in the mid 1950s.

Karma Yeshi, a member of the Tibetan parliament in exile, is truly annoyed that Tibetans have to justify themselves: “What seems unethical to me is the people living in free countries who judge the act of committing suicide for Tibet.”

“It seems particularly unfair to analyze the act of suicide instead of analyzing the true message behind all this, which is that Tibetans are resisting oppression,” says Dorjee Tseden, head of Students for a Free Tibet India.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on January 16, 2013, 07:16:33 AM
And again, who says self immolations dont hurt anyone?

Quote

Tibetan self-immolator forcibly cremated following repeated Chinese threats
Phayul[Monday, January 14, 2013 03:14]


([url]http://phayul.com/images/thumb.aspx?src=130114031903JP.jpg[/url])
Tibetan self-immolator Tsering Tashi in an undated photo.

DHARAMSHALA, January 14: Tibetan self-immolator Tsering Tashi’s body was forcibly cremated late Sunday night near his home town in Amchok after repeated threats and mounting pressure from local Chinese authorities.

22-year-old Tsering Tashi passed away in his self-immolation protest on January 12 in Amchok town in Sangchu region of eastern Tibet. According to eyewitnesses, he shouted “Gyalwang Tenzin Gyatso” as he marched on the street engulfed in flames before succumbing to his injuries. Although Chinese security personnel arrived at the scene but local Tibetans were able to rescue his body following a minor scuffle.

Tsering Tashi’s body was then carried to his home in Kyi village of Amchok where monks and nearby Tibetans gathered to pay their last respects and offer prayers despite strict governmental orders against show of sympathy with self-immolators or their families.

According to a close relative of the deceased, local Chinese police and Public Security Bureau officials soon arrived in several vehicles and surrounded the entire area. The officials barred the monks of Amchok Monastery and local Tibetans from offering prayers and ordered the deceased’s family members to cremate the body as soon as possible.

However, when the family members refused to cremate the body before performing the customary Tibetan rituals, the Chinese authorities threatened them saying that they will be responsible for all the consequences and sent for a local Tibetan lama who also advised them to follow the orders.

The local Public Security Bureau head further blamed Tsering Tashi’s family members of having “close ties with the splittist Dalai group” and banged his fist on the table.

According to the same source, the deceased’s father Dugkar Kyab, agreed to cremate his only son’s body considering the imminent threat to the livelihood and security of the people of the village.

Tsering Tashi’s body was cremated late Sunday night, January 13, when most people were fast asleep. Chinese authorities allowed only a few people to attend the cremation.

The deceased’s mother Tsering Dolma, when she heard of the orders by the Chinese authorities, she fainted and had to be rushed to the hospital.

Tsering Tashi is survived by his parents and wife Yumtso Kyi.

On the day of his self-immolation protest Tsering Tashi wore full Tibetan traditional attire and had wound his body with wire before setting himself on fire.

Local Tibetans have described him as “good natured and polite,” who had a keen passion for horses and horse racing.

Since 2009, as many as 96 known Tibetans have set themselves on fire protesting China’s rule and demanding freedom and the return of Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Big Uncle on January 16, 2013, 04:46:13 PM
I read an excellent article on the main dorjeshugden website and I think it is brilliant because it expounds a wonderfully pragmatic way to achieve the same results that self-immolation is suppose to bring. With all due respect to the deceased, self-immolation is just killing off precious Tibetan lives but it does little to further the Tibetan cause.

The Chinese authorities are definitely upset but their reaction is not to concede with the Tibetans as they are hoping for but are instead taking more and more hardline approaches in handling the Tibetan self-immolations. Therefore a radically different approach should be employed by the Tibetans in handling the Chinese if they were smarter. Here's the article and I will highlight important points in this article.

------------
( http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/features/operation-make-friends/ (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/features/operation-make-friends/) )

Operation Make Friends

The area in front of the Potala Palace is not a small space and to fill it up with people is no small feat. This mass gathering of people in July 2011 to listen to Xi Jinping (Vice President of the People’s Republic of China, and future leader of China) is indicative of the huge and growing support for and interest in larger China, even among the population of Tibet.

It would seem that with this kind of presence and government in Tibet, the chances of the Dalai Lama, his Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) and the exiled Tibetan community in India / Nepal returning peacefully to Tibet are becoming smaller and slimmer by the day. Any continued defiance, unrest and belligerent attitudes towards China would do nothing for the Tibetans but to shoot themselves in their own foot.

Rather, the best course of action for the Dalai Lama and his government, the CTA, would be to make friends with China, not rally against them. It would serve the Dalai Lama and CTA better to stop trying to lobby the support of Western nations against China but instead to request them, with humility and respect, to assist them in befriending China and strengthening diplomatic ties.

Fearing the Giant
It is important to acknowledge that the G7 nations no longer have any real standing to fight against the might of China. The world’s current financial, economic and political situation necessarily dictates this. For example, China is potentially the key to the new European Union bail-out and China is a buyer of the European Financial Stability Facility. As China is the key to providing stronger economic stability for entire regions, it is clear that everyone now wants to get on its good side, not antagonize a nation as economically powerful as this. So while the CTA may be sincere in its urgent wish to ‘free’ Tibet, their fight today against China has little more effect than hurling an egg against a mountain.

Unfortunately, no matter how empathetic the rest of the world may be to the plight of the Tibetans, the harsh reality is that displaying support for the Tibetan cause brings little return for them, politically or economically. They may lend moral and emotional support to the Dalai Lama, but when push comes to shove, we have seen nothing in writing nor any firm governmental policy from any country about the Tibet issue. The CTA is not even recognized as a government by any country, which was possibly the reason for its change of name from Tibetan Government-In-Exile to the CTA.

If the West was really angered by the actions of China towards Tibet, why haven’t they taken any firm and definite action, such as imposing economic, trade or political sanctions against China? Whenever countries of the Middle East contravene international policies, the West has been very quick to impose sanctions against them – why are they not doing the same with China, with regards to the Tibet issue? As countries that are not even Buddhists, the UK, US, nations of the European Union etc. receive not even the slightest benefit from supporting Tibet against China. The US has probably been the most supportive and the CIA has even been reputed to be funding the Dalai Lama – but only behind the scenes. When the Dalai Lama visited the White House last year, he had to leave by the back entrance next to the garbage. (In any case, the CIA support of the Dalai Lama may not necessarily be for Tibet’s freedom, but for the Americans to use the Tibet issue as a tool to keep China ‘in check’ and maintain a political upper hand.)

China itself remains completely unfazed by the Free Tibet protests, self-immolations and political rallies. In fact, the harder the Tibetans push their stance, the more the Chinese will resist their pleas. For example, after the 1989 Tibetan uprising, Hu Jintao had wanted to soften the Chinese Communist Party’s hardline stance against Tibet. A decree was proposed to “protect Tibetan culture” but Hu lost party consensus when the Dalai Lama accused China of “cultural genocide.”

The Chinese are clearly not at all embarrassed by their annexation of Tibet – if they were, they would surely have responded to all these protests and given Tibet their independence. No amount of international pressure would affect China. Even at times when China would have most needed Western support – such as in the 1980s or for the 2008 Olympics – they have not relented on the Tibet issue. Why would they budge now, when they are emerging stronger than any of their Western counterparts?

It is unlikely that anything can come in the way of China’s policies. The fact that it has been well over six decades and China looks no closer to returning Tibet’s independence is indication enough that they aren’t going to any time in the near future. Clearly, the approach of the Dalai Lama and CTA so far has not yielded any result. It’s time to change tactics.


Build Friendships
Making friends with China would actually better the chances for the Dalai Lama to return to his homeland. Once there, instead of fighting for total independence, the Dalai Lama should request for Tibet to be developed as a Chinese Special Administrative Region – much like the status of Hong Kong. Once the Tibetans concede to the terms of the Chinese and agree to it being a province within China, the Chinese will be more likely to help them preserve their culture, give them financial and even political support on a global scale. It is simple psychology – appease the giant and please him first, then he’ll then be more than likely to help you with the things you want. There is a clear example of this in Hong Kong – while it is clearly regarded as a part of China, Hong Kong still has self-autonomy and given the economic, political ‘perks’ of being a part of this superpower. They get the best of both worlds.

Looking at the situation objectively, China has poured in tremendous financial resources into developing infrastructure for Tibet, creating jobs and improving their standard of living and education. For example, in July 2011, China’s State Council announced that “the central government will invest 138.4 billion yuan (US$ 21.38 billion) in the [Tibet Automonous Region] over the next five years to support 226 major construction projects involving a total investment of 330.5 billion yuan. The Projects envisage construction of facilities for TAR’s public services and infrastructure such as railways, highways, airports and hydropower plants.” (Jayadeva Ranade, “China uses 60th Tar Anniversary to Undermine Dalai Lama”, Centre for Air Power Studies, 16 August 2011.)

Tibet has no industries, no international trade and no economic strength. If China was to suddenly stop pumping in funds, the economy would fall flat and Tibet would be back to the agriculture-based farming community it has been for centuries. Economically, it is undeniable that the situation within Tibet in China far surpasses that of the exiled Tibetan community in India (as kind and generous as India continues to be to them). A genuine friendship with China and towing the line they set would bestow the Tibetans far more benefit than if they were separate entities.

This approach of friendship would then facilitate not only the Dalai Lama’s peaceful return to his home country but also to work from within to preserve Tibet’s ancient, rich culture, traditions, language and religion. Would it not be more effective and swift for the Dalai Lama to work peaceably within Tibet, maintaining friendly relations with China, than to continue fighting forever from the outside?

We would like to humbly suggest that His Holiness the Dalai Lama now work on an international platform with influential nations of the West and Asia-Pacific to establish good, friendly relations with China. At the same time, His Holiness should tell the Tibetans to stop fighting with China because each time there is unrest, the situation becomes worse for the Tibetans, creating an inescapably vicious cycle. As the Tibetans have such tremendous faith in the Dalai Lama, issuing a clear instruction like this to his people would most definitely have an impact and they will listen.

The Lamas Who Are Paving The Way
There are many examples of high lamas who are now befriending the Chinese and the government of China. This has softened the Chinese stance towards the Tibetan people and their culture. These lamas have done a great service to the Tibetans and it is because of their influence that China is now actively promoting Tibetan culture, religion and people, supporting them financially and providing resources to the largest monastic institutions there.

These great lamas include the incomparable teachers like Gangchen Rinpoche, Gonsar Rinpoche, Serkong Tritul Rinpoche, Yongyal Rinpoche, Lama Thubten Phurbu, Pabongka Rinpoche, 101st Gaden Trisur Rinpoche and Zawa Rinpoche. Sadly, all of them have been cast out of the mainstream Tibetan exile community, branded as traitors to the Dalai Lama and the cause for Tibet simply because they have chosen to continue their religious worship of the Protector deity Dorje Shugden.

Upon closer inspection however, anyone will see that these very lamas are the ones who are actually paving the way for Tibetans to return to Tibet, for China to open its doors again to the Tibetans, and Dharma to endure within Tibet. For example, H.H. Gaden Trisur Rinpoche has paid an official visit to the Panchen Lama who is backed by the Chinese; Gangchen Rinpoche has paid several visits to China and Tibet which has included attending the World Buddhist Forum in Hang Zhou and the 1st China Tibetan Culture Forum ; other lamas such as Yongyal Rinpoche, abbot of Shar Gaden Monastery, Zemey Rinpoche and Gaden Trisur Rinpoche have also been supportive of and attended initiations hosted by other lamas within China districts. This doesn’t look like the action of people who are against the Dalai Lama and their fellow Tibetans. This looks like people who are actually doing something for the cause of Tibet, rather than just talk and campaign for it.

We urge His Holiness and his government to consider using this same friendly approach towards China instead of the confrontational methods they have been using, which clearly have not brought the desired results. Time is of the essence now, especially as the Dalai Lama is getting older. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the Tibetans could build such strong ties with China that the Dalai Lama would be allowed to return to his homeland before he passes away? Some of the greatest Buddhist masters today are already starting to do this. Imagine if the rest of the exiled Tibetan community, its government the CTA and the Dalai Lama himself extended this same peaceful friendship with China? And on that glorious day that the Dalai Lama returns again to Tibet, Tibetan culture, language and religion will stand the greatest chance they have had in six decades to revive and endure.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: DharmaSpace on January 17, 2013, 05:09:01 AM
There are quite a lot of Self Immolation videos on youtube and it is open to commenting. I also believe the CTA is trying to use this to get sympathy for their cause as well.

Anyways I have left this message for CTA hope everyone can leave one of the same nature too, cut off their support from the world if they try to ignore the Dorje Shugden cause and not lift the ban 

Tibet Burning (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUUhzFscg8I#)
What's China doing in Tibet? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyjFBg8mwiU#ws)
Tibetan protester sets himself on fire ahead of China President's visit to Delhi (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFVhlk6ZACA#)

India and the world should know what goes on within the borders of India.


Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on January 17, 2013, 07:56:42 AM
He died for Tibetan unity, but how can Tibet be united when even Ganden Shartse is split to two? These people throw their lives away for a united Tibet, but that will not happen because even in Dharamsala itself is split: Pro or against Dorje Shugden.

Quote
Honouring self-immolators’ calls Tibetans pledge unity
Phayul[Tuesday, January 15, 2013 23:27]
DHARAMSHALA, January 15: Honouring the calls made by Tibetan self-immolators for unity among the Tibetan people, hundreds of Tibetans in Tawu region of eastern Tibet have pledged not to indulge in any internal conflicts or in-fighting.

According to exile media reports, a monastery in the Minyag Nagtren region of Tawu initiated the move, encouraging local Tibetans above 15 and below 60 years of age to take the pledge to never fight among themselves.

Respecting the last testaments of Tibetan self-immolators and paying heed to the monastery’s advice, around 400 Tibetans in the region are believed to have taken the pledge so far.

Since 2009, as many as 97 Tibetans have set themselves on fire protesting China’s continued occupation of Tibet and demanding freedom and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile. Many of the self-immolators have also called for an end to internal conflicts and pleaded for unity among the Tibetan people.

Lobsang Gendun, 29, a monk, at the Penag Monastery, who passed away in his self-immolation protest in Golog Pema region of eastern Tibet on December 3, 2012, raised slogans urging Tibetans to be united and avoid in fighting while engulfed in flames.

Before his fiery protest, he called one of his friends and left a message of hope for the unity and solidarity of all Tibetans.

“I am right now preparing to self-immolate,” Lobsang Gendun told his friend (name not revealed). “I have already doused my body with petrol. I am only left with the battery water to drink before I burn myself.”

“Although I wanted to leave a note, but for my poor handwriting, I could not. So, I am calling you,” Lobsang Gendun said. “My hope is for Tibetans from all the three provinces of Tibet to be united, have solidarity with each other, and not to indulge in internal quarrels. Our aspirations will be fulfilled if we all do this.”

A few days later, on December 8, another Tibetan, Pema Dorjee, 23, passed away in his self-immolation protest in the Luchu region of eastern Tibet while raising slogans for the "return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, independence of Tibet, unity of Tibetans and for the land of Tibet to be ruled by Tibetans."
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: WisdomBeing on January 23, 2013, 06:42:08 PM
"Despite repeated appeals by the exile Tibetan administration to refrain from such drastic acts, Tibetan self-immolations have persisted." Sad to say, it seems like the CTA is saying one thing and doing another. How can the CTA tell people to refrain from self-immolation and then Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay pays "tribute" to those who have self-immolated?? How contradictory!! By paying tribute, you are telling Tibetans that they SHOULD self-immolate so that they will become martyrs! How contradictory and cruel. Please don't play games with people's lives. Please stop paying tribute. Please stop the immolations. Please stop the ban on Dorje Shugden. It's time for the CTA to do something positive already.



Dharamshala offers prayers for Tibetan self-immolators
http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=32903&article=Dharamshala+offers+prayers+for+Tibetan+self-immolators (http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=32903&article=Dharamshala+offers+prayers+for+Tibetan+self-immolators)
Phayul[Wednesday, January 23, 2013 22:26]

DHARAMSHALA, January 23: The Dharamshala based Central Tibetan Administration today organised a special prayer service for Tibetan self-immolators Drubchog and Kunchok Kyab at the Tsug-la Khang, the main temple.

The prayer service led by H.E the 11th Kirti Rinpoche was attended by hundreds of Tibetans and supporters including the Tibetan Chief Justice Commissioners, Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay, Kalons, and Tibetan Parliamentarians.

Speaking at the prayer session, Sikyong Dr Sangay, the elected head of the Tibetan people, paid tribute to Drubchog and Kunchok Kyab.

Drubchog torched his body in protest against China’s rule on January 18 in Khyungchu region of eastern Tibet. He passed away at the site of his protest.

According to eyewitnesses, Drubchog, before setting himself on fire said ‘Gyalwang Tenzin Gyatso’ (His Holiness the Dalai Lama) with his hands joined together in prayer.

His father Kyogpo, later told a group of visitors who had come to offer their condolences that he doesn’t have “an iota of regret” as his son “died for the justice and freedom” of the Tibetan people.

Drubchog is survived by his wife and two children.

Kunchok Kyab, 26 self-immolated on January 22 near the Bora Monastery in Labrang region of eastern Tibet. He passed away in his fiery protest following which a large number of Chinese armed forces and special security personnel were deployed in the region.

Kunchok Kyab is survived by his wife Kharmo Thar and their infant son.

Since 2009, as many as 98 known Tibetans have set themselves on fire in Tibet protesting China’s continued occupation and demanding freedom and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile.

Despite repeated appeals by the exile Tibetan administration to refrain from such drastic acts, Tibetan self-immolations have persisted.

The CTA maintains that the current situation in Tibet has stemmed from “several decades of Chinese misrule in Tibet” and discontent of the Tibetan people arising from “political repression, cultural assimilation, economic marginalisation, and environmental destruction.”

Currently, three delegations of the Tibetan parliament are leading lobbying campaigns all over India as part of the exile administration’s attempts at garnering wider support for international intervention in the ongoing crisis inside Tibet.

The Kashag and the Tibetan parliament will also be jointly organising an intensive four-day solidarity campaign in the Indian capital New Delhi from January 30 – February 2, featuring prayer sessions, day-long fast, peace marches and speeches by prominent Indian leaders.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on January 27, 2013, 04:04:18 PM
DHARAMSHALA, January 24: A teenaged Tibetan was found dead with his body doused with kerosene and lighters in his hand due to suspected poisoning in Luchu region of eastern Tibet.

On January 19, the body of Jigjey Kyab, 17, soaked with kerosene and with two lighters in his hands, was recovered from a busy street in the Shigtsang Pungkor region of Luchu.

"Jigjey Kyab made an attempt to self-immolate but he apparently died before he could set himself on fire" said Lhamo Kyab, a former political prisoner living in Dharamshala. "He had reportedly consumed poison prior to his self-immolation protest to ensure that he didn’t fall into the hands of the Chinese authorities alive.”

In earlier instances, surviving Tibetan self-immolators have suffered amputations of all limbs, verbal abuse, interrogations, and maltreatment by doctors and Chinese officials at the hospitals. The condition of more than a dozen Tibetan self-immolators remains unknown.

Following the incident, local Chinese security personnel visited the deceased’s family for interrogations.

In a last note left by his bedside, which was later found by his family members, Jigjey Kyab has called on Tibetans to rise up.

"I pray that my aspirations will be fulfilled. If you are your mother’s son - rise up. Sons of the Land of Snows - rise up. Singers of the Snow Land - rise up. May His Holiness the Dalai Lama live for thousands of aeons. My respect to the white snow lion (symbol of Tibet). My prayers for happiness in Tibet."


Jigjey Kyab's last hand written note.
He further made an emotion appeal to his parents in his handwritten note written in Tibetan, dated January 19, the day of his self-immolation attempt.

"Father and mother, it is my hope that you will take care of yourselves. You are the most loving people in this world. I will repay your kindness in my next life."

According to the same source, Jigjey Kyab was cremated three days later on January 22, after perceived pressure and warnings from the Chinese authorities.

Jigjey Kyab is survived by his father Dhugkar Kyab, mother Dekyi Tso and sister Choekyong Tso.

Jigjey Kyab’s parents remember him as “an obedient and well-mannered boy, who was patriotic and felt strongly for the Tibetan self-immolators.”

Last month, Pema Dorjee, 23, passed away in his fiery protest in Luchu, while raising slogans for the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Tibet’s independence. Four self-immolations have occurred in the Luchu region alone.

Since 2009, as many as 98 known Tibetans have set themselves on fire in Tibet protesting China’s continued occupation and demanding freedom and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: samayakeeper on January 29, 2013, 04:50:43 AM
Just as the series of self-immolation of Tibetan monks seemed to taper off, now it happened again in Lhasa itself, the heart of Tibet. When it happened among the outskirts of Tibetan community it did not raise as much attention as when it happened in Lhasa, the center of attention of the whole world, the tension is like that during the 2008 riot again, if not more serious.

Why isn't the Dalai Lama making a public announcement condemning self-immolation and asking the monks to stop it as it is not really a Buddhist way of protesting? The Dalai Lama can be very firm and adamant when he bans Dorje Shugden, and many go all out to carry out the ban, more than what the original ban should be, so if the Dalai Lama put his foot down in condemning self-immolation, I am sure it will stop completely. So why isn't the Dalai Lama doing that?


[url]http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=46,10924,0,0,1,0[/url] ([url]http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=46,10924,0,0,1,0[/url])

Two Tibetan Buddhist monks set themselves on fire in protest of Chinese rule
By Claire Cozens, AFP May 28, 2012

Beijing, China -- Two Tibetan Buddhist monks have set themselves on fire in Lhasa, US-based broadcaster Radio Free Asia said, in the first-ever reported self-immolations in the capital of China’s Tibet Autonomous Region.

The monks reportedly set themselves on fire on Sunday outside the Jokhang temple, a renowned centre for Buddhist pilgrimage in Lhasa, which has been under heavy security since deadly riots broke out in 2008.

Radio Free Asia said the two were believed to be among a few Tibetan youths who gathered to protest against Chinese rule outside the temple, and that they appeared to have died in the blaze.
“The security forces arrived immediately and put out the fire and all the tourists in the area were cordoned off from the site,” a witness told the broadcaster.

“Within 15 minutes, the area was cleaned and not a trace of the incident was left.”

Radio Free Asia quoted a source as saying the situation in Lhasa was now “very tense” and the city was filled with police and paramilitary forces.

One Lhasa resident contacted by AFP on Monday also reported an increased police presence in the city, adding officers were carrying out identity checks in the street and the mobile signal was blocked.


However, security authorities in Lhasa contacted by telephone refused to comment on the incident.
“We are not clear about the situation yet. Wait until the media makes an announcement,” said an official who declined to give his name.

More than 30 people have set themselves on fire in China’s Tibetan-inhabited regions since the start of March 2011 in protest at what they say is religious and cultural repression by the Chinese authorities.

