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."

Released Prisoners in Poor Health

Phayul[Tuesday, April 16, 2013 16:40]

DHARAMSHALA, April 16: The Chinese authorities have released several Tibetans who are reported to be in poor health after five years in jail. Two Tibetan monks Lobsang Ngodup, 34, and Soepa, 35, were released after completion of their five-year term in Chushul Prison on March 10. Lobsang Ngodup is undergoing medical treatment at a hospital in Siling, Amdo (Ch: Qinghai) while Soepa is said to be mentally unstable and is currently in Mange Monastery where Chinese security personnel is stationed and keeping a close watch on his movements. Soepa was detained twice after his release and was let out only after five Tibetans signed a bond pledging to take responsibility. He also needs to report to the local office. The Chinese authorities arrested the two monks on 10 March 2008 in Lhasa with thirteen other monks. On April 11, another Tibetan named Lhatsog was released a year prior to the completion of his six-year jail term. He was sentenced for taking part in protests against China’s occupation in 2008. However, the reason for his early release is not known. Several monks from nearby counties such as Matoe, Pema and Gade, who have gathered to welcome him, noticed a problem in his leg and had difficulty in walking. Earlier this month, two other Tibetans were released after serving long prison terms.  Jigme Gyatso, 52, a former monk was released after serving 17 years for demanding independence for Tibet and appeared 'very weak' when he returned to his home in Sangchu county in Eastern Tibet. He was released from Chushul Prison. Dawa Gyaltsen was released two years before completing his 18-year jail term because of what China called his "good behavior". Arbitrary arrests and ramdon imprisonment without due legal process are widespread in Tibet under China.

83+ Buried Workers in Tibet Mine

Phayul[Sunday, March 31, 2013 21:35]

Large-scale exploitation of mineral in the Gyama Valley. A major landslide has hit a mining area in Medro Gungkar near Lhasa burying 83 workers Friday morning. Reports coming from Tibet said that two of the buried workers were Tibetan while others are believed to be ethnic Han Chinese.  The miners worked for a subsidiary of the China National Gold Group Corp, a state-owned enterprise. It is China’s largest gold producer. According to state-run China Central Television, more than 1000 rescuers, including police, firefighters and medical personnel are working at the site and 200 large vehicles and equipment and sniffer dogs are being used in the rescue. About 2.6 million cubic yards of mud, rock and debris swept through the area as the covered an area measuring around 1.5 square miles.  On Friday, China’s new leaders Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang ordered to put all efforts to rescue the buried workers. In an official press release issued by the Environment and Development Desk (EDD) of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile states that it fear that this tragic incident could be a result of the aggressive expansion and large-scale exploitation of mineral in the Gyama Valley. This is a “man-made phenomenon rather than just a ‘natural disaster’” the release said. EDD said it hopes that Chinese government will put sincere efforts to figure out the real cause of the landslide in the mine operated by Huatailong Mining Development Co. Ltd, (a subsidiary of the State-owned China National Gold Group Corporation) and take appropriate measures. Environment Desk also called on the Chinese authorities to ensure active participation of Tibetan people in all decision making process in Tibet; fully investigate the impacts on society, environment and culture; check migration and settlement of non-Tibetans in Tibet and ownership of Tibetan land and resources are not transferred to non-Tibetans.

Tibetans condemn secret cremation of Druptse’s body

Phayul[Friday, March 29, 2013 14:59]

Tibetan activists submitting an Urgent Petition to the Nepalese embassy in New Delhi to urge the Nepal government to allow a Buddhist cremation for Drupchen on February 13, 2013. (Photo/SFT) Despite repeated appeals from Tibetans and their supporters to release the body of Drupchen Tsering aka Druptse, the Nepalese authorities have secretly cremated his body on Monday. “We are appalled and deeply disappointed with the government of Nepal which as an independent and constitutionally democratic country has behaved like a totalitarian regime and allowed China to completely undermine its sovereignty,” said Tsewang Rigzin, the President of Tibetan Youth Congress. “We condemn this insensitive act,” he added. According to our sources, the Nepalese police have secretly cremated Druptse’s body at Pashupatinath cremation site two days ago in violation of a fundamental Tibetan tradition of funeral prayers and last rites essential for the dead. Druptse, 25, set himself ablaze on the path around the holy Boudhanath stupa in Kathmandu on February 13. He passed away on the same day with 96 percent burns. His body was kept in the mortuary of TU Teaching Hospital, Maharajgunj. Earlier the Nepalese authorities maintained that Druptse’s body could 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, the authorities said, they will have legal right over the body. Since then Tibetans and their supporters have initiated a number of campaigns around the world to appeal the Nepal government to release Druptse’s body. In a statement released by Students for a Free Tibet-India, a global vigil will be held to honour Druptse on April 3, which will be the 49th day since his death. “We are deeply saddened to learn that Nepalese authorities have secretly cremated Drupchen Tsering's body without allowing the proper Buddhist final rites,” said Dorjee Tseten, National Director of Students for a Free Tibet, India. “We request all Tibetans and supporters to participate in this Global Vigil for Drupchen next Wednesday with prayers, public rallies at the Chinese Embassy or Consulate and follow-up visits and phone calls to the Nepalese Embassy or Consulate to express your disappointment about this incident.” The incident highlights China's stranglehold over Nepal and the precarious situation of Tibetan refugees living here or those escaping occupied Tibet. This calls for a greater international monitoring of China's influence over Nepal and the protection of the rights of Tibetan refugees there.

