DHARAMSHALA, December 27: Tibetan self-immolator Sungdue Kyab, who set himself on fire in Bora region of Sangchu in eastern Tibet earlier this month, is reportedly battling for his life in a Chinese hospital in Lanzhou city, capital of Gansu Province.
According to the Dharamshala based rights group Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, doctors have told Sungdue Kyab’s family members that both his legs need to be amputated in order to save his life.
“At the government hospital in Lanzhou, Sungdue Kyab’s parents were called in to give their approval to amputation of both his legs,” TCHRD cited sources as saying. “The doctors told Kyab’s family that amputation of both the legs was necessary to save his life.”
The group said that Sungdue Kyapís parents were not allowed to meet or speak with him at the hospital and were only allowed to see him through a glass window.
Phayul earlier reported that Sungdue Kyab, 29 was being kept in a heavily guarded hospital and was denied any visits by family members. It is now known that he was first admitted to a Chinese hospital in Kanlho where doctors found it difficult to treat him and was thus admitted to the larger hospital in Lanzhou.
Sungdue Kyab, father of an infant son, set himself on fire on December 2 in protest against China’s continued occupation of Tibet on the main street near the Bora Monastery.
Soon after he set himself on fire, Chinese security personnel arrived at the site of his protest, doused the flames and bundled him away.
Eyewitnesses had earlier reported that when Sungdue Kyab was apprehended by Chinese security personnel stationed at the monastery, he began to smash his head against the walls.
TCHRD noted that local Chinese authorities have increased their efforts “to sow seeds of discord and division among” local Tibetans in Bora town. The group said many government cadres and workers hailing from Bora town but working in adjoining areas are being transferred back to “carry out measures to combat self-immolation incidents and other protests.”
“In an ongoing crackdown on the besieged Bora Monastery, these cadres and workers are being assigned the responsibility of providing proper ‘guidance’ and monitoring the activities of some monks who are under government surveillance,” the group said. “The cadres and workers are given the responsibility of reining in the blacklisted monks; each monk from the list is under the direct surveillance of a government cadre.”
An alarming total of 95 Tibetans have self-immolated inside Tibet since the wave of fiery protests began in 2009, demanding freedom and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile.