Robbie Barnett, a Tibet expert at Columbia University in New York, said Sunday’s incident marked the first protest in Lhasa since anti-Chinese government riots broke out 2008, before spreading to other Tibetan areas.

“This is the first incident of any significance in four years. It’s a big setback for the authorities,” he told AFP by telephone from New York.

“These self-immolations are very troubling for the Chinese because it is a new method of protest that it very hard to prevent.”
Tibetans have long chafed under China’s rule over the vast Tibetan plateau, accusing Beijing of curbing religious freedoms and eroding their culture and language.

The tensions have intensified over the past year, but Beijing insists that Tibetans enjoy religious freedom and have benefited from improved living standards brought on by China’s economic expansion.

Most of the suicide attempts have taken place around the Kirti monastery in China’s southwestern province of Sichuan, which has become a flashpoint for the mounting anger at Chinese domination over Tibet.

The only previous case in Tibet itself was in December, when a former Buddhist monk set himself alight in Changu prefecture shouting anti-Chinese slogans. He was taken to hospital and later died of his injuries.

Chinese media made no mention of the latest immolations. Internet searches for the Chinese name of the temple where they reportedly occurred, Dazhaosi, were blocked in China on Monday.



LATEST NEWS FROM LHASA
The 7th Reting Rinpoche, Dinga Rinpoche Pasang Namgyal, Gyatso Ling Rinpoche Thubten Drapa and other top political advisers advised against the act of self-immolation. Taking one's own life and others will lead to rebirth in the three lower realms of existence.

The Chinese government claimed that the acts of self-immolation were incited and supported by the 14th Dalai Lama and the CTA. Those who incite others to commit self-immolation and those who survived self-immolation were hauled to the court and charged with intentional homicide.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on January 29, 2013, 05:17:07 AM
[video]www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9uKE7i3Xxg

Not sure how to embed a video, but the video above is a very chilling video of several instigators of self immolators.

China's account:
Quote
BEIJING - National broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) has released a documentary on self-immolation in the country's Tibetan-inhabited areas.

The documentary debuted at 9:27 pm on Dec 23 on CCTV-4, an international channel mainly targeting overseas viewers in Chinese language.

It also aired on CCTV's English channel, Spanish channel, French channel, Arabic channel and Russian channel on Monday.

The documentary, titled "Facts About Self-Immolation in Tibetan Areas of Ngapa (Aba)," discloses the truth about self-immolations that have occurred in Aba, a Tibetan and Qiang autonomous prefecture in Southwest China's Sichuan province.

The documentary contains interviews with the masterminds and victims of the self-immolations. It states that the monks in Aba were acting on orders sent from overseas to convince people to self-immolate, as well as sending information about the self-immolations abroad, as they have claimed that the acts were a form of "protest" against Chinese rule in Tibetan areas.

The documentary also states that the Dalai clique masterminded the self-immolations in order to split China.

Phayul's account:
Quote
China intensifies media war over Tibet self-immolations with new documentary
Phayul[Wednesday, December 26, 2012 04:21]
DHARAMSHALA, December 26: China has intensified its propaganda blitzkrieg over the self-immolation protests in Tibet, this time with the release of a documentary which claims to “disclose the truth” about the protests.

According to Xinhua, the state news agency, the documentary titled ‘Facts About Self-Immolation in Tibetan Areas of Ngapa (Aba)’ was broadcast on CCTV-4, an international channel targeting overseas viewers of Chinese language on Sunday night. The documentary was later aired on CCTV's English, Spanish, French, Arabic, and Russian channels on Monday.

According to Xinhua, the documentary contains interviews with the "masterminds" and "victims" of the self-immolations and further alleges that the monks in the region were "acting on orders sent from overseas."

“The documentary also states that the Dalai clique masterminded the self-immolations in order to split China,” the report said.

Since 2009, as many as 95 Tibetans have set themselves on fire protesting China’s continued occupation of Tibet and demanding freedom and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile. The month of November, during which China held its 18th Party Congress, was the deadliest since the wave began with 28 self-immolations and major protests involving thousands of Tibetans.

In recent weeks, China’s state run newspapers have devoted an increasing number of editorials, reports, and opinion pieces by “Tibet scholars,” all aimed at reinforcing Beijing’s official line of blaming the Tibet crisis on exile Tibetans.

China’s foreign ministry has repeatedly expressed opposition and dissatisfaction over international calls to address the grievances of the Tibetan people, terming them as “gross intervention in China's internal affairs.”

Earlier this month, the Dharamshala based Central Tibetan Administration challenged Beijing to prove its allegations after authorities detained a monk and his nephew and accused them of instigating self-immolations of eight Tibetans on the instructions of the Dalai Lama.

“If China genuinely wishes to end the self-immolations, instead of resorting to the blame game it should allow unfettered access to international bodies to Tibetan areas to investigate the root causes for these self-immolations,” Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay, the elected head of the Tibetan people said.

Despite repeated international calls for restraint and reconsideration of its policies, China has hardened its stance on the self-immolation protests and announced stricter measures including pressing of murder charges against anyone caught aiding or inciting self-immolations and cash rewards for those “exposing crimes” related to the protests.

China continues to cut off Tibet from the rest of the world even as international clamour over diplomatic access and visits by foreign media has grown in recent weeks. The United Nations, European Union, US, UK, and Canada have blamed China’s policies for exacerbating the situation in Tibet and urged Beijing to allow investigative visits to the region.

The Dalai Lama has repeatedly called for “serious investigation”” in to the self-immolations and noted that the protests were a symptom of problems that Tibetans did not create.

Compare both accounts, watch the video and you'll know which one would be the more reliable answer to the whole self immolation thing.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on January 29, 2013, 06:40:52 AM
Spare us please, CTA.

Quote
Political repression, cultural assimilation trigerring Tibet immolations: White paper
Phayul[Monday, January 28, 2013 23:46]

([url]http://phayul.com/images/thumb.aspx?src=130129030045RP.jpg[/url])
Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay releasing the white paper, 'Why Tibet is Burning?' at the Kashag Secretariat on January 28, 2013.

DHARAMSHALA, January 28: Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay, the elected head of the Tibetan people, today released a research publication explaining the fundamental reasons behind the ongoing wave of self-immolations inside Tibet and the alarming escalation in the protests witnessed in the past few months.

The white paper titled 'Why Tibet is Burning?' is also the first book published by the Tibet Policy Institute under the Dharamshala based Central Tibetan Administration.

Releasing the book, Sikyong Sangay said the current critical situation in Tibet is being "fuelled by China's total disregard for the religious beliefs, cultural values and reasonable political aspirations of the Tibetan people."

The de facto Tibetan Prime Minister expressed his hope that the report will help to illuminate the deeper layers of the current crisis in Tibet.

"With this goal in mind, we offer this report to global citizens and leaders,” Sikyong Sangay said. “It presents in-depth examination and analysis of the policy areas that relentlessly rob Tibetans of their culture and language, and undermine their chosen way of life."

The principle reasons for Tibet’s fiery protests as listed in the 91-page report are: Political Repression - Chinese Communist leader's views of and Policies on Tibet; Cultural Assimilation - Destruction of Tibetan Buddhism; Social Discrimination - Strangling the Tibetan language; Environment Destruction - Tibetan Nomads and ending their way of life; and Economic Marginalisation - Population transfer and western China Development Programme.

Since 2009, almost 100 known Tibetans, most of them in their teens and early twenties, have set themselves on fire in Tibet protesting Chinese rule and demanding freedom and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile.

The white paper explains that young Tibetans in Tibet have seen and experienced “China's constant assault" and their decision to set themselves on fire is a "stark judgment of Chinese rule in Tibet."

The most number of self-immolations in a month, 28, was recorded in November 2012, coinciding with the 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. As many as five Tibetans set themselves on fire on the eve of the meeting.

Tibetan self-immolators have also called for the preservation of Tibetan language and in some cases carried out their protest outside Chinese mining sites in their region.

The Tibet Policy Institute is a think-tank that functions as a research-oriented intellectual platform for the CTA.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on January 30, 2013, 08:20:23 AM
Looks like China is really getting serious with the incidents of self immolations that has been happening:

Quote
China begins self-immolation trial, Makes more arrests
Phayul[Tuesday, January 29, 2013 14:04]

([url]http://phayul.com/images/news/articles/130129030950UI.jpg[/url])
A screen shot of the two Tibetans standing trial in a Chinese court in eastern Tibet.

DHARAMSHALA, January 29: A Chinese court in eastern Tibet began trial on two Tibetans, including a monk of the Kirti Monastery, on alleged crimes of inciting self-immolations in the Ngaba region.

China’s official Xinhua news agency on January 26 cited a statement issued by the Intermediate People's Court of Aba Prefecture as saying that Lobsang Konchok, 41, and his nephew Lobsang Tsering, 31, have been accused of “intentional homicide.”

Proceedings of the trial have been widely broadcast and publicised in China via national media and television channels.

The report said the two Tibetans arrested in August last year were guilty of instigating eight Tibetans to self-immolate, resulting in three deaths.

Last month, Chinese authorities stated that the two had acted on the instructions of the Dalai Lama and his followers, a charge which the exile Tibetan administration vehemently denied.

The Central Tibetan Administration challenged China to prove their assertions and said it was ready for a probe by the Chinese authorities and invited them to send an investigative team to the exile Tibetan headquarters in Dharamshala.

CTA said, “such statements from a state known to resort to torture and detention of individuals without due judicial process can only be received with scepticism from the international community.”

“If China genuinely wishes to end the self-immolations, instead of resorting to the blame game it should allow unfettered access to international bodies to Tibetan areas to investigate the root causes for these self-immolations,” Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay, the elected head of the Tibetan people said.

Also last week, China announced the arrest of two more Tibetans in the Rebkong region of eastern Tibet for “crimes” related to the ongoing wave of self-immolation protests.

According to Xinhua, Dolma Kyab, 25, a monk at the Dowa Monastery was arrested on November 19 after he was found to have stored gasoline in a hotel room, while Phagpa, 27, was held on charges on inciting Dolma Kyab to self-immolate.

The report cited police as saying that Phagpa had maintained close contact with key members of the Tibetan Youth Congress, the exile based largest pro-independence group.

Earlier this month, TYC had dismissed similar charges, calling them “baseless and fallacious.”

“Instead of hurling such baseless and fallacious allegation, the Chinese government should heed to the fiery cries of the Tibetan people inside Tibet demanding to reinstate our leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama in an Independent Tibet,” Tsewang Rigzin, president of TYC said.

Despite repeated international calls for restraint and reconsideration of its policies in Tibet, China has hardened its stance on the self-immolation protests and announced stricter measures including pressing of murder charges against anyone caught aiding or inciting self-immolations and cash rewards for those “exposing crimes” related to the protests, which include offering condolences to families of the deceased.

The Dalai Lama has repeatedly called for “serious investigation” in to the self-immolations and noted that the protests are a symptom of problems that Tibetans did not create
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: DharmaSpace on February 01, 2013, 12:45:43 AM
http://www.news24.com/World/News/Tibetans-in-exile-to-pressure-China-20130130 (http://www.news24.com/World/News/Tibetans-in-exile-to-pressure-China-20130130)

Quote
New Delhi - The Tibetan government-in-exile in India on Tuesday announced plans for a four-day campaign to bring global pressure on China in a bid to end a string of self-immolations in their Himalayan homeland.

Penpa Tsering, speaker of the exiled Tibetan parliament based in the northern Indian town of Dharamshala, said the drive would include rallies and meetings and begin in New Delhi on Wednesday.

"The situation is getting more and more grim," Tsering said at a joint news conference with Lobsang Sangay, who in 2011 took over political duties from revered Buddhist spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, and was named prime minister.

The two leaders said 99 Tibetans had set themselves on fire between 2009 and January 22 this year in protest against Chinese rule in Tibet. Of that number, the government-in-exile says 83 have died.

"Instead of trying to address the main causes as to why self-immolations are taking place, as to why Tibetans are protesting in various other forms, the Chinese government has resorted to a blame game," Sangay said.

"They blame us for the tragedy in Tibet which is absolutely baseless because Tibet has been under China's occupation for the last 50 years," the Harvard-educated scholar said.

Sangay said India, home to tens of thousands of Tibetan exiles, "ought to speak out forcefully on Tibet".

The four-day campaign will call for visits to Tibet by UN fact-finding teams and the publication of details of human rights discussions between Beijing and foreign powers, Sangay said.

He said the Tibetan government as well as the parliament, which has been based in Dharamshala since the Dalai Lama fled after a failed uprising against China in 1959, were determined to highlight "repression of Tibetans in Tibet".

Self-immolation

Both the Dalai Lama and the prime minister have appealed to Tibetans not to resort to self-immolation.

"We are against drastic action but we must highlight it (the situation in Tibet) to the international community," Sangay said.

Many Tibetans in China accuse the government of religious repression and eroding their culture, as the country's majority Han ethnic group increasingly moves into historically Tibetan areas.

China rejects that, saying Tibetans enjoy religious freedom. Beijing also points to huge ongoing investment that it says has brought modernisation and a better standard of living to Tibet.


The Tibetans are really desperate it seems and nowhere to turn to and reminds me in a way of the suicide bombers in Middle East. I wish all our Tiebtan Dharma brothers to look not to CTA and what it represents as hope but perhaps turn to a unlikely source the Dorje Shugden Lamas.  The Dorje Shugden Lamas are the only significant group of people who have made contact with China not to harm Tibet, or harm the cause of Tibet but to engage for the flourishing of Buddha Dharma. The Dorje Shugden lamas as the ones mentioned below have significant presence and ability to turn things around, some have their base in the West whereby they have influential people as their students.
http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/features/how-five-powerful-lamas-are-changing-the-world/ (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/features/how-five-powerful-lamas-are-changing-the-world/)

NKT has over 1000 centers worldwide they also have significant influence over the rest of the world.

Unless one is attained acts of immolation will just be a cause of bad rebirth.

It would seem to me that the CTA on their phayul website if they do not show overt support they are certainly showing it subtly. CTA these are your people who are burning themselves to death and will get a negative rebirth as a result of their negative last thoughts which is NOT a positive one in pain, agony, frustration , despair, attachment and that leads to a spirit rebirth. SO CTA is not doing their people a favour to allow and encourage them to burn. * shakes head*

As long there is breath in our bodies there is HOPE and there is hope on the form of Dorje Shugden lamas look at all their peace works and the influence, all they have gone with China that CTA has not had a whiff after the last Olympics in China. And China appreciates the Dorje Shugden Lama who are a stabilising influence on communities in Tibet.







 
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on February 01, 2013, 04:27:55 AM
[url]http://www.news24.com/World/News/Tibetans-in-exile-to-pressure-China-20130130[/url] ([url]http://www.news24.com/World/News/Tibetans-in-exile-to-pressure-China-20130130[/url])

Quote
New Delhi - The Tibetan government-in-exile in India on Tuesday announced plans for a four-day campaign to bring global pressure on China in a bid to end a string of self-immolations in their Himalayan homeland.

Penpa Tsering, speaker of the exiled Tibetan parliament based in the northern Indian town of Dharamshala, said the drive would include rallies and meetings and begin in New Delhi on Wednesday.

"The situation is getting more and more grim," Tsering said at a joint news conference with Lobsang Sangay, who in 2011 took over political duties from revered Buddhist spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, and was named prime minister.

The two leaders said 99 Tibetans had set themselves on fire between 2009 and January 22 this year in protest against Chinese rule in Tibet. Of that number, the government-in-exile says 83 have died.

"Instead of trying to address the main causes as to why self-immolations are taking place, as to why Tibetans are protesting in various other forms, the Chinese government has resorted to a blame game," Sangay said.

"They blame us for the tragedy in Tibet which is absolutely baseless because Tibet has been under China's occupation for the last 50 years," the Harvard-educated scholar said.

Sangay said India, home to tens of thousands of Tibetan exiles, "ought to speak out forcefully on Tibet".

The four-day campaign will call for visits to Tibet by UN fact-finding teams and the publication of details of human rights discussions between Beijing and foreign powers, Sangay said.

He said the Tibetan government as well as the parliament, which has been based in Dharamshala since the Dalai Lama fled after a failed uprising against China in 1959, were determined to highlight "repression of Tibetans in Tibet".

Self-immolation

Both the Dalai Lama and the prime minister have appealed to Tibetans not to resort to self-immolation.

"We are against drastic action but we must highlight it (the situation in Tibet) to the international community," Sangay said.

Many Tibetans in China accuse the government of religious repression and eroding their culture, as the country's majority Han ethnic group increasingly moves into historically Tibetan areas.

China rejects that, saying Tibetans enjoy religious freedom. Beijing also points to huge ongoing investment that it says has brought modernisation and a better standard of living to Tibet.


The Tibetans are really desperate it seems and nowhere to turn to and reminds me in a way of the suicide bombers in Middle East. I wish all our Tiebtan Dharma brothers to look not to CTA and what it represents as hope but perhaps turn to a unlikely source the Dorje Shugden Lamas.  The Dorje Shugden Lamas are the only significant group of people who have made contact with China not to harm Tibet, or harm the cause of Tibet but to engage for the flourishing of Buddha Dharma. The Dorje Shugden lamas as the ones mentioned below have significant presence and ability to turn things around, some have their base in the West whereby they have influential people as their students.
[url]http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/features/how-five-powerful-lamas-are-changing-the-world/[/url] ([url]http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/features/how-five-powerful-lamas-are-changing-the-world/[/url])

NKT has over 1000 centers worldwide they also have significant influence over the rest of the world.

Unless one is attained acts of immolation will just be a cause of bad rebirth.

It would seem to me that the CTA on their phayul website if they do not show overt support they are certainly showing it subtly. CTA these are your people who are burning themselves to death and will get a negative rebirth as a result of their negative last thoughts which is NOT a positive one in pain, agony, frustration , despair, attachment and that leads to a spirit rebirth. SO CTA is not doing their people a favour to allow and encourage them to burn. * shakes head*

As long there is breath in our bodies there is HOPE and there is hope on the form of Dorje Shugden lamas look at all their peace works and the influence, all they have gone with China that CTA has not had a whiff after the last Olympics in China. And China appreciates the Dorje Shugden Lama who are a stabilising influence on communities in Tibet.


Thanks Dharmaspace. Phayul and other Tibetan websites, as well as Dharamsala is showing passive support for the self immolations by celebrating the self immolators as heroes or by doing elaborate pujas for them and then advertising the pujas. I think that itself is quite bad and by doing that itself, it makes people think that self immolation is the way to go for a free Tibet when it will only cause more suffering and pain for people around them. It hurts the families of the self immolators a lot. And phayul writes them as if they were sob stories that deserve the pity of people and how bad China is to drive them to immolate themselves. If the Tibetans were lemmings and not people, being pressured to commit suicide would be acceptable but they're people. It is horrible of how the CTA is using human lives to champion their own agendas....
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Tenzin Gyatso on February 01, 2013, 09:58:10 AM
Tibetans are a brave lot and will sacrifice their lives for freedom and justice.

Amazing!!  :'(
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on February 01, 2013, 12:41:21 PM
DHARAMSHALA, January 31: In a first of its kind court sentence passed down in relation to what China calls “crimes” associated with self-immolations in Tibet, one Tibetan has been sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve and another to ten years.

China's official state agency Xinhua, reported today that the Intermediate People's Court of the Tibetan-Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of Aba passed the sentence on Thursday.

According to the court verdict, Lobsang Konchok, 40, a monk of the Ngaba Kirti Monastery was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve and has been stripped of his political rights for life. His nephew, Lobsang Tsering, 31, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and has been stripped of his political rights for three years.

The two Tibetans have been convicted of “intentional homicide” for “inciting and coercing eight people to self-immolate, resulting in three deaths.”

The court further charged Lobsang Konchok of sending out information regarding self-immolations, which it said was “used by some overseas media as a basis for creating secessionist propaganda.”

However, the Xinhua report didn’t carry any mention of earlier charges made by Chinese police accusing the two of working at the instructions of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his followers.

Speaking today at a panel discussion in New Delhi on the sidelines of the ongoing Tibet solidarity campaign, H.E. Kirti Rinpoche, the head lama of the Kirti Monastery, said the “admission of crimes” by the two Tibetans as claimed by the Chinese government, is a result of torture.

“To impose and to assert their claim that outsiders are instigating the self-immolations, the Chinese authorities have rounded up lots of Tibetans and are forcing them to confess crimes under severe torture in prison,” Kyabje Kirti Rinpoche said. “This is how they are collecting their so called evidence.”

The exile Tibetan administration had earlier contested China’s claims of “confession” saying that statements from a state “known to resort to torture and detention of individuals without due judicial process can only be received with scepticism from the international community.”

“If China genuinely wishes to end the self-immolations, instead of resorting to the blame game it should allow unfettered access to international bodies to Tibetan areas to investigate the root causes for these self-immolations,” the Central Tibetan Administration said.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on February 02, 2013, 03:14:12 AM
More news.

Quote
Six Tibetans sentenced up to 12 years for rescuing self-immolator
Phayul[Friday, February 01, 2013 20:33]

DHARAMSHALA, February 1: China has sentenced six Tibetans to heavy jail terms of up to 12 years for their alleged roles in trying to rescue a Tibetan self-immolator from falling into the hands of Chinese officials.

The Xiahe County People's Court passed the sentence on January 31, the same day when a Chinese court in Ngaba, eastern Tibet, sentenced Lobsang Kunchok, to death with a two year reprieve for “instigating” self-immolations and Lobsang Tsering to 10 years.

The court in Sangchu sentenced Pema Dhondup to 12 years, Kalsang Gyatso to 11 years, Lhamo Dhondup to seven years, and a female Pema Tso to eight years on charges of intentional homicide.

According to China’s state agency Xinhua, two other Tibetans, Dugkar Gyal and a female Yangmo Kyi were convicted of "picking quarrels and provoking troubles" and sentenced to four and three years in prison, respectively.

The Tibetans were sentenced in connection with the self-immolation protest of Dorjee Rinchen, 57, who set himself on fire in Sangchu region of eastern Tibet on October 23, 2012. He carried out his protest near the local PLA recruiting center in Labrang and succumbed to his injuries at the scene.

However, Xinhua in its report said that Dorjee Rinchen self-immolated “near a shopping center,” while omitting to provide reasons for his fiery protest.

The Central Tibetan Administration in a statement released today following the court sentences noted that “even mere expression of sorrow on the loss and sharing of news by families can lead to criminal prosecution.”

([url]http://phayul.com/images/thumb.aspx?src=13020108445530.jpg[/url])
Dorjee Rinchen engulfed in flames in Sangchu region of eastern Tibet on October 23, 2013.

“This and other forms of brutal crackdown reflect the draconian measures adopted by Chinese leadership and as feared, criminal prosecution and undue process carried out to target the families and friends framed to be involved in the self-immolations,” the exile administration said.

Dharamshala based rights group Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy today said the court sentencing comes in the backdrop of “relentless crackdown on self-immolation protests including arbitrary arrests, detention, intimidation, monetary inducements, and long prison terms.”

