Toll jumps to 83

Phayul[Monday, November 26, 2012 16:19]

In the alarming escalation in self-immolation protests inside Tibet, a Tibetan nun set herself on fire in an apparent protest against China’s occupation of Tibet on Sunday, November 25. Sources tell Phayul that Sangay Dolma, a nun, passed away in her self-immolation protest in front of the Chinese government office in Dokarmo town of Tsekhog, Malho, eastern Tibet. The exact time of her self-immolation protest could not be ascertained immediately. Sangay Dolma’s nunnery is located near Sangag Mindrol Dhargeyling Monastery.  According to various sources, a large number of local Tibetans gathered to carry out the last rites of Sangay Dolma. At the filing of this report, prayers are being carried out at the deceased’s nunnery. It is also being reported that Sangay Dolma has left a note before carrying out her fiery protest. The situation in the entire region has been tense over the past weeks with the ongoing spate of self-immolations. Local Chinese officials have cut off internet in the region and interrogated Tibetans who have communicated with outsiders using their phones. Local Chinese government officials have been speaking to Tibetans, ordering them not to self-immolate and disallowing them from expressing their solidarity and offering condolences to the families of the self-immolators. The deepening crisis inside Tibet has witnessed large scale anti-China protests and a series of self-immolations that has now seen 83 Tibetans set themselves on fire, since 2009, demanding freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama from exile. November alone has reported 21 self-immolations and protests by thousands of Tibetans, including by school students in Chabcha and Rebkong regions of eastern Tibet.