By Phuntsok Yangchen  Dorjee Rinchen (File photo) DHARAMSHALA, October 23: News have just come in of another self immolation protest in Tibet. 3 Tibetans from Sangchu County have resorted to self immolation since Saturday to express their protest against China's policies and demand the return of the exile Tibetan leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Dorjee Rinchen, 58, today set himself ablaze near the Chinese Army camp at 3:30 PM (local time) in Sangchu county where two others, Lhamo Kyab and Dhondup, had died after setting themselves ablaze on Saturday and Monday respectively. Amchok, a Tibetan living in South India with close contacts in the region, said, Dorjee Rinchen succumbed to his burns at the site of his protest and that his charred body was currently with his family member. “The monks of the Labrang Monastery offered special prayers for the deceased on the streets as they were not allowed to visit Dorjee Rinchen's house.” Following the self-immolation, a minor scuffle broke out at the site of the protest between Chinese authorities and local Tibetans. A new report by the United States Congress released this month found that the increasing use of repressive measures by the Chinese government and the failure of the stalled Sino-Tibet dialogue process were concurrent with the demands of the growing number of self-immolation by Tibetans. The bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China in its 2012 Annual Report said that during the reporting year, the incidence of Tibetans resorting to self-immolation “accelerated sharply” with the Chinese government refusing to accept its policy failure in Tibet. “The Party and government have not indicated any willingness to consider Tibetan grievances in a constructive manner and to hold themselves accountable for Tibetan rejection of Chinese policies, and handled the crisis as a threat to state security and social stability instead of as a policy failure,” the report said. Since 2009, 58 Tibetans have set themselves on fire demanding the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile and Freedom in Tibet. |
Print
Send