The group pointed out that China’s criminalisation of the self-immolations as “murder” is a “highly condemnable” misuse of legal provisions for fulfilling political objectives.

TCHRD further noted that the “politicised nature of Chinese judiciary allows government and Party officials to interfere in politically-sensitive cases.”

“The Chinese government needs to seriously address the real causes of self-immolation protests; it needs to acknowledge that the burning protests are a direct result of its destructive policies,” the rights group said.

“Far from acting as a deterrent to self-immolation or damaging the reputation of the “Dalai clique”, such arbitrary and unjust sentencing will only aggravate the already explosive situation in Tibet.”
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on February 08, 2013, 11:47:34 AM
Self immolation does harm others... and this is proof

Quote
Mass arrest of Tibetans in connection with self-immolations
Phayul[Friday, February 08, 2013 10:59]

([url]http://phayul.com/images/thumb.aspx?src=130208110856I5.jpg[/url])
Tibetans and foreign supporters carry photos of self-immolators during the final day of the four-day solidarity campaign in New Delhi on Febraury 2, 2013. (Phayul photo)

DHARAMSHALA, February 8: In a first of its kind mass arrest in connection with the ongoing wave of self-immolation protests in Tibet, Chinese authorities have arrested 70 Tibetans in eastern Tibet.

Chinese state media Xinhua on Thursday cited police in the Malho region as saying that the “criminal suspects” were captured in connection with a “string of self-immolations that have occurred since November 2012.”

As many as 99 Tibetans have set themselves on fire since 2009 protesting Chinese rule and demanding freedom and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile.

The report cited a senior police official as saying that more efforts will be exerted to “thoroughly investigate the cases and seriously punish those who incite innocent people to commit self-immolation.”

Lyu Benqian, who heads a special police team investigating the self-immolations also blamed “the Dalai Lama clique” for “masterminding and inciting” the protests.

“Personal information, such as photos of the victims, were sent overseas to promote the self-immolations,” the report cited him as saying.

"Some of the victims were frustrated and pessimistic in life, and they wanted to earn respect by self-immolation," Lyu added.

The report also carried stories of several individual self-immolators, claiming that their personal problems were the reason for their protests.

Among those arrested, the report cited one Phagpa, a young Tibetan in Dowa, Rebkong region, who was arrested for attending the funerals of six self-immolators, offering donations to their family members and working to spread ideas related to separatism and "Tibetan independence."

Last month, Chinese courts sentenced a Tibetan Lobsang Kunchok to death with a two-year reprieve and Lobsang Tsering to 10 years on charges of “intentional homicide.” The same day, another court sentenced six Tibetans to varying jail terms of 12 to three years in jail on similar charges.

Following the sentencing, New York based global rights group, Human Rights Watch, said Chinese authorities should “immediately release” Kunchok and Tsering, while noting that their conviction “relied solely on confessions they gave during five months in detention.”

“These prosecutions are utterly without credibility,” said Sophie Richardson, China director. “The Chinese government seems to think it can stop self-immolation by punishing anyone who talks about it. But in pursuing these ‘incitement’ cases, the government compounds the tragedy of these suicide protests.”??

HRW noted that it has documented “endemic use of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and coercion of Tibetans in detention.”

“Self-immolations take place in the context of the Chinese government’s long-standing repressive policies in the Tibetan areas that have seen severe restrictions on Tibetans’ rights,” HRW said.

The Dharamshala based Central Tibetan Administration also condemned the harsh sentences, blaming the Chinese leadership as “solely responsible for the growing unrest and deteriorating situation in Tibet.”

“The series of rushed sentences clearly show that Tibetans in Tibet are denied basic human rights,” the exile Tibetan administration said. “It is also evident that these are done in utter disregard to the Tibetan aspiration and deep anguish at the continuing self-immolations in Tibet.”

Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on February 09, 2013, 01:44:57 AM
DHARAMSHALA, February 8: In no let up to the sentencing of Tibetans in connection with the self-immolations protests, another Tibetan was today sentenced to 13 years in jail by a Chinese court.

The sentencing comes even as the United States and international rights groups such as Human Rights Watch have condemned earlier similar court rulings, calling the prosecutions “utterly without credibility.”

According to Chinese state agency Xinhua, the Intermediate People's Court of the Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture convicted Phagpa, 27, of “intentional homicide and inciting split of the state.”

He was found guilty of “indoctrinating” Dolma Kyab, 25, a monk at the Dowa Monastery in Rebkong and “convincing” him to self-immolate to achieve "freedom and independence for the Tibetan ethnic group," the report said.

Phagpa is supposed to have accepted his “mistake” and said that he will not lodge an appeal.

The court ruling further accused Phagpa of propagating ideas related to "Tibetan independence" giving the self-immolators' relatives money, as well as portraits of members of the "Tibetan government-in-exile."

Xinhua earlier said that Dolma Kyab was arrested on November 19 after he was found to have stored gasoline in a hotel room and accused Phagpa of maintaining “close contact with key members of the Tibetan Youth Congress, the exile based largest pro-independence group.

Last month, Chinese courts sentenced a Tibetan Lobsang Kunchok to death with a two-year reprieve and Lobsang Tsering to 10 years on charges of “intentional homicide.” The same day, another court sentenced six Tibetans to varying jail terms of 12 to three years in jail on similar charges.

Following the sentencing, New York based global rights group, Human Rights Watch, said Chinese authorities should “immediately release” Kunchok and Tsering, while noting that their conviction “relied solely on confessions they gave during five months in detention.”

“These prosecutions are utterly without credibility,” said Sophie Richardson, China director. “The Chinese government seems to think it can stop self-immolation by punishing anyone who talks about it. But in pursuing these ‘incitement’ cases, the government compounds the tragedy of these suicide protests.”??

HRW noted that it has documented “endemic use of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and coercion of Tibetans in detention.”

Earlier this week, Dharamshala based rights group Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said the court sentencing comes in the backdrop of “relentless crackdown on self-immolation protests including arbitrary arrests, detention, intimidation, monetary inducements, and long prison terms.”

The group pointed out that China’s criminalisation of the self-immolations as “murder” is a “highly condemnable” misuse of legal provisions for fulfilling political objectives.

TCHRD further noted that the “politicised nature of Chinese judiciary allows government and Party officials to interfere in politically-sensitive cases.”

“The Chinese government needs to seriously address the real causes of self-immolation protests; it needs to acknowledge that the burning protests are a direct result of its destructive policies,” the rights group said.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on February 09, 2013, 01:47:03 AM
Allow Tibetans to express grievances: US tell China

DHARAMSHALA, February 8: Even as China intensified its crackdown on the self-immolation protests in Tibet with the mass detention of 70 Tibetans, the United State called on China to allow Tibetans express their grievances freely.

Speaking to reporters Thursday, US State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland appealed the Chinese leadership to hold substantive dialogue with His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s representatives without preconditions to find a lasting solution to the problem in Tibet.

“We are deeply concerned about the overall deteriorating human rights situation in Tibetan areas, including not only the tragic self-immolations, but also that criminal laws have been used to deal with people who have associated with those people,” Nuland said.

“There are deep grievances within the Tibetan population which are not being addressed openly and through dialogue by the Chinese Government.”

Chinese courts in eastern Tibet have further sentenced several Tibetans to lengthy jail terms, including a death sentence with a two-year reprieve, for their “crimes” in connection with the fiery protests.

Since 2009, as many as 99 Tibetans have set themselves on fire protesting China’s rule and demanding freedom and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile.

Responding to a question, Nuland said that the new US Secretary of State John Kerry in his introductory teleconference call with his Chinese counterpart raised the issue of human rights violations in the country.

“In almost every encounter we have at a senior level with Chinese officials we raise our concerns about human rights in general, about Tibet specifically,” Nuland added.

“We urge the Chinese Government to engage in a substantive dialogue with the Dalai Lama or his representative without preconditions as a means of addressing the grievances that the people of Tibet have and to relieve tensions. And we continue to call on Chinese Government officials to permit Tibetans to express their grievances freely, publicly, and peacefully, without fear of retribution.”
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: WisdomBeing on February 11, 2013, 04:25:24 PM
i just read this:

From Inside the Lotus Sutra: The Sutra of Innumerable Meanings, by Stephen Klick, p. 58:

Quote
"The Bodhisattva Gladly Seen By All Living Beings" offered incense, but then realized that it was necessary to totally dedicate himself to this sutra. He "caught fire" which means that he worked tirelessly to benefit the beings around him.

It is unfortunate that occasional misguided students have taken this lesson literally and actually set themselves on fire, either as an "offering" or as way of protesting social injustice.

It was quoted in one of the other forums i participate in and it said that people self-immolate using this scripture from the Lotus Sutra but it is wrongly interpreted as literal and has caused much unnecessary sacrifice.

In these cases, where people misinterpret the teachings and act wrongly, but with right motivation, do they gain anything positive?
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on February 13, 2013, 11:45:16 AM
?"Tibetan protester sets himself on fire in Nepal"

Nepalese policemen rush as a Tibetan monk burns after he set himself on fire in Katmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013. The Tibetan monk doused himself with gasoline and set himself on fire in Nepal's capital Wednesday in what is believed to be the latest self-immolation to protest Chinese rule in Tibet. Nearly 100 Tibetan monks, nuns and lay people have set themselves on fire in various countries, mostly in ethnic Tibetan areas inside China, since 2009.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on February 16, 2013, 02:56:38 PM
And again, the sikyong makes the wrong comments on the situation and blames China.

Quote
Self-immolations - Ultimate acts of civil disobedience: Sikyong Sangay
Phayul[Thursday, February 14, 2013 17:06]
DHARAMSHALA, February 14: With the number of known cases of self-immolations by Tibetans living under China’s rule reaching 100 earlier this month, the exile Tibetan administration today called on China to stop the deteriorating situation in Tibet.

The Dharamshala based Central Tibetan Administration in a press statement declared that case of Tibet is for the world to answer.

Lobsang Namgyal, a 37-year-old monk of the Kirti Monastery became the latest Tibetan to self-immolate under China’s rule when he set himself on fire near a Chinese police building in the Ngaba region of eastern Tibet on February 3. Lobsang Namgyal raised slogans for the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama before succumbing to his injuries at his protest site.

CTA noted that the self-immolations have continued “despite the recent harsh and unlawful sentencing of 8 Tibetans and arrest of family members, for allegedly instigating Tibetans to self-immolation.”

“Though the CTA continues to repeatedly appeal to the Tibetans in Tibet to refrain from such drastic acts, sadly the self-immolations continue,” the exile administration said.

In the statement, Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay, the elected head of the Tibetan people said the “ongoing and unprecedented self-immolations by an increasing number of Tibetans in Tibet are the ultimate acts of civil disobedience against China’s failed rule in Tibet.”

“Instead of owning the onus of tragedy in Tibet – a self evident responsibility of its over 60 years of continuous iron-grip rule in Tibet – China relentlessly and irresponsibly accuses His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan leadership of inciting these self-immolations,” Sikyong Sangay said.

The CTA noted that it had earlier called on China to provide unfettered access to Tibet for the global media, diplomats and international NGOs in order to “unveil the truth of the matter in Tibet.”

Sikyong Sangay, who is currently on an official trip to the United States, further called on national governments and international agencies, including the United Nations, to “use their good offices and actively engage with China to stop the deteriorating situation in Tibet by addressing the genuine grievances of the Tibetans.”

“Concrete steps that the leaders of the world need to take immediately are to send Ms Navi Pillay of UNHCR on a visit to Tibet and investigate the real causes of self immolations, and convene a meeting to discuss and address the crisis in Tibet.”

Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on February 21, 2013, 06:37:28 AM
And now, new news on this.

Quote
Breaking: Two Tibetan teenagers burn selves to death
Phayul[Wednesday, February 20, 2013 15:50]

([url]http://phayul.com/images/thumb.aspx?src=130220035603KR.jpg[/url])
Tibetan self-immolator Rinchen, 17, in an undated photo.

DHARAMSHALA, February 20: Two Tibetan teenagers set themselves on fire in Kyangtsa region of Zoege, eastern Tibet on February 19, protesting China’s continued occupation and repressive policies in Tibet.

Rinchen, 17 and Sonam Dhargey, 18 have succumbed to their burns.

According to the exile base of Kirti Monastery in Dharamshala, the two teenagers carried out their fiery protest at around 9:30 pm (local time) yesterday.

“It is not currently known what slogans they raised during the protest,” Kirti Monastery in a release said.

“The families of the two teenagers are in possession of their bodies and are hoping to carry out their final rites without any interference from the Chinese authorities.”

Rinchen's parents are Dhondup Tsering and late Aadon. Sonam Dhargye's parents are Tsering Dhondup and Takho.

Confirming the reports, the Dharamshala based Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy today said both Rinchen and Sonam Dhargye attended the local primary school in Kyangtsa.

“After finishing his primary school, Rinchen attended another school in Wenchuan for a few years and moved to Qinghai, where he worked,” TCHRD said. “At the time of self-immolation, Rinchen was on his Losar (New Year) holiday visiting his family in Kyangtsa.”

With the latest self-immolations, as many as 104 known Tibetans living under China’s rule have now set themselves on fire demanding freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama from exile. Eight fiery protests have already taken place inside Tibet since the beginning of the new year, in addition to Tibetan monk Drupchen Tsering's self-immolation protest in Kathmandu, Nepal on February 13.

The global rights group Human Rights Watch earlier this month said the self-immolations in Tibet are taking place in the context of the Chinese government’s "long-standing repressive policies in the Tibetan areas that have seen severe restrictions on Tibetans’ rights.”

“To date there has still been no concerted effort from the Chinese government to address the underlying grievances in Tibet, which have contributed to the rising number of self-immolations by Tibetans,” HRW said.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on February 24, 2013, 02:53:07 AM
DHARAMSHALA, February 20: A year after his self-immolation protest against China’s continued occupation of Tibet, Sonam Rabyang, a Tibetan monk, is reportedly alive but has lost both his legs and is placed under strict surveillance by Chinese authorities.

According to the Dharamshala based Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, Sonam Rabyang had both of his legs amputated and is currently recovering at his home in Yuthung Village of Lab region in Tridu, eastern Tibet.

Citing a relative living in exile, who wished to be unnamed, TCHRD said Sonam Rabyang was first taken to an army hospital in the provincial capital of Xining where three months later his legs were amputated.

“Sonam Rabyang is now being cared for by his family members under strict surveillance and restriction,” TCHRD said citing the same source. “He is not allowed to communicate through his phone without the knowledge of the local authorities.”

Sonam Rabyang, 42, a monk from the Lab Monastery set himself on fire on February 8, 2012 at Triwang town, capital of Tridu in Yulshul.

Eyewitnesses had reported of that Sonam Rabyang was in serious condition when he was taken away by Chinese security personnel. For over a year, no information on his whereabouts or condition was available.

Since 2009, as many as 102 known Tibetans living under China’s rule have set themselves on fire protesting Chinese rule and demanding freedom and return of the Dalai Lama from exile. While an overwhelming majority of the self-immolators have passed away, a surviving few have reportedly suffered amputations of all limbs, verbal abuse, interrogations, and maltreatment by doctors and Chinese officials at the hospitals.

Last month, the Tibet Policy Institute, a think tank affiliated with the exile Tibetan administration in a white paper on the crisis in Tibet noted that the self-immolations were a "stark judgment of Chinese rule in Tibet."

The report titled, Why Tibet is Burning? said China’s policies of political repression, cultural assimilation, social discrimination, environment destruction, economic marginalisation were the principle reasons for Tibet’s fiery protests.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on February 24, 2013, 04:10:14 AM
DHARAMSHALA, February 20: A year after his self-immolation protest against China’s continued occupation of Tibet, Sonam Rabyang, a Tibetan monk, is reportedly alive but has lost both his legs and is placed under strict surveillance by Chinese authorities.

According to the Dharamshala based Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, Sonam Rabyang had both of his legs amputated and is currently recovering at his home in Yuthung Village of Lab region in Tridu, eastern Tibet.

Citing a relative living in exile, who wished to be unnamed, TCHRD said Sonam Rabyang was first taken to an army hospital in the provincial capital of Xining where three months later his legs were amputated.

“Sonam Rabyang is now being cared for by his family members under strict surveillance and restriction,” TCHRD said citing the same source. “He is not allowed to communicate through his phone without the knowledge of the local authorities.”

Sonam Rabyang, 42, a monk from the Lab Monastery set himself on fire on February 8, 2012 at Triwang town, capital of Tridu in Yulshul.

Eyewitnesses had reported of that Sonam Rabyang was in serious condition when he was taken away by Chinese security personnel. For over a year, no information on his whereabouts or condition was available.

Since 2009, as many as 102 known Tibetans living under China’s rule have set themselves on fire protesting Chinese rule and demanding freedom and return of the Dalai Lama from exile. While an overwhelming majority of the self-immolators have passed away, a surviving few have reportedly suffered amputations of all limbs, verbal abuse, interrogations, and maltreatment by doctors and Chinese officials at the hospitals.

Last month, the Tibet Policy Institute, a think tank affiliated with the exile Tibetan administration in a white paper on the crisis in Tibet noted that the self-immolations were a "stark judgment of Chinese rule in Tibet."

The report titled, Why Tibet is Burning? said China’s policies of political repression, cultural assimilation, social discrimination, environment destruction, economic marginalisation were the principle reasons for Tibet’s fiery protests.

If I am not mistaken, this has to be from phayul and they are reporting crap about the self immolations again. They are always trying to make China look bad. The amputation of limbs done on the self immolators is to prevent the wounds from getting septic and causing blood poisoning to the victims. Here in this report, they make it sound like it is some torture. China could easily give the self immolators a lethal injection and put them to death instead of treating them for free but yet look at how phayul reports them. Are the Tibetans such an ungrateful and stupid bunch that they cannot see what is happening when blinded by hatred and desire? If CTA wants to be a real government, stop all the sob stories and report justly, then at least that will create the karma for them to be respected as a real government.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on February 25, 2013, 03:35:45 AM
DHARAMSHALA, February 24: Reports are coming in of yet another self-immolation in Tibet today in protest against China’s rule.

Phagmo Dhondup, a Tibetan man aged in his 20s, set himself on fire in the ancient Jhakhyung Monastery in Palung region of Tshoshar, eastern Tibet.

According to Sonam, a Tibetan living in Swiss, Phagmo Dhondup carried out his protest within the monastery premises at around 8 pm (local time).

“The monks at the Monastery have rushed Phagmo Dhondup to a nearby hospital where he is currently undergoing treatment,” Sonam told Phayul.

“At the Monastery, monks are holding a prayer service for Phagmo Dhondup.”

No additional information on his condition as well as his fiery protest is available at the time of filing this report.

Local Chinese authorities immediately stepped up security following the self-immolation and dispatched a large contingent of security personnel at Monastery, the same source said.

Phagmo Dhondup is a native of Tsaphuk town of Palung region.

He is survived by father Shawo and a sibling.

Since 2009, as many as 105 known Tibetans living under China’s rule have set themselves on fire demanding freedom and the return of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Nine self-immolations have already taken place inside Tibet since the beginning of the new year, in addition to Tibetan monk Drupchen Tsering's self-immolation protest in Kathmandu, Nepal on February 13.

The Chinese government has responded to the protests with a slew of measures resulting in a further clampdown on the fundamental rights and freedom of the Tibetan people.

Local officials have been given stern orders “to punish self-immolators and their families; even those who had offered condolences and prayers to the bereaved family members and relatives.”

China has criminalised the self-immolations and recently sentenced a Tibetan to death with a two year reprieve and several others to lengthy jail terms of up to 13 years on charges of “instigating” and “abetting” the protests.

In a statement released earlier this month, Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay, the elected head of the Tibetan people noted that the unprecedented self-immolations by an increasing number of Tibetans are the “ultimate acts of civil disobedience against China’s failed rule in Tibet.”

“Concrete steps that the leaders of the world need to take immediately are to send Ms Navi Pillay of UNHCR on a visit to Tibet and investigate the real causes of self immolations, and convene a meeting to discuss and address the crisis in Tibet,” Sikyong Sangay said.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on February 25, 2013, 03:40:48 AM
DHARAMSHALA, February 20: The exile Tibetan administration today held a two-hour prayer service at the Tsug-la Khang, the main temple in Dharamshala as part of a worldwide prayer service, the first since the toll of Tibet self-immolations crossed the tragic milestone of 100 earlier this month.

The Central Tibetan Administration earlier urged Tibetans all over the world to organise special prayer services on February 20 to “express solidarity with all those Tibetans who have self-immolated and those suffering torture and imprisonment.”

In the exile headquarters of Dharamshala, the special prayer service was presided over by Thomthog Rinpoche, the Abbot of Namgyal Monastery.

Thousands of Tibetans and supporters, including the Tibetan Chief Justice Commissioners, Speaker Penpa Tsering, Kalons, and Tibetan MPs attended the service.

Special prayers were also offered for the recent Tibetan self-immolators Lobsang Namgyal, 37; Drugpa Khar, 26; Druptse, 25; Namlha Tsering, 47; Rinchen, 17 and Sonam Dhargey, 18.

Lobsang Namgyal, a monk at the Kirti Monastery in Ngaba, eastern Tibet became the 100th Tibetan living under China’s rule to self-immolate when he set himself ablaze near the local police building in Zoege on February 3. He passed away at the scene of his protest.

According to eyewitnesses, Lobsang Namgyal, engulfed in flames, shouted slogans for the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

On February 13, exactly 100 years since His Holiness the 13th Dalai Lama declared the Tibetan Proclamation of Independence, two Tibetans, on either side of the Himalayas, torched themselves.

Drugpa Khar, a father of three set himself on fire in Amchok region of eastern Tibet and Druptse, a monk set himself ablaze near the holy stupa of Boudhanath in the heart of Nepalese capital city Kathmandu. Both of them succumbed to their injuries.

Namlha Tsering, a father of four, passed away in his fiery protest on a busy street outside a cinema hall on February 17 in Labrang region of eastern Tibet.

The two Tibetan teenagers, Rinchen and Sonam Dhargey, set themselves on fire in Kyangtsa region of Zoege, eastern Tibet on February 19. Both of them succumbed to their injuries.

Addressing the prayer service, Kalon Dolma Gyari of the Department of Home, described the self-immolations as "most tragic” and urged the international community to press China to allow independent fact-finding missions and international media to visit Tibet.

"Instead of owning up to the crisis inside Tibet, the Chinese government is baselessly pointing fingers at His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration for instigating the protests,” Kalon Gyari said.

“We maintain utmost transparency in our work and invite the Chinese government to prove its allegations.”

