By Kalsang Rinchen
Dharamsala, May 28 – New images received from Tibet depict what the Washington based International Campaign for Tibet calls a dramatic “assertion of Tibetan identity at the height of the current crackdown on dissent”.
The images taken in February this year show Tibetans in a village in Tsolho (Chinese: Hainan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai province burning animal furs and skins which the ICT said was in defiance of the Chinese authorities’ attempts to enforce celebration of the Tibetan New Year.
In February, Tibetans sought to mark their new year by mourning those killed in the protests as an act of defiance against the Chinese rule, the leading Tibetan NGO in the west said on its website. According to the ICT, this is the first known instance of wild animal pelt burning linked to the protests that broke out across Tibet in March 2008.
The burning of furs and skins first took form of an expression of Tibetan loyalty to the exile Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama after he spoke against their use at a Kalachakra initiation in Amravati, south India, in 2006. The Tibetan leader said he felt “ashamed” when he saw Tibetans wearing the pelts of endangered animals such as tigers or leopards. Days later, Tibetans throughout Tibet burned animal skins and furs in their possession as a mark of loyalty to their exiled leader.
The ICT said these actions were expressions of loyalty both to the Dalai Lama and to the Tibetan Buddhist culture, which advocates compassion for all sentient beings.
Chinese authorities encourage Tibetans to wear furs to showcase the “exotic” Tibetan culture. This has included encouraging – or requiring – Tibetans at official events or performances to adorn themselves with expensive hats and robes made of pelts from endangered animals such as tigers or leopards, the ICT said.