Toll 113: Exile administration offers prayers

Phayul[Thursday, March 28, 2013 16:08]

Undated photo of Tulku Thupten Nyendak and Atse 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.

Tibetans shut China’s “propaganda exhibit”

Phayul[Wednesday, March 27, 2013 15:29]

The "Tibet Today: Exposing the Truth" exhibition opens with photographs of pre-1949 independent Tibet, China's invasion, and recent Tibetan protests for freedom. (Photo/SFT) The Chinese Consulate at Chicago has packed off their performances and opening ceremony during their exhibit “Tibet Today: Sight of Western China Photo Exhibition” at the University of Minnesota on Monday. "There is a lesson here for China. If you want to improve your image abroad, do it by making genuine change on the ground inside Tibet, not by hosting a propaganda show to mislead the global public," said Tenzin Sonam, Regional Coordinator of SFT-Midwest. Prior to the said exhibit, Tibetan organizations, including Students for a Free Tibet, Tibetan Youth Congress, Tibetan Women's Association and Tibetan American Foundation-Minnesota, opened a parallel exhibit ‘Tibet Today: Exposing the Truth’ with pictures of independent Tibet, self-immolations and China’s repression in Tibet. The Chinese opened their “propaganda” exhibition with photographs of smiling Tibetans waving the Chinese flag and other items, which Tibetans feel were “clearly aimed at whitewashing China's occupation of Tibet and misleading Western audiences into thinking Tibetans are happy under Chinese rule.” According to the Tibetan organizers some of them and their supporters went the Consulate's exhibit to question them about China's brutalities in Tibet, the Tibetan protests and self-immolations. The questions were met with blank stares and no answers. However, a Chinese student performer reportedly said "I'm very interested in Tibet now. We were taught different [things]. I was at your exhibition. You Tibetans are very nice people" Hours later, the Chinese exhibit cancelled their performances and opening ceremony. The Tibetan exhibit on the hand over a hundred visitors while the Chinese Consulate's exhibit remained all but with no visitors. The Chinese Consulate’s exhibition has reportedly remained closed for the second day. "Armed with truth, information and nonviolence, we were able to shutdown China's expensive propaganda show in our backyard. This is something every Tibetan community and group can do quite easily every time a Chinese propaganda show comes to town," Tenzin Sonam added. The five-day exhibit will remain open till Friday this week.

Second self-immolation in 24 hours,

Phayul[Monday, March 25, 2013 13:06]

Lhamo Kyab's charred body lies on the ground after his self-immolation protest against China's occupation of Tibet. 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-old 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. According to our sources in exile, Lhamo Kyab set himself in a forest where he works as a forest guard. “Early morning, he doused himself in kerosene and jumped into a fire which he started with timber wood,” said the same source, who did not want to be named. Following his self-immolation protest, a large number of armed security personnel arrived at the location and the situation in the region is described as tense “under strict surveillance”. Kyab’s self-immolation is the second such case in one a day. Thirty-year-old Kal Kyi, a mother of four has set herself ablaze on 24 March in Eastern Tibet at 3:30 pm (local time). She died at the protest site.

110th Tibetan Self-immolation

Phayul[Sunday, March 24, 2013 21:42]

Undated photo of Kal Kyi A Tibetan woman today set herself on fire in an apparent protest against China’s continuing occupation of Tibet. Thirty-year-old Kal Kyi, a mother of four has set herself ablaze protesting near Jonang monastery in Zamthang in Eastern Tibet at 3:30 pm (local time). “The local Tibetans carried her charred body inside the monastery premises to prevent it from falling into the hands of Chinese security personnel,’ said Tsangyang Gyatso, an exile Tibetan who has close contacts in the region. Kal Kyi had died from injuries. Kyi is survived by her husband, Gyepo, and their four children. Last year in May, another Tibetan woman, Rikyo 33 has set herself on fire near the Jonang Zamthang Gonchen monastery in Zamthang County, which is located in Ngaba, the nerve centre of the ongoing wave of self-immolations in Tibet. With Kyi’s self-immolation the confirmed number of Tibetan self-immolation has reached 110. The primary demand of those who set themselves on fire are freedom for Tibet and return of His holiness the Dalai lama from exile. Fourteen Tibetans have self-immolated since the beginning of this year. Eight of them happened in February alone.

Tibetans and Chinese discuss crisis in Tibet

Phayul[Tuesday, March 19, 2013 15:37]

Representative Lobsang Nyandak with Chinese scholars and students during an open exchange in New York on March 16,2013.  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.

Tibetan woman self-immolates on eve of Xi’s appointment as president

Phayul[Sunday, March 17, 2013 23:57]

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.