The Kashag (cabinet) earlier noted that despite its repeated appeals not to resort to drastic actions, since 2009, over 104 Tibetans have set themselves on fire protesting China’s continued occupation and repression and demanding freedom and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on February 26, 2013, 12:13:23 AM

Tsezung Kyab's body burns outside the Shitsang Monastery in Lhuchu, eastern Tibet, after he set himself on fire protesting China's rule on February 25, 2013.
DHARAMSHALA, February 25: In more alarming reports coming out of Tibet, another Tibetan, who is a close relative of a Tibetan self-immolator, set himself on fire today protesting China’s continued occupation of Tibet.

Tsezung Kyab, 27, torched himself in front of the main prayer hall of the Shitsang Monastery in Luchu region of eastern Tibet at around 1:30 pm (local time). He passed away at his protest site, the same place where his cousin Pema Dorjee, 23, passed away in his self-immolation protest on December 8, 2012.

At the time of filing this report, additional details on today’s protest are awaited.

This is the second self-immolation protest in Tibet in as many days. Yesterday, Phagmo Dhondup, a Tibetan in his 20’s set himself ablaze near the Jhakhyung Monastery in Palung region of eastern Tibet. His condition and whereabouts are not known.

Today is Choenga Choepa (Butter Lamp Festival), the 15th day of the first month of Tibetan new year considered auspicious by Tibetans for performing religious rituals.

According to Lhamo Kyab, a Tibetan living in Dharamshala, Tsezung Kyab is the first cousin of Tibetan self-immolator Pema Dorjee.

“Tsezung Kyab made the ultimate sacrifice for Tibet little more than two months after his cousin Pema Dorjee passed away in his fiery protest at almost the same place,” Lhamo said. “Their mothers are real sisters.”


Tibetan self-immolator Tsezung Kyab, February 25, 2013..
In a photo sent to Phayul by the same source, the body of Tsezung Kyab can be seen engulfed in towering flames. Despite strict government orders against public display of solidarity with the self-immolators, several people can be seen surrounding the deceased’s body.

Pema Dorjee set himself on fire on December 8, 2012 outside the Shitsang Monastery raising slogans for the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, independence of Tibet, unity among Tibetans and for the land of Tibet to be ruled by Tibetans.

Timing his protest on Gaden Ngamchoe, the day marked as the Parinirvana of Je Tsongkhapa, the great 14th century Tibetan Buddhist master, a large number of gathered Tibetans had witnessed his protest.

The unprecedented wave of Tibet self-immolations has witnessed 106 Tibetans living under China’s rule set themselves on fire since 2009. The self-immolators have demanded the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile and freedom in Tibet.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on February 27, 2013, 11:35:48 PM
Breaking: Monk torches self in Ngaba, Toll rises to 107
Phayul[Tuesday, February 26, 2013 16:16]
DHARAMSHALA, February 26: In confirmed reports coming out of Tibet, a monk set himself on fire yesterday in Ngaba region of eastern Tibet in protest against China’s continued occupation of Tibet.

Sangdag, a monk of the Dhiphu Monastery, set himself ablaze on a main road in Ngaba district at around 10 am (local time).

According to the exile base of Kirti Monastery in Dharamshala, Sangdag’s present condition is unknown.

“Soon after Sangdag carried out his fiery protest, Chinese security personnel arrived at the scene and doused the flames on his body,” Kirti Monastery said in a release today. “He was taken a hospital in Ngaba but shortly after that the Chinese police bundled him away to another place.”

The release added that details of Sangdag’s self-immolation protest and his current condition and whereabouts are not available.

The Dhiphu Gon Gelek Terzoe Ling Monastery, founded by Dhiphu Choeje, currently has around 500 monks.

Also yesterday, another Tibetan, Tsezung Kyab, 27, passed away in his self-immolation protest in front of the Shitsang Monastery in Luchu region of eastern Tibet. The large number of Tibetans who were taking part in religious rituals at the Monastery surrounded Tsezung Kyab’s body and rescued it from falling into the hands of Chinese security personnel.

Since 2009, as many as 107 known Tibetans living under China’s rule have self-immolated demanding the return of Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile and freedom in Tibet.

11 Tibetans have self-immolated since the beginning of this year with eight of those fiery protests occurring in February.

Last month, the Tibet Policy Institute, a think tank affiliated with the exile Tibetan administration in a white paper on the crisis in Tibet noted that the self-immolations were a "stark judgment of Chinese rule in Tibet."

The report titled, Why Tibet is Burning? said China’s policies of political repression, cultural assimilation, social discrimination, environment destruction, economic marginalisation were the principle reasons for Tibet’s fiery protests.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on February 27, 2013, 11:38:26 PM
China arrests five more Tibetans on self-immolation charges
Phayul[Wednesday, February 27, 2013 23:36]
DHARAMSHALA, February 27: Chinese police in eastern Tibet have arrested five more Tibetans for the alleged roles in convincing three people to set themselves on fire.

Those arrested have been identified as Dhargey, Samten, Tashi Gyatso, Tenpei Gyalpo, and Tensang.

Chinese state news agency Xinhua today said that one of the main suspects “acted under the instructions” of members of the Tibetan Youth Congress, the largest pro-independence group in exile and journalists of the US based broadcaster, Voice of America.

“After each incident, Karong Takchen (Dhargey) and other suspects were on the spot to take photos and send them abroad,” the report cited the police as saying.

The five arrested have been blamed for “recruiting and encouraging” the self-immolation protests of Dorjee Rinchen, Thubwang Kyab, and Gonpo Tsering.

However, on January 31, a Chinese court in eastern Tibet had already sentenced six Tibetans to heavy jail terms of up to 12 years for their alleged roles in Dorjee Rinchen’s self-immolation protest.

Dorjee Rinchen, 57, set himself on fire in Labrang region of eastern Tibet on October 23, 2012. He carried out his protest near the local PLA recruiting center in Labrang and succumbed to his injuries at the scene.

Thubwang Kyab, 23, torched his body on the main street of Sangkog town in Sangchu on October 26, 2012 protesting China’s continued occupation of Tibet.

Gonpo Tsering, 19, self-immolated in Lushoe village in Tsoe region of eastern Tibet on November 10, 2012 raising slogans demanding freedom for Tibetans and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

VoA has already dismissed China’s charges of its involvement in the self-immolations, calling them “totally false” and “absurd.” VoA Director David Ensor further called on Chinese official news agencies to “retract” their stories linking the US based broadcaster to the fiery protests.

TYC has also rejected China’s allegations as “baseless and fallacious” and instead called on the Chinese leaders to pay heed to the demands of the self-immolators.

Earlier this month, Chinese authorities in the Malho region of Tibet arrested 70 “criminal suspects” in connection with a “string of self-immolations that have occurred since November 2012.” Several other Tibetans have also been arrested on similar charges.

Dharamshala based rights group Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said China’s criminalisation of the self-immolations as “murder” is a “highly condemnable” misuse of legal provisions for fulfilling political objectives.

“The Chinese government needs to seriously address the real causes of self-immolation protests; it needs to acknowledge that the burning protests are a direct result of its destructive policies,” TCHRD said.

The United Nations, European Union, the United States, Canada, and United Kingdom have issued strong public statements blaming China’s policies for exacerbating the situation in Tibet and urged Beijing to address the grievances of the Tibetan people.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on March 01, 2013, 05:12:52 AM
Another one in Nepal. The self immolation bug seems to have reached Nepal too. Note that the report is meant to provoke sympathy for the self immolator and the Tibetans.

Quote
Nepali police arrest four Tibetans, Continue to hold Druptse’s body
Phayul[Thursday, February 28, 2013 23:38]

([url]http://phayul.com/images/news/articles/130301041919R2.jpg[/url])
Tibetan self-immolator Drupchen Tsering in an undated photo.

DHARAMSHALA, February 28: Four Tibetans, including two elderly women, were arrested yesterday in Kathmandu by Nepali police on unknown charges.

The arrests came exactly two weeks after a Tibetan monk, Drupchen Tsering (Druptse) set himself on fire protesting China’s occupation of Tibet in the Nepali capital on February 13. He passed away at a local hospital hours after his protest.

Nepali authorities, despite repeated appeals by local Tibetans, are still holding the body.

The four Tibetans, identified as Sonam Dhondup, 35, Jigme, 35, Tenzin Yangchen, 60, and Tsering, 65, were arrested near the hospital.

Sources tell Phayul that the four were shifted to the Hanumandhoka prison, the biggest in the city, earlier today.

“They could well be kept in custody for no plausible crime until March 10, the Tibetan National Uprising Day,” a Tibetan activist in Kathmandu who didn’t wish to be named said.

The same source added that the situation in the city is “extremely tense” and the area near the hospital where Druptse’s body is being kept has been turned into a fortress.

“Fears over the arrest of local Tibetan leaders and activists over the next few days is very real,” the source said.

Nepalese authorities have maintained that Druptse’s body can legally be handed over only to his parents, family members related in blood or official diplomatic representatives. If these options are not met within 35 days, authorities say they will have legal right over the body.

Druptse had only in January escaped from Tibet and was staying in Kathmandu.

Moments before setting himself on fire near the holy Boudhanath stupa, Druptse had expressed his love for the “beautiful land” of Tibet to a foreigner.

The foreigner, speaking to Dharamshala based rights group, Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy later recalled that Druptse was “very calm.”

“We arrived at Galleria cafe in Boudanath around 8:15 am. We were to have our breakfast, when a young Tibetan guy, probably between 20-25 years old, came forward to speak to us. He then spoke about Tibet and said that it is a beautiful land and he loved it so much,” said the eyewitness.

Before Durptse left the cafe, he discreetly took out a lighter and asked the eyewitness to take his pictures.

The eyewitness, who had no idea that Druptse was going to self-immolate, said that although “everything happened so fast, but he was very calm."

"I heard a large noise, of people screaming and running away. He was running to the right, engulfed in flames. He didn't scream. The moment lasted around three minutes. Soon, people took out their jackets and sweaters to put out the fire.”

Druptse, 25, had doused his body with gasoline before setting himself ablaze. He passed away on the same day after suffering 96 percent burns.

Druptse is survived by his mother Tselha and father Sangnag Tenzin, who is a reincarnated lama. He is a native of Gyalchung village in Nupsur town of Serta, eastern Tibet.

Druptse earlier told his friends and relatives that he had not been able to do anything for the Tibetan caus
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: beggar on March 01, 2013, 10:13:05 AM
Wow, I've just realised that this thread has reached 10 pages.

I've had a read through all the news reports that you've all kindly shared here and what strikes me most is that there is hardly any sound from the Tibetan exiled community or government. Why do they have nothing to say on the subject? The self-immolators are doing all this for the sake of getting their country back - this is therefore for the "benefit" of the exiled Tibetan community too  (more so with these immolations happening within Nepal now). So why have the Dalai Lama and CTA remained so silent on the issue?

Or are they actually glad that these immolations are happening? That there is so much "sacrifice" on their behalf in defiance towards China? Are they perhaps encouraging it by remaining silent?

Surely acts like these are not in accordance with the Dharma - so why does that Dalai Lama not say anything to his people? All it would take is one line from him, to say that engaging in acts like these would be to break samaya with their spiritual leader (himself). The Tibetans would surely listen to this out of such reverence for the Dalai Lama. To engage in the practice of Dorje Shugden is to break samaya, but to kill oneself does not? Why is there so much upheaval over issues like the karmapa and Dorje Shugden, but only silence after over 100 people have set themselves on fire? Does the Dalai Lama and the CTA not worry that their own people are killing themselves? And if so, why are they not doing anything to try to stop it, even as there is astounding evidence that this 'trend' is spreading outwards out of China and into their own exiled communities?


Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on March 02, 2013, 12:28:28 AM
DHARAMSHALA, February 28: Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay, the elected head of the Tibetan people, has blamed China’s occupation and repression of the Tibetan people for the ongoing wave of self-immolations in Tibet.

He was testifying before the Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the Canadian Parliament on February 26 in Ottawa.

Since 2009, as many as 107 known Tibetans living under China’s rule have set themselves on fire protesting China’s occupation and demanding freedom and the return on exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

“Tibetans are saying occupation is unacceptable and repression is unbearable,” Sikyong Sangay said describing the unprecedented numbers of self-immolations.

“There is political repression, economic marginalisation, environmental destruction, cultural assimilation, and denial of religious freedom (in Tibet) ... There is no space for any kind of protest and there is no freedom of speech for Tibetans. Hence tragically and sadly, they are resorting to self-immolation.”

The de facto Tibetan prime minister, while noting that the exile Tibetan administration has made repeated calls to Tibetans inside Tibet not to resort to self-immolation, said that Tibetans are bound by duty to honour the sacrifices.

“As Buddhist or person of faith, we pray for all those who have died, including the self-immolators. And as a Tibetan, we support the aspiration of the Tibetan people inside Tibet including the self-immolators.”

Sikyong Sangay categorically denied China’s allegations of blaming Tibetans in exile for instigating the protests, calling them “baseless.”

“There is not even a shred of evidence as far as these allegations are concerned and we have welcomed the Chinese government to come to Dharamshala to see our files and look for evidence if there is any,” he said. “In reality, the blame and solution lies with Beijing.”

The Tibetan political leader reiterated his administration’s stance of Middle Way Approach, which seeks genuine autonomy within the framework of the Chinese constitution, and renewed calls for negotiations for the peaceful resolution of the Tibetan issue.

“We will continue to subscribe and believe in these principles. So we seek the support from friends like you who believe in freedom, who believe in democracy, that the Chinese government ought to enter into dialogue to solve the issue of Tibet peacefully.”

Sikyong Sangay also thanked Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism and the Canadian government for allowing one thousand visas to Tibetans living in Arunachal Pradesh state of India to migrate to Canada.

He reported that the exile Tibetan administration has done the selection of around 900 Tibetans.

The Dalai Lama was presented with honourary Canadian citizenship in 2006.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on March 02, 2013, 12:33:41 AM

China sentences three Tibetans up to 15 years for self-immolation “crimes”


DHARAMSHALA, March 2: A Chinese court in eastern Tibet has passed down heavy prison terms of up to 15 years to three Tibetans for their “crimes” relating to the ongoing wave of self-immolations in Tibet.

An official Chinese newspaper in Kanlho region reported that a court in Luchu carried out the rulings on Thursday.

The court sentenced Lhamo Dorjee to 15 years in prison, Kalsang Sonam to 11 years, and Tsesang Kyab to 10 years on charges of “intentional homicide.”

According to US based Radio Free Asia, the court hearing was “largely a closed door affair” and was held “under tight security” as opposed to China’s earlier claims of open trials attended by relatives of the accused.

"The trial was conducted quietly with a huge presence of security forces in and around the Kanlho Prefecture court. The Tibetans were barred from coming close to the court premises," the radio service quoted a Tibetan source as saying.

Although details of the court ruling are not available, it was earlier reported that nine Tibetans were standing trial on the same day in connection with the self-immolation protest of Tsering Namgyal.

Phayul had earlier reported on the arrest of eight Tibetans, including a family member of Tsering Namgyal, for sharing information with outsiders.

The eight arrested Tibetans have been identified as Kalsang Samdup, Nyima, Lhamo Dhundup, Dorjee Dhundup, Kalsang Kyab, Kalsang Sonam, Kalsang Namdren, and Sonam Kyi.

Tsering Namgyal, 31, succumbed to his injuries after setting himself on fire near a local Chinese government office in Luchu on November 29, 2012. He is survived by his wife Choekyong Tso, their two children, Dorjee Kyi, 7, and Kalsang Dolma, 3, and his parents.

In the past few months, Chinese courts have carried out a number of rushed hearings and sentenced a Tibetan monk to death with a two-year reprieve and several others to lengthy jails terms.

Following the court rulings, the New York based global rights group, Human Rights Watch had demanded the immediate release of the jailed Tibetans arguing that their conviction “relied solely on confessions they gave during five months in detention.”

“These prosecutions are utterly without credibility,” HRW said. “The Chinese government seems to think it can stop self-immolation by punishing anyone who talks about it. But in pursuing these ‘incitement’ cases, the government compounds the tragedy of these suicide protests.”??

HRW noted that it has documented “endemic use of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and coercion of Tibetans in detention.”

“Self-immolations take place in the context of the Chinese government’s long-standing repressive policies in the Tibetan areas that have seen severe restrictions on Tibetans’ rights,” the rights group had said.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: samayakeeper on March 02, 2013, 01:59:01 AM
I hope with this it will send a message to people that dialogue after dialogue is a better way to resolve differences rather than taking such actions that harm self and others. Sure, a person has his own rights and justifications but why resort to violence?

People's minds are really degenerating that harmful actions such as self immolation are carried out for their voices to be heard. Then there are those who impose rules that hurt others and create much hardship and suffering on the innocents just because the innocents are quietly doing Dorje Shugden practices.

Such people have turned Buddhism into NOT what Buddha taught.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on March 02, 2013, 03:25:50 AM
Well, the most western media can do about the self immolations is this:

Quote
Situation clearly worsening in Tibet: UK
Phayul[Friday, March 01, 2013 23:55]
DHARAMSHALA, March 1: The United Kingdom expressed its deep concern over the self-immolation protests inside Tibet and said the human rights situation in the region is “clearly worsening.”

Senior Minister of State, Department for Communities and Local Government & Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Baroness Warsi told the British parliament that the UK “regularly raises” its concerns with the Chinese authorities.

“Of course, I have real concern about the tragic cases of self-immolation,” Baroness Warsi said. “Tragically, those who die do so at great loss to their communities and families, but those who survive end up suffering for many years with very little treatment. It is a matter that we continue to raise.”

Answering queries raised by members of the British House of Lords earlier this week, she noted that Tibet was discussed at the last round of the annual UK-China human rights dialogue in January 2012. However, she conceded that this year’s round of dialogue “is now overdue and that officials have been in contact with each other with a view to try to fix a date for further discussions.”

The Senior Minister encouraged all concerned parties to work for the resumption of substantive dialogue as a means to address Tibetan concerns and to relieve tensions.

“We are concerned about the lack of meaningful dialogue to address the underlying grievances against a clearly worsening situation,” Baroness Warsi said.

“We continue to encourage all parties to work for a resumption of substantive dialogue as a means to address the Tibetan concerns and to relieve tensions. Of course, we continue to make the case to China that any economic progress can be sustained only if there is social progress as well.”

In response to a question concerning the fate of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama, she said her government has made representations with the Chinese government. Soon after the Dalai Lama recognised the 11th Panchen Lama in 1995, China abducted him and replaced him another boy. The whereabouts of Gendun Choekyi Nyima and his parents remain unknown till this day.

“Indeed, I think his name appeared on a specific list that was handed over during one of the UK-China human rights dialogues,” Baroness Warsi said. “We have also put forward the idea of him being allowed access to an independent organisation that could assess his current health and whereabouts.”

Briton Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire in a statement last year called on China to allow diplomatic access to Tibet and urging Beijing to resume “meaningful dialogue” with Tibetan representatives.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on March 03, 2013, 04:21:03 AM
Situation clearly worsening in Tibet: UK

DHARAMSHALA, March 1: The United Kingdom expressed its deep concern over the self-immolation protests inside Tibet and said the human rights situation in the region is “clearly worsening.”

Senior Minister of State, Department for Communities and Local Government & Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Baroness Warsi told the British parliament that the UK “regularly raises” its concerns with the Chinese authorities.

“Of course, I have real concern about the tragic cases of self-immolation,” Baroness Warsi said. “Tragically, those who die do so at great loss to their communities and families, but those who survive end up suffering for many years with very little treatment. It is a matter that we continue to raise.”

Answering queries raised by members of the British House of Lords earlier this week, she noted that Tibet was discussed at the last round of the annual UK-China human rights dialogue in January 2012. However, she conceded that this year’s round of dialogue “is now overdue and that officials have been in contact with each other with a view to try to fix a date for further discussions.”

The Senior Minister encouraged all concerned parties to work for the resumption of substantive dialogue as a means to address Tibetan concerns and to relieve tensions.

“We are concerned about the lack of meaningful dialogue to address the underlying grievances against a clearly worsening situation,” Baroness Warsi said.

“We continue to encourage all parties to work for a resumption of substantive dialogue as a means to address the Tibetan concerns and to relieve tensions. Of course, we continue to make the case to China that any economic progress can be sustained only if there is social progress as well.”

In response to a question concerning the fate of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama, she said her government has made representations with the Chinese government. Soon after the Dalai Lama recognised the 11th Panchen Lama in 1995, China abducted him and replaced him another boy. The whereabouts of Gendun Choekyi Nyima and his parents remain unknown till this day.

“Indeed, I think his name appeared on a specific list that was handed over during one of the UK-China human rights dialogues,” Baroness Warsi said. “We have also put forward the idea of him being allowed access to an independent organisation that could assess his current health and whereabouts.”

Briton Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire in a statement last year called on China to allow diplomatic access to Tibet and urging Beijing to resume “meaningful dialogue” with Tibetan representatives.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on March 05, 2013, 12:22:15 AM
Kirti Rinpoche: If we don’t act, who will?


Kirti Rinpoche addressing the Tibetan community members in Jona, Switzerland on March 3, 2013.
DHARAMSHALA, March 4: The exiled chief abbot of a Tibetan monastery at the centre of a wave of self-immolations called on Tibetans in exile to take responsibility as Tibet continues to burn in protest against China’s occupation.

Kyabje Kirti Rinpoche, the head of Kirti monastic community, was speaking to Tibetans in Switzerland on Sunday.

“Tibetans in Tibet are looking to the exile community for help,” Rinpoche said. “Therefore, if we don’t act, who will respond to their cry for help?”

The former minister in the exile Tibetan administration is currently on a three weeklong visit of Europe to talk about the situation in Tibet, particularly in Ngaba region, where almost 40 self-immolations have taken place since 2009.

He blamed 60 years of China’s oppressive rule and policies aimed at destroying Tibetan religion, culture, environment, and language for the ongoing wave of self-immolations and protests inside Tibet.

“Wherever there is oppression, there is rebellion,” Rinpoche said quoting China’s paramount leader Mao Tsetung. This is what we are witnessing in Tibet today he added.

Kirti Rinpoche noted that the drastic situation, particularly in Ngaba region is an outburst of three generations of suffering under China’s rule. The septuagenarian recalled that Tibetans in Ngaba had first faced communist China’s onslaught when Mao’s Long March plundered the entire region in 1935 leading to the first case of famine in Tibet.

The sufferings continued with the horrors of the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s and to the past more than one decade with the intensification of patriotic re-education campaigns and the harsh crackdown on the peaceful protests of 2008.

On February 27, 2009, Tabey a 27 year-old-monk of the Kirti Monastery became the first known Tibetan inside Tibet to self-immolate. Chinese security personnel instead of putting out the fire shot him and since then his whereabouts remain known.

More than a year later, on March 16, 2011, Lobsang Phuntsok, 20, a monk at the same monastery set himself on fire, beginning in earnest, the ongoing wave of self-immolations which has now witnessed 107 Tibetans living under China’s rule torch themselves.

On Saturday, Rinpoche also presided over a special prayer service for Tibetan self-immolators and their family members at Rikon Monastery.

As part of the lobbying tour, Rinpoche will visit Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Germany, and United Kingdom.

