Tibet continues to burn

Phayul[Sunday, November 18, 2012 13:02]

In more alarming reports coming out of Tibet, another Tibetan passed away in his self-immolation protest yesterday evening in an apparent protest against China’s rule. Sangdag Tsering, 24, set himself on fire in front of a local Chinese government office in Dokar Mo town in the Rebkong region of eastern Tibet at around 7 pm (local time). Tsering, father of a three-year-old son, passed away at the site of his protest. His self-immolation came just hours after a Tibetan woman, Chagmo Kyi passed away after setting herself on fire outside a Chinese office in Rongwo town. Sources tell Phayul that earlier in the day, Chinese authorities summoned a large meeting of local Tibetans and gave out clear orders, barring them from visiting families of self-immolators to pay their respect and condolences. Further orders warned that monasteries, which didn’t follow the decree, would be shut down. “Martyr Sangdag Tsering set himself on fire later in the evening at the very place where the meeting was called,” Dorjee Wangchuk, an exile Tibetan said citing sources in the region. Chinese security personnel arrived at the scene and tried to douse the flames but Sangdag Tsering succumbed to his injuries. “Monks from two nearby monasteries and thousands of local Tibetans gathered at the protest site and carried his body to the Gonshul Sangag Mindrol Dhargeyling for his cremation,” Wangchuk said. The same source added that Sangdag Tsering had off late repeatedly expressed his frustration over the lack of freedom in Tibet, His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s absence, and the continuing wave of self-immolations in Tibet. About a week back, he had written a short poem espousing loyalty to Tibet and emailed it to a friend. The last two lines of the poem written in Tibetan reads: “The brave men of the snow mountains, Don’t forget your loyalty to Tibet.” Sangdag Tsering is survived by his parents, his wife Phagmo Tso, 24, and their son. The alarming escalation in self-immolation protests has already witnessed 14 Tibetans set themselves on fire in this month alone, with nine of them occurring in the Rebkong region. A total of 76 Tibetans inside Tibet have now self-immolated since 2009, demanding freedom and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile. Speaking to a special gathering of Tibet supporters in Dharamshala, the Dalai Lama yesterday said that the situation in Tibet is “serious.” “Whether Chinese government agrees or not, there are problems and these problems are neither good for Tibetans or for the people of China. So, therefore we have to find a solution based on mutual understanding and mutual respect,” the Tibetan spiritual leader said. He further cautioned: “The use force will never get satisfactory results.”