By Tendar Tsering
DHARAMSHALA, February 27: On the fifth day of the Tibetan new year, February 26, a young Tibetan reportedly torched himself to death, calling for the return of the Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
According to a report published by a Tibetan newspaper in exile, Tibet Times, this latest self-immolation protest occurred in the town of Ling Tsang Rinchenling in the Derge region of eastern Tibet.
Citing an exile source, the newspaper reported on its website today that the Tibetan set himself on fire in front of a newly built Chinese office in the town.
The youngster passed away immediately according to the source.
No further details are currently available as the entire region has been put under a heightened security clampdown.
Talking to Phayul, Jamphel Monlam, assistant director of the Dharamshala based Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said no contacts could be made as phone lines in the region were cut off.
“I have been trying to reach Derge but phone lines are not working,” Monlam said.
Similar blackouts on the internet and phone connections have been reported from many Tibetan areas following the ongoing wave of self-immolations and mass protests.
According to sources, posters warning of self-immolations were pasted on the walls of a monastery in the region on the eve of the Tibetan new year.
“Tibetans are setting themselves on fire because there is no freedom in Tibet. In solidarity with the Tibetan self-immolaters we will continue to burn ourselves,” the posters read.
Following the warning, a large number of Chinese security personnel were deployed in the entire region, manning the movement of the local Tibetans.
The fiery wave of self-immolation has witnessed a dramatic escalation in recent weeks as Tibet remains cut off from the outside world.
Foreign journalists who have tried to enter Tibet have been detained and thrown away with warnings of visa cancellations.
Launching an indefinite hunger strike outside the United Nations headquarters in New York, last week, the Tibetan Youth Congress said that the “sacrifices of these patriots” were proof of China’s “failing efforts to win the hearts and minds of the Tibetan people.”
“China must wake up to the reality that it can never dream of conquering the undying will of the Tibetan people who stand united and resolute to ultimately bring down the brutal communist Chinese regime,” TYC said.
The three Tibetans who are now on the seventh day of their indefinite fast are calling on the UN and world leaders to “heed to the demands of the Tibetans suffering in Tibet.”
“If you do not take immediate actions to help douse the burning flames inside Tibet, you become accountable to every growing casualty within the Tibetan population.”