In Brussels from March 7-11, Rinpoche will meet with European Union and Belgian government officials and will address the March 10 European Solidarity Rally for Tibet. He will also speak on the self-immolations and current crisis in Tibet on March 8.

Kirti Rinpoche has lived in India since he followed the Dalai Lama into exile at the time of the Tibet Uprising in March, 1959. He was recognised and enthroned as the reincarnation of the Tenth Kirti Rinpoche in 1946.

In 1984, as a Representative of the Central Tibetan Administration, Rinpoche visited Tibet and China, where he met many Chinese dignitaries and high Tibetan lamas including the 10th Panchen Lama.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on March 05, 2013, 07:05:39 AM
And this is what happens to the relatives of self immolators...

Quote
China jail Tibetan self-immolator’s uncle
Phayul[Tuesday, March 05, 2013 09:15]

([url]http://phayul.com/images/thumb.aspx?src=1303050918010Z.jpg[/url])
Yarphel in an undated photo.

DHARAMSHALA, March 5: An uncle of a Tibetan self-immolator has been sentenced to 15 months in jail for his “crime” of carrying a photo of his nephew during the latter’s funeral procession in Rebkong, eastern Tibet.

After a month-long detention in police custody, Yarphel, 42, was sentenced in a closed-door trial in the afternoon of March 1, exile sources say.

Yarphel is the uncle of Tibetan self-immolator Dorjee Lhundup.

He was charged with indulging in “illegal activities,” which included carrying pictures of Dorjee Lhundup during a non-violent procession when monks and lay Tibetans carried the ashes of Dorjee Lhundup to his home village.

Earlier in February, local Chinese security personnel summoned Yarphel along with Drayang, both monks of the Yershong Monastery in Rebkong. After long hours of interrogation, Yarphel was detained while Drayang, who is chronically ill, was sent off.

Following his arrest, Monastic authorities and family members made repeated appeals for his release but to no avail.

Till date, Yarphel was kept in a local prison in Dragmar but he is now likely to be shifted to another prison to serve his sentence.

Yarphel is the son of Lubum Gyal and a native of Dragkar Dewa. He was also a teacher at the Yershong monastery.

Dorjee Lhundup, 25, set himself ablaze on November 4, 2012 at one of the busiest crossroads in Rongwo town of Rebkong in eastern Tibet, days before the Chinese communist party’s 18th Party Congress in Beijing. He passed away at the protest site.

Father of a four-year-old son and two-year-old daughter, Dorjee Lhundup called for freedom in Tibet and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile, while engulfed in flames.

Thousands of local Tibetans gathered later that day, when Dorjee Lhundup was laid to rest at Dhongya-lay cremation site behind the Rongwo Monastery.

Since 2009, 107 Tibetans have set themselves on fire, protesting China’s continued occupation and demanding freedom in Tibet and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on March 08, 2013, 05:53:10 AM
Here's an example of a western article that supports the self immolations and completely ignores the evidence that China found that CTA is behind it. But what can these articles do? Nothing much. The world is looking away because you cannot trick the world twice.

Quote
Tibet’s future
The limits of despair

Five years after an explosion of unrest on the Tibetan plateau, the region is again in crisis. This time the world is looking away

Mar 9th 2013 | DHARAMSALA, INDIA AND QINGHAI PROVINCE, CHINA |From the print edition


INSIDE a small monastery in China’s Qinghai province, a red-robed monk looks around to see if he is being watched, then begins sobbing. “We just want the Dalai Lama to come home”, he says. His words echo those of dozens of Tibetans seeking to explain why they have set themselves on fire in public places across the Tibetan plateau in the past two years. Desperation is growing among the Dalai Lama’s followers in China. So, too, is the government’s effort to silence them.

Since an outbreak of unrest swept the Tibetan plateau five years ago this month, including anti-Chinese riots in the Tibetan capital Lhasa and protests in numerous towns and monasteries, the party has tried to control Tibetan discontent by means of carrot and stick. The stick has involved tighter policing of monasteries, controls on visits to Lhasa, denunciations of the Dalai Lama and arrests of dissidents. The carrot is visible not far from the crying monk’s monastery: new expressways across the vast grasslands, new roads to remote villages, better housing for monks and restorations to their prayer-halls. Yet the spectacle of more than 100 Tibetans setting themselves alight, mostly in the past two years, in one of the largest such protests in modern political history, suggests that neither approach is working.

Despite, or perhaps because of, intense crackdowns in the affected areas of the Tibetan plateau, the burnings in recent months have spread across a wider area (the plateau is one-third the size of America) and involved more people without links to monasteries. The government’s growing worry is evident in the intense security in the worst-affected areas, mostly in Tibetan-populated parts of the provinces of Sichuan and Qinghai, as well as in Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). Since last year the government has begun rounding up those deemed to have encouraged Tibetans to burn themselves. Dozens have been detained. Several have been jailed for terms ranging from a few months to life.

All of the TAR, as well as trouble spots in neighbouring provinces, are off limits to most foreign journalists. But tension is palpable even in the few areas that remain accessible. During celebrations of the Tibetan new year in late February, at least three fire engines were parked inside Kumbum monastery compound near Xining, the capital of Qinghai. Dozens of police with extinguishers and fire blankets stood among the crowds of pilgrims and holidaymakers. West of Xining in Hainan prefecture, a Tibetan-majority area about the size of Switzerland, no one has been reported to have set themselves on fire. But the authorities are worried. In November hundreds of medical students protested in Gonghe county against the circulation of a government leaflet disparaging the immolators and the Dalai Lama. Residents say the police used tear-gas to break up a demonstration in the county town and arrested several participants. The prefectural authorities called the demonstration “illegal” and demanded that young people in Hainan form a (metaphorical) “wall of copper and rampart of iron against splittism, infiltration and self-immolations”.

Though most minority groups live fairly peacefully under Chinese rule (see article), the Tibetans cite many reasons for the renewed unrest: the continuing influx of ethnic-Han migrants (encouraged by huge government investment in transport infrastructure); environmental damage caused by mining and construction; the marginalisation of the Tibetan language in schools. The ageing of the Dalai Lama (he is 77) and his announcement in 2011 that he was retiring as head of Tibet’s government-in-exile in India are also factors. A growing sense that this incarnation of the Dalai Lama might not have much longer is fuelling demands for his return to the land that he fled after a failed uprising in 1959.

Too long in exile

“[In] this life…service at least in the field of Tibetan struggle now already end”, says the Dalai Lama in his halting English in the Indian town of Dharamsala that is his home. He is now, he says, devoting himself to the promotion of religious harmony and a dialogue between Buddhism and modern science. China is not convinced. Robert Barnett of Columbia University says that in recent weeks Chinese officials have increasingly accused the “Dalai Lama clique” of organising the burnings.


Mr Barnett says it is possible that China will try to defuse the tensions by reopening talks with the Dalai Lama’s representatives. There have been no such meetings since January 2010, when the two sides reached an impasse over differences relating to the envoys’ call for “genuine autonomy” for Tibet, while accepting that it remain part of China. (Other Tibetans in India still want independence, a cause of dispute among the exiles.) Chinese officials denounce even the compromise of autonomy as a scheme for achieving full independence. Among China’s other concerns is a proposal that Tibet be defined as the TAR plus the Tibetan-inhabited areas of neighbouring provinces, an area one quarter the size of China (see map).

Sleeping demon

The Dalai Lama’s retirement could make a resumption of talks more difficult. In August 2011, after winning an election in which nearly 50,000 Tibetan exiles voted, Lobsang Sangay, a Harvard academic, took over as head of the exiled government and assumed the political role once played by the Dalai Lama (“now demon peacefully sleeping”, the holy man quips, referring to a word he says Chinese officials have used to describe him). Mr Sangay says that China can still hold talks if it wants with the Dalai Lama’s representatives. But those envoys resigned in June, citing the “deteriorating situation” in Tibet and China’s failure to “respond positively” to autonomy proposals. Among the powers Mr Sangay has taken on is the right to appoint the envoys’ successors, who have yet to be chosen. This will make China wary of beginning talks, for fear of conferring legitimacy on the new exile administration.

Some Tibetans in India see a glimmer of hope in China’s ten-yearly change of leadership which will be completed with the appointments of Xi Jinping as president and Li Keqiang as prime minister shortly before the end of the annual session of China’s parliament, the National People’s Congress, on March 17th (see article). Mr Xi’s predecessor, Hu Jintao, was party chief in Tibet during an outbreak of unrest in the late 1980s which he resolutely suppressed (just as he suppressed the far bigger eruption in 2008). Mr Xi, goes the thinking, could be different. In the 1950s the Dalai Lama got to know Mr Xi’s late father, Xi Zhongxun, who was one of Mao Zedong’s comrades. The elder Xi received a watch from the Dalai Lama, which he wore long after the flight to India. If the father had a soft spot for the Dalai Lama, optimists think, so might the son.

In recent months the birthplace of the Dalai Lama in Hongya village, about 30km (20 miles) south-east of Kumbum monastery, has been given a makeover, though no one is sure why. Despite a crackdown on Dalai Lama worship elsewhere on the plateau, visitors to the grey-walled compound can see photographs of him, as well as a golden throne intended for him to sit on should he ever return. A caretaker says money for the recent improvements (including new bricks and a coat of paint) came from the government. She says foreigners are not allowed inside, but gladly shows around a group of Tibetan pilgrims who have driven hundreds of kilometres to see the site. But exiled officials are unimpressed and the Dalai Lama is cautious. “Better to wait till some concrete things happen, otherwise…some disappointment”, he says with a chuckle.

Indeed, disappointment still appears likely. Mr Xi is under little pressure from other countries to change Chinese policy on Tibet. The unrest in 2008 broke out as China was preparing to host the Olympic games. It wanted the event to mark the country’s emergence as an open-minded world power. Despite that, it cracked down hard on the protests, but in a concession to international demands, resumed talks with the Dalai Lama’s representatives less than two months later. Two rounds were held before the games started, but with no obvious progress.

Since 2008 the West’s economic malaise has made China even less amenable to foreign persuasion on Tibet. Britain, hoping to reduce China’s prickliness on the issue, announced in October that year that it was abandoning its century-old policy (unique among Western countries) of merely recognising China’s “suzerainty” over the region rather than its sovereignty. It has reaped no obvious reward. Britain’s relations with China were plunged into a prolonged chill by a meeting last May between the Dalai Lama and the British prime minister, David Cameron. Global Times, a Beijing newspaper, said last month that China had “more leverage than Britain” in the two countries’ relations, adding with some justification: “Few countries can afford to really be tough against China.”

One nation indivisible

Mr Xi faces little pressure from public or elite opinion inside China, other than to maintain a firm grip. Some Chinese intellectuals have questioned whether the government’s heavy-handedness in Tibet will bring about long-lasting stability. A small but seemingly growing number of Han Chinese, the country’s ethnic majority, are attracted by Tibetan Buddhism (Han visitors to Kumbum Monastery thronged around its statues and clasped their hands in prayer during the recent festivities). But concessions to the Dalai Lama on autonomy have little support in China.

Few observers expect any relaxation of what seems to be a stepped-up effort to stop Tibetans fleeing to India. Before 2008, 2,000-3,000 a year were doing so. This fell to a few hundred after the unrest that year. A new refugee centre opened in Dharamsala in 2011, with American funding and the capacity for 500 people. In 2012 fewer than 400 escaped. At the beginning of March only two people—a couple from a Tibetan area of Sichuan province—were there. Before they left their village, they had to sign a document saying they would not go to India. For Tibetans, even visiting Lhasa needs a permit. Last year hundreds were detained, some of them for months, after returning from legal trips to India in which they surreptitiously attended teachings by the Dalai Lama in Bodh Gaya, a holy Buddhist site.

Heavy security in Tibet, including riot police patrolling the streets of Lhasa, may help prevent another plateau-wide explosion like that of 2008. But the sight of Tibetans setting themselves on fire, and official attempts to denigrate them, are deepening the region’s wounds. Little chance of resolution is in sight. The weeping monk recalls that, after an earthquake in 2010 in Qinghai’s Yushu county, officials asked some victims what they needed. They replied that they just wanted the Dalai Lama back. “They can control us,” the monk says, “but they can’t control our hearts.”


Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on March 10, 2013, 02:17:44 PM
And now, more propaganda from the US about the self immolations.

Quote
Tibet increasingly identified with self-immolations: Secretary Kerry
Phayul[Saturday, March 09, 2013 20:00]

([url]http://phayul.com/images/thumb.aspx?src=130309083631O8.jpg[/url])
Tibetan writer and activist Tsering Woeser waving from the balcony of her home in Beijing on Friday. (Photo/AP)

DHARAMSHALA, March 9: Tsering Woeser, the Tibetan writer and activist, was awarded in absentia the 2013 International Women of Courage Award by the First Lady Michelle Obama and US Secretary of State John Kerry in a formal function held at the State Department on Friday.

Woeser is currently under house arrest and has been repeatedly denied passport by the Chinese government.

Secretary John Kerry, while awarding the prize to Woeser, said, “for courageously striving to improve human rights conditions for China’s Tibetan citizens by illuminating their plight through her writings, and thus giving eloquent voice to those whose stories might otherwise never be heard, Tsering Woeser is a woman of courage.”

Secretary Kerry noted that Tibet has become “increasingly identified with self-immolations and protests against the deteriorating human rights condition” of Tibetans.

“Against this backdrop, Tsering Woeser has emerged as a clarion voice of the people, even as the Chinese Government has worked to curtail the flow of information from Tibet. Through her website, called Invisible Tibet, her poetry, her nonfiction works, her savvy use of communication networks like Twitter, Tsering has bravely documented the situation around her,” Secretary Kerry said.

“She says that “to bear witness is to give voice,” and that is what she is doing for the millions of Tibetans who cannot speak for themselves. And she has vowed to never give up or compromise.”

In her remarks, First Lady Michelle Obama said, "This is not an honor bestowed on a few but a call for action to all of us." "These honorees ... have shown the potential to stand up and demand action for the next generation." "With every blog post these women have inspired millions," she added.

Woeser had earlier dedicated the award to the Tibetan self-immolators, numbering 107, who have set themselves on fire protesting China’s occupation and demanding freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama from exile.

Beijing reacted sharply to the honour bestowed on Woeser, accusing her of distorting facts about Tibet.

"Woeser has frequently published articles distorting facts about Tibet that vilify China's ethnic policies, incite ethnic separatist feelings, and destroy China's ethnic unity," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a daily news briefing Friday.

"The United States giving this kind of person an award is the same as public support for her separatist speech, and clearly violates its frequent promises to recognise Tibet as part of China."

Since 2007, the International Women of Courage Award has been presented in recognition of women around the globe who have demonstrated courage and leadership, often at great personal risk, to promote justice and rights. Tsering Woeser is among ten awardees this year.

Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on March 17, 2013, 03:10:19 AM
Another monk has done it again :(

Quote
Breaking: Kirti monk marks March 16 with self-immolation, Toll rises to 108
Phayul[Saturday, March 16, 2013 23:56]

([url]http://phayul.com/images/thumb.aspx?src=130317024525AR.jpg[/url])
Tibetan self-immolator Lobsang Thokmey.

DHARAMSHALA, March 16: A Tibetan monk in Ngaba region of eastern Tibet has become the 108th Tibetan living under China’s rule to self-immolate, marking five years since the 2008 peaceful protests in the region.

Lobsang Thokmey, 28, a monk at the Kirti Monastety set himself on fire today at around 2:40 pm (local time). He passed away in his protest.

According to the Dharamshala based Kirti Monastery, Lobsang Thokmey doused his body with kerosene in front of his monastic quarters in the west of the Kirti Monastery and started running towards the east.

“Lobsang Thokmey was in flames as he began running with the Buddhist flag in his hands,” the Kirti Monastery said in a release. “Before he could reach the main gate, he fell on the ground.”

Monks and people gathered at the scene of the protest carried Lobsang Thokmey to the local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

“A large number of Chinese security personnel arrived at the hospital soon after Lobsang Thokmey was admitted and later forcibly took away the deceased’s body to the regional headquarters of Barkham,” the same source said.

It is not yet known what slogans Lobsang Thokmey raised during his self-immolation protest.

He is survived by his parents Rogtrug and Depo and one sister and three brothers.

Lobsang Thokmey became a monk at the Kirti Monastery at a young age and was currently enrolled in the pharchin class.

“His conduct was excellent and he was very diligent in his studies,” the Kirti Monastery recalled contacts as saying.

On March 16, 2008, around 28 Tibetans were shot dead on a single day by Chinese security forces during the peaceful protest in Ngaba as part of the wider uprisings that engulfed the entire Tibetan plateau.

On the third anniversary of the 2008 killings, Kirti monk Lobsang Phuntsok set himself on fire at a busy market place in Ngaba on March 16, 2011, triggering in earnest the continuing wave of self-immolations.

A year later on March 16, 2012, another Kirti monk Lobsang Tsultrim torched his body, marking the anniversary of the March 16 killings and protests in the Ngaba region.

Since Kirti monk Tabey’s self-immolation protest in 2009, as many as 108 Tibetans living under China’s rule have set themselves on fire protesting China’s occupation and demanding freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama from exile.

The exile Tibetan administration earlier called the unprecedented number of self-immolations “ultimate acts of civil disobedience against China’s failed rule in Tibet.”

“Concrete steps that the leaders of the world need to take immediately are to send Ms Navi Pillay of UNHCR on a visit to Tibet and investigate the real causes of self immolations, and convene a meeting to discuss and address the crisis in Tibet,” Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay, the elected head of the Tibetan people said last month.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: brian on March 17, 2013, 03:46:21 AM
And this is what happens to the relatives of self immolators...

Quote
China jail Tibetan self-immolator’s uncle
Phayul[Tuesday, March 05, 2013 09:15]

([url]http://phayul.com/images/thumb.aspx?src=1303050918010Z.jpg[/url])
Yarphel in an undated photo.

DHARAMSHALA, March 5: An uncle of a Tibetan self-immolator has been sentenced to 15 months in jail for his “crime” of carrying a photo of his nephew during the latter’s funeral procession in Rebkong, eastern Tibet.

After a month-long detention in police custody, Yarphel, 42, was sentenced in a closed-door trial in the afternoon of March 1, exile sources say.

Yarphel is the uncle of Tibetan self-immolator Dorjee Lhundup.

He was charged with indulging in “illegal activities,” which included carrying pictures of Dorjee Lhundup during a non-violent procession when monks and lay Tibetans carried the ashes of Dorjee Lhundup to his home village.

Earlier in February, local Chinese security personnel summoned Yarphel along with Drayang, both monks of the Yershong Monastery in Rebkong. After long hours of interrogation, Yarphel was detained while Drayang, who is chronically ill, was sent off.

Following his arrest, Monastic authorities and family members made repeated appeals for his release but to no avail.

Till date, Yarphel was kept in a local prison in Dragmar but he is now likely to be shifted to another prison to serve his sentence.

Yarphel is the son of Lubum Gyal and a native of Dragkar Dewa. He was also a teacher at the Yershong monastery.

Dorjee Lhundup, 25, set himself ablaze on November 4, 2012 at one of the busiest crossroads in Rongwo town of Rebkong in eastern Tibet, days before the Chinese communist party’s 18th Party Congress in Beijing. He passed away at the protest site.

Father of a four-year-old son and two-year-old daughter, Dorjee Lhundup called for freedom in Tibet and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile, while engulfed in flames.

Thousands of local Tibetans gathered later that day, when Dorjee Lhundup was laid to rest at Dhongya-lay cremation site behind the Rongwo Monastery.

Since 2009, 107 Tibetans have set themselves on fire, protesting China’s continued occupation and demanding freedom in Tibet and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile.



This sort of treatment to relatives of a self immolator are unacceptable.  How can paying ones last respect can  e deemed as an offence? Chinese government must be kibd of joking here. Plain ridiculous and mind disturbing. Isn't mourning of ones death be allowed in China and instead being charged for indulging in illegal activities. I don't support self immolation , don't get me wrong. I don't feel it can do any help to revive Tibet's independence again.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on March 18, 2013, 04:27:14 AM
This sort of treatment to relatives of a self immolator are unacceptable.  How can paying ones last respect can  e deemed as an offence? Chinese government must be kibd of joking here. Plain ridiculous and mind disturbing. Isn't mourning of ones death be allowed in China and instead being charged for indulging in illegal activities. I don't support self immolation , don't get me wrong. I don't feel it can do any help to revive Tibet's independence again.

I'm sure that China has their own reasons as to why they arrested him. Also, phayul always reports news that makes the Tibetans sound like victims as opposed to the reality of the situation, and also that they tend to make china look like the bad guy in every report. China is currently finding people who are instigating self immolations and this man might be one of those people which is why China is quite heavy handed. Any country would be quite heavy handed towards people who are plotting to create unrest or to disrupt the country's peace and harmony and China does have the rights to do that. Perhaps this man might be released, but Phayul will not report it.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on March 18, 2013, 11:16:04 AM
Tibetan woman self-immolates on eve of Xi’s appointment as president

DHARAMSHALA, March 17: Exile Tibetan media are reporting on a self-immolation protest by a Tibetan woman on the eve of Xi Jinping’s formal selection as the new President of China earlier this week.

According to Tibetan news reports, Kunchok Wangmo, in her 30s, set herself on fire protesting China’s rule at around midnight on Wednesday, March 13 in the Dzoege region of Ngaba, eastern Tibet. She passed away in her fiery protest.

Xi, communist party general secretary, was formally appointed to the largely ceremonial post of president by the rubber stamp parliament on Thursday, completing China’s once in a decade leadership transition.

Chinese authorities took possession of Kunchok Wangmo’s body and carried out the cremation without informing her family members. They later handed over the remains.

Kunchok Wangmo’s husband Dolma Kyab, has been arrested after he refused to comply with local Chinese authorities’ orders to declare internal family feuds as the reason for her self-immolation.

The present condition and whereabouts of Kyab are not known.

Due to intense restrictions on all communication channels in the region, information on the self-immolation protest and the later fall out of Kyab’s arrest is not yet known.

Kunchok Wangmo is the 15th Tibetan woman to set herself on fire demanding freedom and the return of Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile.

In the same week, a monk at the Kirti Monastery set himself on fire on Friday in Ngaba region, taking the toll to two in the week marked by China’s leadership transition.

On March 16, coinciding with the fifth anniversary of the brutal killings of peaceful Tibetan protesters by Chinese armed forces in 2008, Lobsang Thokmey, 28, a monk of the Kirti Monastery in Ngaba set himself on fire.

Lobsang Thokmey carried out his fiery protest at the Kirti Monastery and later succumbed to his injuries.

109 Tibetans living under China’s rule have torched their bodies since 2009 protesting China’s rule.

Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay, the elected head of the Tibetan people, in his March 10 Tibetan National Uprising Day statement this year blamed China’s occupation and repression in Tibet for driving Tibetans to self-immolation.

“The prohibitions of peaceful protest and harsh punishments compel Tibetans to resort to self-immolation. They choose death rather than silence and submission to the Chinese authorities,” Sikyong Sangay said.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on March 20, 2013, 03:06:26 AM
So, there is 'dialogue' between CTA and China, but too bad it isnt between them and the key people who would discuss the reality of the situation. Again, CTA claims they want the middle way in front of the Chinese, but behind them they want independence. hypocrisy much?

Quote
Tibetans and Chinese discuss crisis in Tibet
Phayul[Tuesday, March 19, 2013 15:37]

([url]http://phayul.com/images/thumb.aspx?src=130319034839RV.jpg[/url])
Representative Lobsang Nyandak with Chinese scholars and students during an open exchange in New York on March 16,2013.

DHARAMSHALA, March 19: In an open exchange of ideas between Tibetan and Chinese on the current crisis inside Tibet, more than a dozen Chinese scholars and students met with Tibetans in New York at a gathering organised by the Office of Tibet on March 16.

Lobsang Nyandak, Representative of the His Holiness the Dalai Lama for the Americas, took part in the discussions, explaining the Central Tibetan Administration’s Middle Way Policy.

He reiterated that the Central Tibet Administration’s Middle Way Policy is a win-win solution for both the Tibetan and the Chinese government in exile and called for democratic reforms in China.
“His Holiness the Dalai Lama always said that the democracy is like a medicine that would cure all of China’s social ills,” Nyandak said.

Responding to questions on the wave of Tibetan self-immolations, Nyandak explained the exile Tibetan administration’s stance that it “does not encourage any drastic measures, including self-immolation” and stressed that Dharamsala has no role in inciting the self-immolations as often claimed by the Chinese government.

Zhang Boshu, a visiting scholar at the Institute of Human Rights at Columbia University in New York, who was sacked from his position as assistant researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in 2008 after he published an article on Tibet was among the attendees.

Zhang noted that there is “absolutely no inherent animosity” between the Tibetans and the Chinese peoples and that the problem lies in the institution of the Communist Party.

Also in attendance was Chinese Internet activist Wen Yunchao, better known by his online alias “Beifeng,” who is currently a visiting scholar at Columbia University’s Human Rights Institute. Wen has 80,000 followers on Twitter.

At the end of the meeting, which lasted for nearly five hours, Chinese participants said that the meeting was “extremely helpful in gaining a better understanding of the Tibetan issue.”

According to the organises, the attendants concurred that the root of the problem lie in the authoritarian rule of the Communist Party and that the only way forward for both China and Tibet is to work towards gradual democratic reforms in China.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on March 23, 2013, 01:50:05 AM
DHARAMSHALA, March 21: As a response to continuing attempts by Chinese authorities to blame and impose heavy punishment on the family members of the self-immolators, the Tibetans in Dharamshala today staged a protest on “China’s victimization” of family members of self-immolators.

The protesters paraded Xi Jinping’s bigheaded oaf holding a million Yuan in Mcleod Ganj and displayed placards saying Accept the Lie or Die! Two option: Either Accept the Bribe or Face the Punishment! I Will Never Accept the Lie! etc.

The protest was jointly organized by regional chapters of Tibetan Youth Congress and Tibetan Women’s Association and Students For a Free Tibet, India.

“The continuous self-immolations by Tibetans inside Tibet is one of the strongest political statements that highlights the height of oppression under which Tibetans have been suffering for a long time,” said Dorjee Tseten, National Director of Students for a Free Tibet.

“Chinese government’s attempt to conceal the reality by deploying heavy military and punishing innocent Tibetans or offering bribe will only further deteriorate the situation. Tibetans will not stop resisting until and unless China addresses the real issue of the Tibetan people.”

On 13 March, Kunchok Wangmo, 31, set herself on fire protesting China’s rule over her homeland around midnight in the Dzoge region of Ngaba, Northeastern Tibet. She died from injuries.

Following her self-immolation protest, the local Chinese authorities arrested Wangmo’s husband Dolma Kyab when he refused to comply with their orders to declare internal family feuds as the reason for her self-immolation.

According to China’s state news agency Xinhua, Dolma Kyab allegedly choked his wife to death after a quarrel and then transferred her body to the residential community where it was set alight on 12 March. Currently, Kyab’s condition and whereabouts of Kyab are not known.

Similarly, in November last year, by Chinese security personnel secretly detained the husband of self-immolator, Dolkar Tso, when he refused to accept bribes offered by local authorities to state that his wife set herself on fire due to to family disputes and not in protest against China’s rule.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on March 23, 2013, 01:51:52 AM
China sentences Tibetans up to six years


DHARAMSHALA, March 21: In connection with the self-immolation protest, Chinese court in Qinghai (Tib. Amdo) province handed down three Tibetans up to six years in jail.

According to Dharamshala-based Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, Tibetans were charged of “incitement to split the country” and invoked article 103 of the Chinese Criminal Law to punish the Tibetans.

The Intermediate People’s court in Tsoshar has sentenced Jigmey Thapkhey to five years in jail and deprived his political rights for three years; Kelsang Dhondup was given six-year jail term and withdrawn his political rights for four years.

A court in Ping‘an County sentenced Lobsang to four years in prison and deprived his political rights for two years.

In January this year, a Chinese court sentenced Lobsang Konchok, 40, a monk from Ngaba Kirti Monastery to death with a two-year reprieve and Lobsang Tsering, 31, to ten years in prison. On the same day, six other Tibetans were handed down heavy jail terms for their alleged roles in trying to rescue a Tibetan self-immolator from falling into the hands of Chinese security forces.

Since 2009, there have been 109 confirmed Tibetans self-immolations calling for freedom in Tibet and return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile.

It is also reported that on March 19 a number of Tibetans were prosecuted for their alleged roles in the self-immolation of Rinchen, 17 and Sonam Dhargey, 18, who set themselves on fire in Kyangtsa in Dzorge, Eastern Tibet on February 19. Both succumbed to their burns.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on March 23, 2013, 04:25:09 AM
Another doubtful/poor me story from phayul. Every time a story like that is posted, the chances of CTA getting Tibet back decreases by 50%

Quote
Protest against China's smear campaign
[Thursday, March 21, 2013 17:04]

([url]http://www.phayul.com/images/thumb.aspx?src=1303210510068C.jpg[/url])
Tibetan activists in Dharamshala stages a protest on “China’s victimization” of family members of self-immolators, March 21, 2013.(Phayul photo/Norbu Wangyal)

DHARAMSHALA, March 21: As a response to continuing attempts by Chinese authorities to blame and impose heavy punishment on the family members of the self-immolators, the Tibetans in Dharamshala today staged a protest on “China’s victimization” of family members of self-immolators.

The protesters paraded Xi Jinping’s bigheaded oaf holding a million Yuan in Mcleod Ganj and displayed placards saying Accept the Lie or Die! Two option: Either Accept the Bribe or Face the Punishment! I Will Never Accept the Lie! etc.

The protest was jointly organized by regional chapters of Tibetan Youth Congress and Tibetan Women’s Association and Students For a Free Tibet, India.

“The continuous self-immolations by Tibetans inside Tibet is one of the strongest political statements that highlights the height of oppression under which Tibetans have been suffering for a long time,” said Dorjee Tseten, National Director of Students for a Free Tibet.

“Chinese government’s attempt to conceal the reality by deploying heavy military and punishing innocent Tibetans or offering bribe will only further deteriorate the situation. Tibetans will not stop resisting until and unless China addresses the real issue of the Tibetan people.”

On 13 March, Kunchok Wangmo, 31, set herself on fire protesting China’s rule over her homeland around midnight in the Dzoge region of Ngaba, Northeastern Tibet. She died from injuries.

Following her self-immolation protest, the local Chinese authorities arrested Wangmo’s husband Dolma Kyab when he refused to comply with their orders to declare internal family feuds as the reason for her self-immolation.

According to China’s state news agency Xinhua, Dolma Kyab allegedly choked his wife to death after a quarrel and then transferred her body to the residential community where it was set alight on 12 March. Currently, Kyab’s condition and whereabouts of Kyab are not known.

Similarly, in November last year, by Chinese security personnel secretly detained the husband of self-immolator, Dolkar Tso, when he refused to accept bribes offered by local authorities to state that his wife set herself on fire due to to family disputes and not in protest against China’s rule.

Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on March 24, 2013, 01:43:43 PM
 NEW SELF-IMMOLATION : Tibetan women Kalsang Kyid, 30, set herself on fire asking total freedom of her people, today, March 24, 2013 at 3:30 PM local time at Golok Dzamthang area, in todays Ngaba prefecture. Her remains were taken to nearby Jonang temple. Her father's name is Choeden, mother's name is Pari.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on March 25, 2013, 03:50:56 AM
And again, this is what happens to people who are related to self immolators, so how can it be that self immolation is a peaceful and does not hurt others?

Quote
China detains a monk and puts monastery under strict surveillance
Phayul[Sunday, March 24, 2013 22:35]
DHARAMSHALA, March 24: A Tibetan monk from Tongkyab Monastery has been detained by China’s People’s Armed Police or PAP in Gade County in Golok in eastern Tibet earlier this month.

Tritsun, 26, was arrested by Chinese authorities on March 11 for unknown reasons. However, it has been reported that his detention may have to do with a book he authored and published in March.

Titled Denpai Khalang or Vapour of Truth, the book was released on 8 March at Tongkyap Monastery and contains essays on self-immolation protests in Tibet. It also has the biography on Lama Sopa, an reincarnated lama from the monastery, who died in a self-immolation protest last year.

Tritsun is a native of Gyagor Mema nomadic camp of Dokha Village in Gade County.

Dharamshala-based Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD), while confirming the reports about Tritsun's detention, said that he has been kept incommunicado that has severely affected his aged mother, Phagmo, who is the only family member.

“Tritsun’s detention took place when he was visiting his aged mother who lives near Tongkyap Monastery,” said TCHRD.

It is also reported that a large number of armed forces have been deployed to Tongkyab Monastery, which is now under strict surveillance. Deployments of police apparently began following a prayer ceremony held to observe the 54th anniversary of Tibetan National Uprising Day and 5th anniversary of 2008 protest on March 14.

The monks at the monastery were pressurized by Chinese authorities to voluntarily turn themselves if they had, in any way, morally or materially, supported or aided the publication of the book and warned against holding prayer ceremonies describing it as “against the law.”

The authorities “further warned that going against the law would result in the confiscation of IDs of registered monks. The fate of unregistered monks at the monastery remains unknown at the moment.” TCHRD added.

Tongkyap Monastery has about 200 monks, half of whom are officially registered i.e. they are approved by the Chinese government with special ID cards. Lack of such official IDs are not considered as monks of the monastery and can face expulsion.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on March 25, 2013, 11:31:49 AM
Second self-immolation in 24 hours, Toll rises to 111

DHARAMSHALA, March 25: Within 24 hours of Kal Kyi’s self-immolation in Zamthang, another Tibetan has set himself on fire today in an apparent protest against China’s continuing occupation of Tibet.

Forty-three-year old Lhamo Kyab set himself ablaze at Lushoe village in Tsoe region, Eastern Tibet. The self-immolation took place around 10 am (local time).

This is the fifth self-immolation protests in Tsoe since Sangay Gyatso set himself on fire on October 6 last year.

Kyab’s self-immolation is the second such case in a day. Thirty-year-old Kal Kyi, a mother of four has set herself ablaze yesterday in Eastern Tibet at 3:30 pm (local time). She died at the protest site.

The deepening crisis inside Tibet has witnessed large-scale anti-China protests in 2008 and a series of self-immolations since 2009.

There have now been 111 confirmed reports of self-immolation in the last five years. The overwhelming number of them have demanded freedom for Tibet and return of the Dalai Lama from exile.

Further detail about Kyab current status is not available at the time of filing this report.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on March 25, 2013, 12:12:55 PM

MP David Sweet addresses the House of Commons.


DHARAMSHALA, March 25: A Canadian parliamentarian, David Sweet, raised the issue of Tibet in the House of Commons on Thursday and called upon Xi Jinping to meet with the leaders of the Tibetan Government-in-exile.

“I would like to note that the world is now watching how President Jinping's government lives by those words and lives up to those expectations with regard to the situation in Tibet,” said Sweet.

He also termed the situation in Tibet as “increasingly violent and desperate”.

“Given this urgency, we sincerely encourage President Jinping to meet with the leaders of the Tibetan government in exile to discuss the Dalai Lama's middle-way approach for peace, human rights, stability and a reasonable coexistence between the Tibetan and Chinese peoples,” he added.

Sweet is the Conservative Member of Parliament for Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale and the Chair of the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology.

On same day, Senator Sarah Hanson Young of the Greens Party moved a motion on Tibet in the Upper House of Australian Parliament.

In a motion passed in the Senate notes that the Australian Government must urge Chinese authorities to address the underlying causes of tension in Tibetan regions; end the use of harsh policies such as increased surveillance and violent crackdowns; lift restrictions on access to Tibetan regions, including for international media and diplomats; and resume substantive talks with the Dalai Lama’s representatives.

The continuing crisis in Tibet has a series of self-immolations that has now seen 111 Tibetans set themselves on fire since 2009.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on March 26, 2013, 06:50:00 AM
Hmm..this is interesting. Nepal doesnt seem to be happy or sympathetic with the Tibetans. I wonder why...

Quote
Nepal to declare Druptse’s body “unclaimed”
Phayul[Sunday, March 24, 2013 21:57]

([url]http://phayul.com/images/news/articles/130324100537NA.jpg[/url])
Tibetan self-immolator Drupchen Tsering in an undated photo.

DHARAMSHALA, March 24: Despite repeated attempts by Tibetans, their supporters and representatives, the body of Drupchen Tsering aka Druptse, a Tibetan who set himself on fire in Kathmandu, the Nepalese authorities are reportedly planning to declare his body ‘unclaimed’.

According to Kathmandu-based newspaper The Himalayan, “Government officials are preparing to declare the body of a Tibetan monk, who set himself ablaze on the premises of Boudhanath Stupa, unclaimed after his kin failed to approach the police to receive the body.”

On March 9, Kathmandu District Administration Office had issued a public notice in Gorkhapatra asking the family members or relatives of the monk to receive the body within seven days from the date of the notice.

"After no one approached us to claim the body within the given time, we are preparing to declare it unclaimed and will either bury it or provide it to a medical college," The Himalayan quotes an official saying.

Druptse, 25 set himself ablaze on the path around the holy Boudhanath stupa in Nepalese capital city Kathmandu on February 13. He passed away on the same day after suffering 96 percent burns.

Since then his body has been kept in the mortuary of TU Teaching Hospital, Maharajgunj.

Tibetans all over the world have appealed to the government of Nepal and its embassies and consulates around the world to handover Druptse’s body back to Tibetan in order to carry out traditional religious ritual.

Earlier this month, Lobsang Sangay, the prime minister of the exile Tibetan administration, expressed sadness over the Nepalese government’s decision to continue to hold back Druptse’s body.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on March 27, 2013, 02:18:08 AM
Dalai Lama talks about self-immolation
[Tuesday, March 26, 2013 17:17]

A screen grab from Timesnow.tv
DHARAMSHALA, March 25: Speaking about the on-going self-immolation protest in Tibet, His Holiness the Dalai Lama said that “the ultimate factor is their (self-immolators) individual motivation.”

The Dalai Lama spoke to TIMES NOW, a major Indian news channel.

“Actually, suicide is basically (a) type of violence but then question of good or bad actually depend on the motivation and goal. I think (as) goal is concern, these (self-immolators) people (are) not drunk, (do) not (have) family problem, this (self-immolation) is for Buddha dharma, for Tibetan National interest but then I think the ultimate factor is their individual motivation,” the 77-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader said.

“If motivation (consists) too much anger, hatred, then it is negative (but) if the motivation (is) more compassionate, calm mind then such acts also can be positive. That is strictly speaking from Buddhist view of point. Any action whether violence or non violence, is ultimately depend on motivation.”

Since 2009 there have been 111 Tibetans self-immolations against China’s occupation. Overwhelming majority of them demanded freedom and return of the Dalai Lama from exile. Thousands of Tibetans have carried out mass protests even as Chinese authorities have increased their repressive policies and tightened the noose around self-immolations.

Responding to the question of China’s blame on the Tibetan spiritual leader for self-immolation and crisis ins Tibet, the Dalai Lama welcomed Chinese officials to “do thorough check” at his exile residence in Dharamshala.

“I am very good, please come here and (do) thorough check. Since 2008 crisis, even the former Prime minister Wen Jiabao (who) looks (as a) very nice (and) sensible person, he also accused (me) for the crisis that, it starts from India, I think he also mentioned my name, then immediately I responded, now please some Chinese officials, or international media, please come to Dharamshala (to do) through check,” the Tibetan spiritual leader said.

“Come to here instead of saying from distant. Come here, you will be our guest ... most important guest (and) check everything.”

On China’s new leadership and hopes to resolve the Tibetan issue with new leadership, the Tibetan Nobel Laureate said, “China is a another totalitarian and closed society. So the system as such, (a) few individuals cannot do much, but overall picture of China is changing. Today’s China, (as) compared to 30 to 40 years ago, much changed."

“China can do much more constructive role on global level or (in) Asia, for that trust (and) respect from the rest of the world is highly necessary in order to carry some constructive role. That is lacking now.”
On China’s restriction in allowing international and its lack of transparency in politics, the Dalai Lama pointed out that China should carry all political activities transparently, and promote rule of law and freedom for media.

“1.3 billions Chinese people have every right to know the reality and once 1.3 billion of Chinese people know the reality, they also have the ability to judge what is right or wrong.”

“Therefore censorship is immoral,” the Tibetan spiritual leader added.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on March 27, 2013, 02:46:17 AM
BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese official accused exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Friday of providing money to encourage people to set themselves on fire, and said they had evidence to prove the Nobel Peace Prize laureate was instigating the self-immolations.
More than 100 Tibetans have set themselves alight in protest against Chinese rule since 2009, mostly in heavily Tibetan areas of Sichuan, Gansu and Qinghai provinces rather than in what China terms the Tibet Autonomous Region. Most have died.

"Self-immolation is fundamentally immoral and inhumane behaviour," Padma Choling, the Chinese appointed head of Tibet's rubber stamp legislature, told reporters on the sidelines of China's annual meeting of parliament.

"Instead of being against this, and putting a stop to this, they are encouraging it and using other means, such as giving financial compensation, to continue to instigate incidents like these. I think this is even less humane," he added, referring to the Dalai Lama and other exiled Tibetans.
Beijing considers the Dalai Lama, who fled from China in 1959 after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule, a violent separatist. The Dalai Lama says he is merely seeking greater autonomy for his Himalayan homeland.

He has called on China to investigate the self-immolations. He has said he is not encouraging them but has called them "understandable".
Padma Choling said he had evidence to prove the Dalai Lama's involvement, though he did not provide it.
"There is some evidence that is not convenient to disclose here," he said.
China has tightened already strict controls in Tibet since the self-immolations began two years and has all but banned visits by foreign journalists.
Tibet's new governor, Losang Gyaltsen, appointed in January, signalled there would be no let-up to the heavy security.

"We will always place maintaining stability as our top priority and keep up crackdowns on all secessionist forces and sabotage activities," he said. "We cherish ethnic unity and stability as we cherish our own eyes."
China has defended its iron-fisted rule in Tibet, saying the mountainous region suffered from dire poverty and brutal exploitation until 1950, when Communist troops "peacefully liberated" it.
Tibet has also been a cause of considerable diplomatic friction, especially with the United States, where meetings between the Dalai Lama and U.S. presidents have infuriated China.
This week Tibetan writer and activist Tsering Woeser was named an International Woman of Courage by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, drawing a sharp rebuke from China.
"Woeser has frequently published articles distorting facts about Tibet that vilify China's ethnic policies, incite ethnic separatist feelings, and destroy China's ethnic unity," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a daily news briefing.

"The United States giving this kind of person an award is the same as public support for her separatist speech, and clearly violates its frequent promises to recognise Tibet as part of China."
Woeser is banned from leaving China and has been under house arrest in Beijing for the last two days. (Additional reporting by Michael Martina; Editing by Ben Blanchard)
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on March 27, 2013, 04:39:14 AM
Dalai Lama talks about self-immolation
[Tuesday, March 26, 2013 17:17]

A screen grab from Timesnow.tv
DHARAMSHALA, March 25: Speaking about the on-going self-immolation protest in Tibet, His Holiness the Dalai Lama said that “the ultimate factor is their (self-immolators) individual motivation.”

The Dalai Lama spoke to TIMES NOW, a major Indian news channel.

“Actually, suicide is basically (a) type of violence but then question of good or bad actually depend on the motivation and goal. I think (as) goal is concern, these (self-immolators) people (are) not drunk, (do) not (have) family problem, this (self-immolation) is for Buddha dharma, for Tibetan National interest but then I think the ultimate factor is their individual motivation,” the 77-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader said.

“If motivation (consists) too much anger, hatred, then it is negative (but) if the motivation (is) more compassionate, calm mind then such acts also can be positive. That is strictly speaking from Buddhist view of point. Any action whether violence or non violence, is ultimately depend on motivation.”

Since 2009 there have been 111 Tibetans self-immolations against China’s occupation. Overwhelming majority of them demanded freedom and return of the Dalai Lama from exile. Thousands of Tibetans have carried out mass protests even as Chinese authorities have increased their repressive policies and tightened the noose around self-immolations.

Responding to the question of China’s blame on the Tibetan spiritual leader for self-immolation and crisis ins Tibet, the Dalai Lama welcomed Chinese officials to “do thorough check” at his exile residence in Dharamshala.

“I am very good, please come here and (do) thorough check. Since 2008 crisis, even the former Prime minister Wen Jiabao (who) looks (as a) very nice (and) sensible person, he also accused (me) for the crisis that, it starts from India, I think he also mentioned my name, then immediately I responded, now please some Chinese officials, or international media, please come to Dharamshala (to do) through check,” the Tibetan spiritual leader said.

“Come to here instead of saying from distant. Come here, you will be our guest ... most important guest (and) check everything.”

On China’s new leadership and hopes to resolve the Tibetan issue with new leadership, the Tibetan Nobel Laureate said, “China is a another totalitarian and closed society. So the system as such, (a) few individuals cannot do much, but overall picture of China is changing. Today’s China, (as) compared to 30 to 40 years ago, much changed."

“China can do much more constructive role on global level or (in) Asia, for that trust (and) respect from the rest of the world is highly necessary in order to carry some constructive role. That is lacking now.”
On China’s restriction in allowing international and its lack of transparency in politics, the Dalai Lama pointed out that China should carry all political activities transparently, and promote rule of law and freedom for media.

“1.3 billions Chinese people have every right to know the reality and once 1.3 billion of Chinese people know the reality, they also have the ability to judge what is right or wrong.”

“Therefore censorship is immoral,” the Tibetan spiritual leader added.

The only question is how many of the self immolations were actually done peacefully? Most of the self immolators run in pain while they are being burned. There are also those who survived and who regretted their actions. So for sure the self immolations were not done for the benefit of the Tibetans but for something else: fame in Dharamsala so that they will be honored as heroes for a long time.

If HHDL wants to talk about knowing reality, he should also say the same about the Dorje Shugden issue and tell his students to do their research on Dorje Shugden because people deserve to know about the truth about Dorje Shugden and not just believe he is evil. The situation looks so paradoxical here.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on March 28, 2013, 12:32:08 PM
DHARAMSHALA, March 28: Considering different ways of setting themselves on fire in Tibet, the exile Tibetan administration includes Tulku Thupten Nyendak and his niece Atse in the list of self-immolators.

Forty-five-year-old Thupten Nyendak of Dragkar Monastery in Lhagang in Kham, Eastern Tibet, and Atse, 23, from Serta Tibetan Buddhist Institute set themselves on fire at the former’s residence in Dzogchen Monastery on 6 April 2012. This reportedly happened after they offered butter lamps and prayers for all the Tibetan.

“As a Tibetan and Buddhist, we offer prayer for 113 Tibetans who self-immolated in Tibet, out of which we have been saying 83 [took place] in 2012. But now it is [confirmed] 85 in 2012 and 95 have died,” said Dr Lobsang Sangay, the prime minister of exile Tibet.


CTA holds a prayer service for Tibetan self-immolators at the Tsug-la Khang in Dharamshala on March 27, 2013. (Phayul photo/Phuntsok Yangchen)
Hundreds of Tibetans and supporters, including Dr Lobsang Sangay and other dignitaries of Tibetan government and school students attended a prayer service held at the Tsuglakhang, the main temple, near the residence of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

The special service was held for Thupten Nyendak, Atse, Kal Kyi (30) and Lhamo Kyab (43) who set themselves on fire in protest against China's continuing occupation of their homeland.

Kal Kyi, set herself ablaze protesting near Jonang monastery in Zamthang in Eastern Tibet at 3:30 pm (local time) on March 24.
She is survived by her husband and four children, who are all below 15.

On March 25, Lhamo Kyab set himself ablaze in a forest in Sangchu County in Amdo, Eastern Tibet. The self-immolation took place around 10 pm (local time). He died in his fiery protest.

The number of Tibetan self-immolations since 2009 now stands at 113.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: michaela on March 29, 2013, 03:22:17 AM
I have never been a supporter of self-immolation.  I think taking any lives including our own is killing in one way or another.  Life is an illussion and every experience that we encounter will pass no matter how real it seems at the moment.  Taking one’s life because one cannot bear the illussion/ experience that one is having at the moment is not worth it. 

Having said that, I have in the past contemplating to take my own life.  For example when my mom said that I am worthless or I was broken hearted or when my work colleagues united to crush me.  These experiences although it was intense at the moment and just like an actress in a play, I was carried away about what has been said or done toward me, they seem like a distant dream now and insignificant.  And I am glad that I did not take those drastic measures. 

Experience come and go.  It is best not to be attached to them whether the experiences are good or bad because they will not last.  Hanging your hopes and dream at the fancy of the moment is useless.  You only need to look back at your life to know that what I say is true.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on March 29, 2013, 05:01:09 AM
I have never been a supporter of self-immolation.  I think taking any lives including our own is killing in one way or another.  Life is an illussion and every experience that we encounter will pass no matter how real it seems at the moment.  Taking one’s life because one cannot bear the illussion/ experience that one is having at the moment is not worth it. 

Having said that, I have in the past contemplating to take my own life.  For example when my mom said that I am worthless or I was broken hearted or when my work colleagues united to crush me.  These experiences although it was intense at the moment and just like an actress in a play, I was carried away about what has been said or done toward me, they seem like a distant dream now and insignificant.  And I am glad that I did not take those drastic measures. 

Experience come and go.  It is best not to be attached to them whether the experiences are good or bad because they will not last.  Hanging your hopes and dream at the fancy of the moment is useless.  You only need to look back at your life to know that what I say is true.

Sorry to hear about your past experiences and thank you for sharing them here, Micheala. It must be a very difficult time for you to be able to endure all of those experiences but yet stand up and not do anything that might bring in more suffering. But in the case of self immolations, these people were incited to self immolate and China has proof that the instigators actually talk people to self immolating and then stand nearby with recording devices so that footage of self immolations can be sent to Dharamsala and elsewhere so that there will be more 'awareness'. that is why Phayul usually gets pictures of the self immolations. To be honest, I dont believe that all of the self immolations are for the independence of Tibet because there are so many other ways to work towards that without self immolating. Definitely, self immolation is something that wont appear in the minds of people that easily.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on March 29, 2013, 08:22:33 AM
A monk sets self ablaze in Tibet

DHARAMSHALA, March 29: A monk from Mogri Monastery in Luchu in Eastern Tibet has set himself on fire in an apparent protest against China’s continuing occupation of Tibet.

“Kunchok Tenzin set himself ablaze at a road intersection near his monastery at 7pm (local time) on Tuesday, March 26,” said Kanyag Tsering of Dharamsala-based Kirti Monastery, who closely monitors self-immolations inside Tibet.
Twenty-eight-year-old Tenzin died in his fiery protest.

“Following his self-immolation protest, the local Tibetans carried his charred body inside the monastery premises and cremated it on the same night to prevent the body from falling into Chinese security personnel’s hands,” Tsering added.
Tenzin, son of Lhakho and Lhamo Tso, became a monk in Morgi Monastery at young age.


Undated photo of Kunchok Tenzin
Last week, David Sweet, a Canadian parliamentarian raised the issue of Tibet in the House of Commons and called upon Xi Jinping to meet with the leaders of the Tibetan Government-in-exile.

“I would like to note that the world is now watching how President Jinping's government lives by those words and lives up to those expectations with regard to the situation in Tibet,” said Sweet.

There have now been 114 confirmed self-immolations in the occupied Tibet. Sixteen of them took place since the beginning of this year.

China’s media blackout and severe security clampdown in Tibet are some of the reasons why the news of Kunchok Tenzin’s self-immolation took two days to get out.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on March 29, 2013, 07:12:41 PM
What an intelligent way to deter self immolations! By building a statue of the very first self immolator! GENIUS TIBETANS.

Quote
TYC Unveiled Jampel Yeshi’s Statue
Phayul[Thursday, March 28, 2013 16:40]
By Phuntsok Yangchen

([url]http://phayul.com/images/thumb.aspx?src=130328044358IB.jpg[/url])

DHARAMSHALA, March 28: On the first anniversary of Jampel Yeshi’s self-immolation, the Tibetan Youth Congress today unveiled his statue at Lhagyal Ri in Dharamshala.

“As a Tibetan, he thought that his country was taken away from him, and he has no other way to resist except to sacrifice his life,” said former political prisoner Palden Gyatso, who was the chief guest for the occasion.

Yeshi's statue is installed next to Thupten Ngodup’s, who was the first Tibetan to self-immolate in exile, to remember and honour his sacrifice for the Tibetan struggle. Yeshi’s last message is printed on a plaque below the statue.

Jampel Yeshi, 26, self-immolated on 26 March last year to protest against China’s occupation of Tibet a day before the then Chinese President Hu Jintaos’ visit to attend the 4th BRICS Summit in New Delhi.

Suffering 98 per cent burn, Yeshi passed away in the morning of March 28.
He became the second person in exile to die from self-immolation after Ngodup died from after he set himself in fire on 27 April 1998.

“Jampel Yeshi and 113 other Tibetans in Tibet have self-immolated for the cause of Tibet and Tibetans. And it is our responsibility to make sure that their sacrifices do not go in vain,” said Tsewang Rigzin, President of the Tibetan Youth Congress.

Hundreds of Tibetans and leaders of various organizations attended the ceremony and offered scarves at Yeshi’s statue. It was an intensely moving occasion for many Tibetans, including Lhasang Tsering, former President of TYC, who choked with emotion.

Yeshi was born in Tibet. In exile, he studied at the Tibetan Transit School and later moved to Delhi.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on April 01, 2013, 12:50:19 AM
Tibet Policy Institute hosts Conference on self-immolation

DHARAMSHALA, March 30: Tibet Policy Institute (TPI) hosted a two-day conference on ‘China’s Repressive Policies and the Crisis of Burning Tibet’ in Dharamsala.

“The Institute has invited Tibetan scholars and writers to brainstorm on how the crisis in Tibet can be resolved so that Tibetans in Tibet no longer need to resort to the desperate act of self-immolation to press their case of the tragedy unfolding in their land,” said Thubten Samphel, Director of TPI.

Over a dozen of Tibetan scholars, writers and journalists in and outside India have gathered to discuss “in depth the major causes and ramifications of the current crisis of self-immolation protests in Tibet” according to TPI.

Ngodup Dongchung, Kalon (minister) for Department of Security, and Kirti Rinpoche, the spiritual head of Kirti Monastery also attended and conference and spoke on the issue.

In his inaugural speech Dongchung said that Tibetans should bring together ideas and lead the exile Tibetans who have been carrying out various campaigns and appeals international community. More importantly he said that Tibetans ‘should think of what more can we do by looking into the messages left by the self-immolators and should find a better way to tackle the worsening situation.’

While Kirti Rinpoche described that the real crisis is the danger of losing Tibetan identity in Tibet.

“In Tibet, the elder generations are disappearing, Tibetans are not allowed to learn their language and the Tibetan identity is losing,” Rinpoche addes.

Tibet Policy Institute was originally initiated as a think tank of the exile administration. Currently, it serves as an intellectual hub for Tibetan scholars across the globe and to articulate their views on the issue of Tibet in the hope that these views will shape the perception of the international community and the policies of the concerned governments to Tibet.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: wang on April 01, 2013, 01:22:17 AM
During the recent trip in Europe, Kirti Rinpoche was asked by the media whether they can do something to stop the self-immolation, he answered that even Karmapa has voiced out not to do it anymore, it couldn't stop, so his conclusion is that it is purely the Chinese side's fault.

Kirti Rinpoche didn't mention that :
1. over half of those self-immolated belongs to his monastery, and he as head of the monastery didn't stop it, but praised these as brave behavior.
2. over 95% of those self-immolated belongs to Gelukpa, and HHDL as spiritual head of Gelukpa didn't comment on it, and Ling Rinpoche even praised it as bodhicitta behavior.

So, I cosinder Kirti Rinpoche be pypocritic on his answer to the media.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on April 01, 2013, 06:38:01 AM
During the recent trip in Europe, Kirti Rinpoche was asked by the media whether they can do something to stop the self-immolation, he answered that even Karmapa has voiced out not to do it anymore, it couldn't stop, so his conclusion is that it is purely the Chinese side's fault.

Kirti Rinpoche didn't mention that :
1. over half of those self-immolated belongs to his monastery, and he as head of the monastery didn't stop it, but praised these as brave behavior.
2. over 95% of those self-immolated belongs to Gelukpa, and HHDL as spiritual head of Gelukpa didn't comment on it, and Ling Rinpoche even praised it as bodhicitta behavior.

So, I cosinder Kirti Rinpoche be pypocritic on his answer to the media.

Kirti Rinpoche is obvious close to the CTA and he is obviously on their side of the matter. As the head of Kirti Monastery he should have issued edicts to stop people from self immolating but he did not and he allowed monks under his care to self immolate. I think this is something that is very sad indeed. I am quite surprised that he evebnpraised it as brave behavior when such behavior should not be encouraged amongst monks, especially when he is the abbot and he is allowing lives to be sacrificed for a cause that has little or nothing to do with Buddhism in reality. HHDL is not the head of the Gelugs, he is just the temporal leader of Tibet which is the reason why everyone listens to him. The real head of the Gelugs is the Ganden Tripa which is, picked by the Dalai Lama.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: wang on April 01, 2013, 10:29:35 AM
My definition of 'Spritual head' is from lay people point of view, be accurate, HHDL is 'head' of Gelukpa when both political and  religious power count together.  Sure we all know that Ganden Tripa is the actual ‘Spiritual Head' ...
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on April 02, 2013, 04:00:45 AM
My definition of 'Spritual head' is from lay people point of view, be accurate, HHDL is 'head' of Gelukpa when both political and  religious power count together.  Sure we all know that Ganden Tripa is the actual ‘Spiritual Head' ...

Just because everyone sees it as that way does not make it correct. It is just something generated by the PR machine either in CTA or by the western media to serve their own purposes and ends. It seems that there are parties out there who would not mind feeding the wrong information to the public and mislead a lot of people. Now that you know it is not, its not reasonable to accept the older 'wrong' information right? This is the main reason why educating people is important so that they will know what is real and what is the truth.

Another thing is that the Ganden Tripa is traditionally voted in by the sangha, but it is the first time now that the Dalai Lama is picking. the Ganden Tripa represents Lama Tsongkhapa on earth.

After all, Geshe Tonpa said:

If it does not accord the world, it is Dharma. If it accords, it is not Dharma.

Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on April 04, 2013, 10:26:37 AM
Exile Administration holds prayer service

DHARAMSHALA, April 3: The exile Tibetan headquarters in Dharamshala held mass prayer service today to honour Kunchok Tenzin, who set himself ablaze in protest against China's continuing occupation of Tibet.

Hundreds of Tibetans led by exile Prime Minister Dr Lobsang Sangay, Speaker Penpa Tsering, Kalons or cabinet ministers, members of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile and school students attended the service at the main temple in Dharamshala.

Kunchok Tenzin, 28, a monk from Mogri Monastery set himself on fire at a road intersection near his monastery in Luchu, Eastern Tibet at around 7 pm (local time) on March 26. He died from burns.

Addressing the service, Dr Lobsang Sangay called upon Tibetans to offer prayers for Druptse as today also marks the 49th day since his self-immolation in Nepal and for all Tibetans who have lost their lives in landslide at a mining site Medro Gungkar near Lhasa.

"It is clear that the landslide was criticized by many Chinese intellectuals, environmentalist, writers and movie artists in China," said Sikyong Sangay.

"China's continued oppressive rule in Tibet is the cause of self-immolation protest and like we always says political repression, environmental destruction and cultural assimilation, and with this landslide in Medro gungkar, it is a clearly proves of the environmental destruction in Tibet."

The deepening crisis in Tibet has witnessed large scale anti-China protests and a series of self-immolations that has now seen 114 Tibetans set themselves on fire since 2009. The self-immolators have demanded freedom for Tibet and the return of the Dalai Lama from exile. Ninety-six of them have died.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on April 05, 2013, 03:19:16 AM
Exile Administration holds prayer service

DHARAMSHALA, April 3: The exile Tibetan headquarters in Dharamshala held mass prayer service today to honour Kunchok Tenzin, who set himself ablaze in protest against China's continuing occupation of Tibet.

Hundreds of Tibetans led by exile Prime Minister Dr Lobsang Sangay, Speaker Penpa Tsering, Kalons or cabinet ministers, members of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile and school students attended the service at the main temple in Dharamshala.

Kunchok Tenzin, 28, a monk from Mogri Monastery set himself on fire at a road intersection near his monastery in Luchu, Eastern Tibet at around 7 pm (local time) on March 26. He died from burns.

Addressing the service, Dr Lobsang Sangay called upon Tibetans to offer prayers for Druptse as today also marks the 49th day since his self-immolation in Nepal and for all Tibetans who have lost their lives in landslide at a mining site Medro Gungkar near Lhasa.

"It is clear that the landslide was criticized by many Chinese intellectuals, environmentalist, writers and movie artists in China," said Sikyong Sangay.

"China's continued oppressive rule in Tibet is the cause of self-immolation protest and like we always says political repression, environmental destruction and cultural assimilation, and with this landslide in Medro gungkar, it is a clearly proves of the environmental destruction in Tibet."

The deepening crisis in Tibet has witnessed large scale anti-China protests and a series of self-immolations that has now seen 114 Tibetans set themselves on fire since 2009. The self-immolators have demanded freedom for Tibet and the return of the Dalai Lama from exile. Ninety-six of them have died.

I dont really get all of these prayer services to those who died in self immolation. Yes they do deserve our prayers, but they should not be done in public or be announced officially in this way because it would inadvertently create even more self immolations as the Tibetans who read about it would be more inspired to immolate themselves. why would they make it public? I feel it's a very negative thing to make these pujas public because it will only encourage more and more. In another way it also shows the stupidity of the CTA as they continue to sabotage themselves with actions like these that will eventually erode respect of others to them.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on April 07, 2013, 01:59:41 AM
A Tibetan Woman self-immolates over encroachment
DHARAMSHALA, April 5: An unidentified Tibetan woman has set herself on fire in Kyegudo in Amdo (Ch: Qinghai) Province to protest against the demolition of her home.

Citing sources in the region, the US-based Radio Free Asia said the protest occurred last week when a Chinese wrecking crew arrived to destroy her house.

"Because of the eviction [of Tibetans] from their homes and the confiscation of people's farmland, a Tibetan woman self-immolated about a week ago" RFA quoted a Tibetan man as saying.

However, Tibetans put out fire and the woman's condition is said to be "not life-threatening".

RAF also quoted sources saying that a man has threatened to self-immolate to protest the confiscation of his land.

A powerful earthquake hit Kyegudo on 14 April 2010 resulting many Tibetan deaths and destruction of houses and properties.

Following the quake rebuilding Kyegudo has been slow and filled with official nepotism and delay.

"…Reconstruction has resulted in the eviction of Tibetans living in the Rishuggul area and behind the Yulshul Normal School," sites that were empty or used as farmland before the earthquake struck said RFA.

"Chinese security forces have bulldozed newly built Tibetan houses and tents on these sites, and have beaten and detained anyone resisting the demolition."

Chinese authorities demolished over a thousand of Tibetan houses in Kyekundo stating that their occupants are not officially registered to live.

The ongoing self-immolation in Tibet began in 2009 and to date as many as 114 Tibetans have set themselves on fire in Tibet calling for freedom in Tibet and return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on April 09, 2013, 04:01:04 AM
this is proof that holding vigils and prayer sessions for the self immolation victims will displease China, so CTA should stop if they are truly serious about negotiations with China.

Quote
Students Face Threat for 14 March Commemoration
Phayul[Monday, April 08, 2013 16:39]

([url]http://phayul.com/images/thumb.aspx?src=130408044158ND.jpg[/url])

([url]http://phayul.com/images/thumb.aspx?src=130408044218PJ.jpg[/url])

DHARAMSHALA, April 5: Chinese authorities in Gansu have interrogated and threatened the Tibetan students with "serious consequences" for commemorating the fifth anniversary of 14 March 2008 crackdown in Lhasa, the capital city of Tibet.

Citing sources with contacts in the region, the US-based Radio Free Asia said the students of the Northwest University of the Nationalities in the provincial capital of Lanzhou expressed their solidarity with the Tibetans who died in the crackdown by "mourning".

Pictures available online show butter lamps in front of a board with 'March 14 Anniversary' written on it.

"But when school authorities and concerned officials learned about the commemoration, each student was called in and questioned about the incident." RFA quoted sources as saying.


"They were specifically asked for the names of the persons who led in the planning of the observance."

On 14 March 2008, thousands of Tibetan monks and lay people took the streets of Lhasa to carry a peaceful protest against the Chinese oppression. The protest quickly spread to other part of Tibet leading to the biggest anti-China protests in decades.

The exile Tibetan government estimates that over two hundred Tibetans lost their lives under the Chinese crackdown and thousands detained and tortured.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on April 14, 2013, 10:17:57 PM
Have all the self-immolations in Tibet have effect on France?  Have all those self-immolations moved France to include Tibet on the agenda in the discussion with China on Human Rights of Tibet?

Will Tibet figure in French President's visit to China?
-[Sunday, April 14, 2013 18:10]

Paris Friday, 12 April: As the French President François Hollande prepares for his first state visit to China later this month, there is a growing call from French lawmakers to include Tibet on the agenda in the discussion with Xi Jinping.

Responding to the question by Senator Andre Gattolin asked whether President Hollande " intend to discuss with the issue of human rights in China and in Tibet" with Xi Jinping, the French government responded that "Human Rights form an integral part of the dialogue between China and Tibet."

"No topic will be excluded and all questions will be discussed with candour and mutual respect for each other", responded Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, French Minister for Woman's Rights and the spokeswoman of the government.

In an open letter, French Deputies Jean-Patrick Gille and Noël Mamère, co-presidents of the French parliamentary group for Tibet, called on "President François Hollande not to exclude the issue of Tibet in the discussions with Chinese authorities during his forthcoming visit to Beijing".

"France, in partnership with the European Union must carry the banner of Tibetan freedom", the letter reads.

It also said that China must allow access to Tibet to everyone, including the media, and "resume the dialogue that China decided to stop", the letter concludes.

With regard to the possibilty of a meeting between the French President and His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the government spokeswoman said that at the moment she is "not aware of any planned visit" of His Holiness to France.

(file photo : Deputies Jean-Patrick Gille, Noël Mamère and Senator André Gattolin at a Tibet rally in front of the Chinese Embassy in Paris. photo courtesy Jean-Patrick Gille)
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on April 14, 2013, 11:06:29 PM
(file photo : Deputies Jean-Patrick Gille, Noël Mamère and Senator André Gattolin at a Tibet rally in front of the Chinese Embassy in Paris. photo courtesy Jean-Patrick Gille)
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on April 15, 2013, 10:46:26 PM
China Sentences Tibetans up to six years in jail

DHARAMSHALA, April 15: The Intermediate People's court in Rebkong and Tsekhog in Eastern Tibet sentenced four Tibetans up to six years in prison and deprived their political rights for sharing information of Tibetan self-immolators with outsiders.

The four Tibetans are identified as Yangkyab Gyal, Chakthar, Namkha Jam and Gonpo.

According to the Tibetan exile administration, the four have been sentenced for "allegedly committing separatist activities and sending news and photos of Tibetan self-immolators abroad."

Yangkyab Gyal and Namkha Jam are sentenced to six years in jail and deprived their political rights for three years. Chakthar is sentenced to four years and deprived his political rights for two years and Gonpo to three years in prison and deprived his political rights for two years.

In January this year, a Chinese court sentenced Lobsang Konchok, 40, a monk from Ngaba Kirti Monastery, to death with a two-year reprieve and Lobsang Tsering, 31, to ten years in prison. On the same day, six other Tibetans were handed down heavy jail terms for their alleged roles in trying to rescue a Tibetan self-immolator from falling into the hands of Chinese security forces.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on April 16, 2013, 11:58:53 PM
20 year-old mother sets herself alight and dies in Tibet
FTC[Tuesday, April 16, 2013 22:06]
Free Tibet News Release

Jugtso set herself alight outside a monastery in Ngaba, eastern Tibet around 3pm local time today, 16 April. Local witnesses confirmed that she died at the scene. Her body was taken into the monastery where religious ceremonies were conducted. Local authorities have ordered her family to cremate the body tonight, in contravention of Tibetan tradition. Hundreds of members of the local community have gathered near the family home in preparation for the cremation.

Jugtso was married with a three-year-old child.

The monastery has been the location for a number of self-immolation protests, including that of a mother-of-four in March 2013. The last confirmed self-immolation in Tibet was on 26 March but unconfirmed reports suggest that there has been at least one further attempted self-immolation in Yushu County, in protest against destruction of homes and land-grabbing by the authorities as redevelopment takes place after the devastating earthquake in the area on 14 April 2010.

Free Tibet spokesperson Alistair Currie said

"The intensity of self-immolation protests has diminished so far in 2013 but the death of Jugtso shows that even the full force of the Chinese state cannot deter some Tibetans from this act. Self-immolation is a protest, not a suicide, and until China addresses the grievances of the Tibetan people, protests of all forms will continue in Tibet."
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on April 18, 2013, 05:05:07 AM

Mr Namkho Zamdo who came from Switzerland presenting in a Art and Tattoo Event a special tattoo of all names of Tibetan Self-Immolators and the dates of their self-immolation on his whole back.  What do you think of this creativity?
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on April 19, 2013, 05:48:17 AM
Tibetan self-immolator Phagmo Dhondup dies

DHARAMSHALA, April 18: According to information received on Tibetan self-immolator, Phagmo Dhondup, has succumbed to his injuries after undergoing treatment in a hospital in Siling for over a month.

On 24 February, Dhondup (in his 20s) set himself on fire in the ancient Jhakhyung Monastery in Palung region of Tshoshar, Eastern Tibet. Monks of the monastery took him to a hospital.

Following his self-immolation protest, the local Chinese authorities immediately stepped up security and dispatched a large contingent of security personnel to the monastery.

Dhondup was a native of Tsaphuk town in Palung region. He is survived by father Shawo and a sibling.

Since April 2009, as many as 115 Tibetans have set themselves on fire in Tibet calling for freedom in Tibet and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile. Out of which 98 died in their fiery protests.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on April 20, 2013, 03:41:03 AM

Mr Namkho Zamdo who came from Switzerland presenting in a Art and Tattoo Event a special tattoo of all names of Tibetan Self-Immolators and the dates of their self-immolation on his whole back.  What do you think of this creativity?

The glorification of self immolations would eventually stir up more self immolations and the more self immolations that are stirred up, the more unhappy China will be and the less China will want to enter into talks with CTA as they are aware that CTA is behind the self immolations. It dosent take much guess that CTA has been encouraging them. Tibetans should stop showing their support for the self immolations if they want to be taken seriously by the rest of the world as it is pretty clear who is behind them.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on April 25, 2013, 01:04:56 PM
Breaking: Twin self-immolation protests in Tibet, Toll rises to 117
Phayul[Wednesday, April 24, 2013 23:14]

Tibetan self-immolators Lobsang Dawa, 20 (left) and Kunchok Woeser, 23 (right) who set themselves on fire protesting China's occupation in Zoege region of eastern Tibet on April 24, 2013.
DHARAMSHALA, April 24: In reports coming just in, two young Tibetan monks of the Taktsang Lhamo Kirti Monastery in Zoege, eastern Tibet set themselves on fire today protesting China’s continued occupation of Tibet.

The exile seat of the Kirti Monastery in Dharamshala identified the two monks as Lobsang Dawa, 20 and Kunchok Woeser, 22.

“The two monks set themselves on fire at 6:40 pm (local time) near the right side of the main prayer hall of the Taktsang Lhamo Monastery protesting China’s repressive policies,” the Kirti Monastery release said. “Both of them passed away at the site of the protest.”

According to reports, the body of the two monks were later taken to their respective monastic quarters where fellow monks carried out prayers.

“Local Chinese authorities have issued orders for the cremation of the two monks by early tomorrow morning,” the release said.

Lobsang Dawa is a native of Zaru region of Zoege and the youngest of seven siblings.

Kunchok Woeser is a native of Zoege and is survived by his parents Tsering Norbu and Samdup Dolma and his two brothers.

“The two monks were enrolled at the Taktsang Lhamo Kirti Monastery at a young age and were known for their exemplary conduct and studies,” the release said.

In 2008, following a series of anti-China protests across Ngaba region, local Chinese authorities had indefinitely closed down a school run by Taktsang Lhamo Kirti Monastery.

The primary reason for its closure was cited as participation by a number of students of Taktsang Lhamo Kirti Monastery in the March 15th protest along with other senior monks of the monastery at the Zoege county headquarters.

Since 2009, as many as 117 Tibetans living under China’s rule have set themselves on fire demanding freedom and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on April 25, 2013, 06:00:19 PM
it's quite sad on why does such young and promising monks decide to destroy themselves for the political sake of the nation and they are directly violating the vinaya rules. The Buddha has made it very clear that suicide is not an option as during the Buddha's time there were some monks who misunderstood the Buddha's teachings on emptiness and commited suicide or attempted to do so. What is equally horrifying is that not only that nobody is speaking out against the self immolations, but there are monasteries that are glorifying such acts. How can it be that suicide be the solution to independence? how does logic apply?
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on April 26, 2013, 12:41:50 PM
German Parliamentary Committee expresses ‘deep alarm’ over Tibet self-immolations

DHARAMSHALA, April 26: The Human Rights Committee of the German parliament, the Bundestag, passed a joint declaration expressing deep alarm over the continuing wave of self-immolations in Tibet and urging the German government to work for the improvement of the situation in the region.

In the joint declaration passed on April 24, the Committee for Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid said it was “deeply alarmed and shocked” by the high number of self-immolations in Tibet and urged the Chinese leadership to “safeguard the human rights of Tibetans.”

“The significant rise of self-immolations is an expression of deepest desperation about the lack of freedom, as well as about non-existent freedom of religion and the refusal of the Chinese leadership to respect a unique cultural identity,” the declaration said.

“We urge the new Chinese leadership to open up a new chapter in their relations to the Tibetans, to look into the causes of these desperate acts and to bring about necessary reforms.”

The German parliamentary committee further called on the Chinese leadership to “respect the human rights of the Tibetans and their right to live their own culture and religion.”

“At the same time we demand from the Chinese leadership to re-start the dialogue with Tibet and the Tibetans which is inactive since 2010, in order to find a solution that is appropriate to the unique cultures of the Chinese and the Tibetans, and in order to prevent such acts of desperation like the self-immolations in the future,” the declaration said.

Since 2009, as many as 117 Tibetans living under China’s rule have set themselves on fire demanding freedom and the return of exiled Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

On April 24 - the same day the declaration was adopted - two young monks from the Taktsang Lhamo Kirti Monastery in Zoege, eastern Tibet became the latest Tibetans to set themselves on fire.

Both Lobsang Dawa, 20 and Kunchok Woeser, 22 passed away in their fiery protests against China’s continued occupation of Tibet.

In the declaration, the parliamentary committee further called for access for UN-diplomats, parliamentarians and journalists to Tibet and urged the German government to work for the improvement of the situation in Tibet.

“We ask the Federal Government to continue to work bilaterally and on the international level towards an improvement of the situation in Tibet and while doing so, to also make use of the German Dialogue on Law and the EU-Human Rights Dialogue with China,” the joint declaration said.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on April 26, 2013, 01:24:06 PM
Majority wants the French President to raise Human Rights and Tibet on China trip

By Tenam

PARIS, April 25: As the French President Francois Hollande heads to China on a state visit, first of such since Xi Jinping takes over the reign as the Chinese president, a survey by a leading French poll house shows that almost 70% of the French people wants their president to raise the situation of Human Rights and civil liberties with his counterpart. Of that another 66% of the people polled wants Hollande to raise his concerns about the situation of Tibetans in China.

The French president will the the first head of the state to visit China between 25-26 April. Early last week, Senator Andre Gattolin asked whether President Hollande "intend to discuss with the issue of human rights in China and in Tibet" with Xi Jinping, the French government responded that "Human Rights form an integral part of the dialogue between China and Tibet."

"No topic will be excluded and all questions will be discussed with candour and mutual respect for each other", responded Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, French Minister for Woman's Rights and the spokeswoman of the government.

At the French lower house, day before Hollande leaves for China, MP Noël Mamere asked the government to raise the issue of rights for the Tibetan people and the release of Lui Xiaobo, the Nobel Laureate who is under detention in China.

In response the French foreign minister Laurant Fabuis said that to find a longlasting solution to the situation inside Tibet there is no other option than for the Chinese authorities to enter into dialogue with the Dalai Lama.

Earlier last week Member of Parliament Jean-Patrick Gille and MP Noël Mamère also wrote an open letter asking the French President "not to exclude the issue of Tibet in the discussions with Chinese authorities during his forthcoming visit to Beijing".

"France, in partnership with the European Union must carry the banner of Tibetan freedom", the letter reads.

It also said that China must allow access to Tibet to everyone, including the media, and "resume the dialogue that China decided to stop",

Another question in the poll, that was carried out between 16-18 April, 92% said that the present condition of human rights and civil liberties in China is "unsatisfactory". When asked about Tibet, the figure jumps up to 94% of the people polled who says the situation is "unsatisfactory".

On the question about the vague of self-immolation in Tibet since 2009, more than 80 percent of the people polled said that they feel "in solidarity with the Tibetans." About 80% were in favour of the French President meeting with the Dalai Lama if he visits France. In April 2010, US President Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama were voted the world's two most popular leaders, according to a poll conducted in six countries by Harris Interactive for France24 and Radio France-Internationale.

The Tibetan spiritual leader was at second place at 75 per cent, followed by the then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at 62 per cent.

Former Pope Benedict XVI was the seventh most popular leader with 36 per cent support.

During his 37-hour trip to China, the French president is expected to sing a "letter of intention" on nuclear programmes and deals on Airbus and also French public gas and electricity companies.
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Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on April 30, 2013, 10:39:03 PM
French President raises Tibet with Xi

DHARAMSHALA, April 26: French President Francois Hollande, who on Thursday became the first western leader to meet China’s new President Xi Jinping in Beijing, said his talks touched upon the issue of Tibet where as many as 117 known cases of self-immolations have occurred.

President Hollande told a press conference that during his talks with Chinese leaders he raised the issue of Tibet and human rights, with all topics discussed in a "frank and respectful manner."

Euronews quoted President Hollande as saying that the recent self-immolations “created some legitimate emotion.”

“Regarding human rights and democratic principles, they are both part of the dialogue that we are having. It should not be seen as an obligation, we should simply put this issue as it should be: as part of frank and respectful political dialogue.”

On April 24, two young monks from the Taktsang Lhamo Kirti Monastery in Zoege, eastern Tibet, became the latest Tibetans to set themselves on fire demanding freedom and the return of exiled Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Both Lobsang Dawa, 20 and Kunchok Woeser, 22 passed away in their fiery protests.

Prior to President Hollande’s China visit, a survey by a leading French poll house showed that almost 70% of the French people wanted their president to raise the situation of Human Rights and civil liberties with his counterpart. Of that another 66% of the people polled wanted President Hollande to raise his concerns about the situation of Tibetans in China.

The same poll, carried out between April 16-18, showed that 94 per cent of the people deemed the present condition of human rights and civil liberties in Tibet as "unsatisfactory." More than 80 percent of the people polled further said that they feel "in solidarity with the Tibetans" and were in favour of the French President meeting with the Dalai Lama if he visits France.

From Beijing, the French president will travel to China's commercial hub of Shanghai before heading home late Friday.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on April 30, 2013, 10:40:13 PM
Tibetan Parliament thank French President for raising Tibet with Chinese leaders

DHARAMSHALA, April 30: The Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile yesterday wrote to French President Francois Hollande, thanking him for raising the issue of Tibet and human rights during his recent meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping.

In the letter, Deputy Speaker Khenpo Sonam Tenphel expressed “deep appreciation” to President Hollande on behalf of the Tibetan people for raising the issue of Tibet and human rights with the new leadership of China.

“We remain grateful to you for your support and sympathy for the struggle of the Tibetan people and we look forward to your continued cooperation in the future as well,” Deputy Speaker of the Dharamshala based Tibetan Parliament said.

President Hollande during his visit to China last week became the first western leader to meet President Xi in Beijing.

It was reported he raised the issue of Tibet and the self-immolations in Tibet with Xi. Since 2009, as many as 117 known Tibetans living under China’s rule have set themselves on fire demanding freedom and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile.

President Hollande told reporters in Beijing that he had raised the issue of Tibet and human rights in a "frank and respectful manner” in his meetings with Chinese leaders.

Euronews quoted President Hollande as saying that the recent self-immolations in Tibet “created some legitimate emotion.”

“Regarding human rights and democratic principles, they are both part of the dialogue that we are having. It should not be seen as an obligation, we should simply put this issue as it should be: as part of frank and respectful political dialogue.”

Prior to President Hollande’s China visit, a survey by a leading French poll house showed that almost 70% of the French people wanted their president to raise the situation of human rights and civil liberties with his counterpart. Of that another 66% of the people polled wanted President Hollande to raise his concerns about the situation of Tibetans in China.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on April 30, 2013, 10:44:23 PM
Exile Tibetan administration calls for Tibet Solidarity Day on May 17

DHARAMSHALA, May 1: The exile Tibetan administration has called for May 17 to be observed as ‘Tibet Solidarity Day’ and appealed for “expressions of solidarity involving people’s elected representatives, local government or holding an activity as deemed appropriate.”

The Dharamshala based Central Tibetan Administration proclaimed the day to symbolise “international community’s solidarity with the aspirations of the Tibetan people who yearn for freedom and continue to stand strong in the face of great adversity.”

Since 2009, as many as 117 Tibetans living under China’s rule have set themselves on fire demanding freedom and the return His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile. Thousands of Tibetans have taken part in peaceful anti-China protests in recent years, many of which have been violently suppressed by Chinese armed forces, leading to the death and arrest of several protesters.

CTA said Tibetans inside Tibet are sending “a clear signal to the world rejecting People’s Republic of China’s policies in Tibet which have led to political repression, cultural assimilation, environmental destruction and economic marginalisation.”

“Now, more than ever before, Tibetan people need to be reassured and given hope that their plight has not been forgotten by the rest of the world,” the exile Tibetan administration said.

May 17 also marks the day when the 11th Panchen Lama Gendhun Choekyi Nyima was disappeared in 1995 at the age of six along with his parents. Despite repeated requests to meet him and know his whereabouts by world leaders, China has refused to divulge any details and instead placed another boy of its choice as the 11th Panchen Lama.

CTA said the fate of Gendhun Choekyi Nyima “symbolises that of many other brave Tibetans who continue to be imprisoned and deprived of their basic human rights.”

“The Central Tibetan Administration therefore calls upon Tibetans and their friends to observe this day with expressions of solidarity involving people’s elected representatives, local government or holding an activity as deemed appropriate,” the release states. “In view of self-immolations, particularly the recent self-immolation by two monks of Ngaba Kirti monastery, all are requested to hold prayers on that same day.”

December 10, 2012 was the last time a Tibet solidarity day was called for by the exile Tibetan administration.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on May 25, 2013, 02:30:21 AM
It has almost been an entire month that there has been no more further news of any self immolations. Perhaps this is due to the fact that China has did a crackdown on the instigators of self immolations, severing the link between CTA and the monasteries that are 'loyal' to the Dalai Lama. Or perhaps, the CTA realizes that if they do not stop creating the self immolations now, they will be discovered as the instigators of self immolation and they have decided to not create anymore. The last self immolation was in Nepal and not in China, so perhaps the CTA agents that China arrested are real.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Ensapa on June 01, 2013, 11:42:45 AM
Oh and, here's one:

Quote
Breaking: Tibet burns with another self-immolation, Toll reaches 118
Phayul[Wednesday, May 29, 2013 08:46]

([url]http://phayul.com/images/thumb.aspx?src=130529085831M6.jpg[/url])
Tenzin Sherab in an undated photo.

DHARAMSHALA, May 29: In reports coming just in, a Tibetan man set himself on fire in Adril region of eastern Tibet protesting China’s occupation and hard-line policies in Tibet.

Tenzin Sherab, 31, carried out his self-immolation protest on May 27. He succumbed to his injuries at the site of his fiery protest.

According to Jampa Younten, a monk living in south India, Tenzin Sherab’s family members and friends came to know about his self-immolation protest only after he had passed away.

“Soon after the protest, Chinese security personnel from Chumar arrived at the site and confiscated Tenzin Sherab’s body,” Younten said. “However, the next day, on May 28, his body was handed over to his family members.”

In the days preceding his self-immolation protest, Tenzin Sherab had spoken to his friends about the evil policies of the Chinese government and expressed his concern about Tibetan religion and culture reaching a point of annihilation.

“We can no longer bear to live under China’s constant torture and repression,” Tenzin Sherab had told his friends.

Preparations are afoot for his cremation, the same source added.

Tenzin Sherab is the son of Dhondup and Choemey and is the eldest among five siblings.

Since 2009, as many as 118 Tibetans living under China’s rule have set themselves on fire demanding freedom and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile.

The Chinese government has responded with even harsher policies, criminalising the self-immolation protests and sentencing scores of people to heavy prison terms on charges of “intentional homicide” for their alleged roles in self-immolation protests. Chinese officials have barred Tibetans from offering prayers and showing solidarity with families of self-immolators and announced the cancellation of development funds to those villages where self-immolations have taken place.

Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Gabby Potter on February 12, 2015, 07:37:54 AM
Although I really respect the faith of these people towards Lord Dorje Shugden, but in my opinion, I really do not support and believe the fact that when we sort of " sacrifice " our lives, it will make things better, I really doubt that way of thinking. Life is very precious, sometimes it's not up to us whether to give it up or not.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on April 15, 2015, 09:23:42 AM
Another unfortunate news, there is another sacrificing of precious human life recently in Tibet.  This nun if she had used her precious human life to zealously pursue enlightenment, she would have been a tremendous and sustainable benefit to many beings instead of becoming a pawn in the game of politics which has wasted her life in vain. It has saddened me extremely to see even monks and nuns do not hold Dharma in their hearts but sacrifice themselves in this manner for politics. 

The 14th Dalai Lama certainly will not be able to return Tibet/China this life time.  However, since China is adamant that the 14th Dalai Lama has to reincarnate, I am not surprised the 15th Dalai Lama will reincarnate in Tibet/China.  Therefore there is no need to sacrifice any human life to protest for the return of the current Dalai Lama.  The Dalai Lama will eventually have to return to Tibet whether he likes it or not. Self-immolation is a sacrilege!


Tibetan nun sets herself on fire, cries out for Dalai Lama
2015-04-11 10:01

Beijing - A nun set herself on fire while crying out for the Dalai Lama to return to Tibet in the latest in dozens of self-immolations in recent years by Tibetans protesting Beijing's controls over the region, overseas rights groups said.

Yeshi Khando, 47, of Ngangang Nunnery circled Kardze Monastery in Sichuan province and then self-immolated on Wednesday near the police station while shouting slogans including "Tibet needs freedom," London-based Free Tibet said in a statement on Friday.

She also called out "Let His Holiness Return to Tibet" as she was on fire, the group said, a reference to the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader who has lived for decades in exile in India.

The Washington, DC-based International Campaign for Tibet also reported the immolation, but used a slightly different spelling for the nun's name.

The groups said security personnel and police used extinguishers to put out the flames and took Yeshi Khando away, and that local sources believed she died.

A woman reached at the Ganzi county government denied that any self-immolation happened on Wednesday and hung up. Calls to the county police office rang unanswered. Yeshi Khando's nunnery could not be contacted.

Dozens of Tibetan Buddhist monks and laypeople have set themselves on fire in protest of Beijing's strict controls over the region and their religion and to call for the return of the Dalai Lama, according to the overseas rights groups.

The International Campaign for Tibet says 113 men and 24 women have self-immolated since March 2011, the vast majority of whom have died.

Beijing blames the Dalai Lama and others for inciting the immolations and says it has made vast investments to boost the region's economy and improve the quality of life for Tibetans. The Dalai Lama says he is against all violence.

Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Tenzin Malgyur on April 15, 2015, 02:26:10 PM
So sad to read of news of another person taking her own life by setting herself on fire. This latest victim, a nun. Again, the CTA is keeping quiet instead of advising their citizens against such act. It is so obvious the CTA is very spirited in fanning the flames of hatred towards the Shugden devotees among the Tibetans. They must put an end to this futile waste of human life's already.
 Or they hope to gain the sympathies of the world? Looks to me like they are using their own people for their own agenda.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: Dondrup Shugden on April 16, 2015, 07:28:48 AM
It is really saddening for nuns and monks to be motivated politically.  Previously monks conduct self immolation and now it is the turn for nuns.

Please HH Dalai Lama put a BAN on self immolation in Tibet, I am sure that the monastic order in Tibet will listen to you.  This is the BAN that needs to be imposed and other BANS that restrict religious freedom be lifted.
Title: Re: Self-immolation, again, now in Lhasa
Post by: icy on April 18, 2015, 08:55:15 AM
Another sad news this week in China and this is the 139th self-immolator.  He was 45 years old and left behind 7 children.  Is he a sensible father?  Where is his responsibility? 


Tibetan Dies After Setting Himself on Fire in Protest
By CHRIS BUCKLEY
APRIL 17, 2015

HONG KONG — A man set himself on fire in a heavily Tibetan region of southwest China this week, leaving behind a makeshift shrine that included a photo of the Dalai Lama, international groups reported on Friday. He was the second Tibetan to set himself on fire in a protest in the last two weeks and the 139th within China since the practice began among Tibetans in February 2009.

The man, Nyi Kyab, 45, was a former Buddhist monk and died on Thursday in Ngaba County in Sichuan Province, said Free Tibet, an organization that advocates the self-determination of Tibet. He left behind seven children, said Free Tibet and other groups, citing information from exiled Buddhist monks.

“He had set up an altar on the outside wall of his home, carrying family photographs and pictures of the exiled Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama, the most senior figures of Tibetan Buddhism,” said Free Tibet.

As fire engulfed Nyi Kyab, he called for the Dalai Lama to be allowed back from exile and for the Chinese government to free the Panchen Lama, the second-ranking lama. In 1995, the Chinese government took a boy into custody who had been recognized by the Dalai Lama as the Panchen Lama, and appointed its own choice, whom many Tibetans reject.

Ngaba County, called Aba County in Chinese, is one of the Tibetan areas of China troubled by tension and protest over the Chinese government’s policies, especially controls on Tibetan Buddhism and the campaign against the Dalai Lama and his demands for Tibetan self-determination. The Chinese government laid out those positions in a summary of claims published this week.

“Investigations by China’s public security organs into incidents of self-immolation revealed clearly that they are being manipulated and instigated at the highest level by the Dalai group,” the Chinese summary said.

The Dalai Lama and his supporters adamantly denied any role in the protests.

Last week, a Tibetan Buddhist nun set herself on fire in a Tibetan area of Sichuan Province to protest Chinese rule and to call for the return of the Dalai Lama, who fled into exile in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet.