Tag: self-immolation protest

Every year on 26 June, the United Nations observes the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, explicitly focusing on torture’s lasting generational impact and consequences. Recognising torture as the deliberate infliction of severe physical and mental suffering without justification, the United Nations General Assembly designated this day as an urgent call to eliminate this abhorrent practice, serving as a platform to promote the eradication of torture and to urge governments worldwide, including China, to fulfil their obligations under the UN Convention Against Torture. Recent cases, such as the severe torture endured by a Tibetan monk and the testimonies of Dorje Tashi, shed light on the systematic use of torture by Chinese authorities to suppress freedom of expression and assembly. These distressing incidents underscore the pressing need for the international community to take a firm stand and demand an immediate end to all acts of torture against Tibetans in Tibet.

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The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) is deeply shocked and dismayed by the news of two self-immolation protests that occurred in quick succession on Monday. Both involved two Tibetan teenagers burning their bodies to bring international attention and scrutiny to the repression perpetuated by the Chinese authorities in Tibet. Till date, a confirmed number of 152 Tibetans…

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Shichung, a master tailor and father of three became the 121st Tibetan to die of self-immolation protest in Tibet.
Shichung, a master tailor and father of three became the 121st Tibetan to die of self-immolation protest in Tibet.

A Tibetan man known for his master tailoring skills has died of self-immolation protest in front of his home in Thawa Village in Gomang Township in Ngaba (Ch: Aba) County in Ngaba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province. The total number of self-immolation protests inside Tibet has now reached 121.

According to information received by TCHRD, Shichung, 41, set himself on fire at around 4 pm (local time) on 28 September 2013 to protest against China’s repressive policies in Tibet. At the time, local Tibetans were participating in a prayer ceremony conducted every year in the village.

Shichung conducted his self-immolation protest in front of the gate of his house, which lies close to the highway that connects Ngaba to Golog (Ch: Guoluo) in neighboring Qinghai Province. Eyewitnesses said that on the day of the prayer ceremony, sometime in the afternoon, Shichung left the prayer ceremony and headed toward his home. There, at his house, he lighted a butter lamp in front of a portrait of the Dalai Lama. Moments later, he was seen engulfed in flames outside his house. He walked forward around forty steps and died.

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A Tibetan mother of one has died after setting herself on fire in protest against Chinese rule in Dzamthang (Ch: Rangtang) County in Ngaba (Ch: Aba) Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province.

According to information received by TCHRD, Chuktso, 20, died after her self-immolation protest on 16 April near Jonang Monastery in Dzamthang County in the Tibetan province of Amdo. Sources said the burning protest took place at around 3 pm (local time).

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Two Tibetan youths died of self-immolation protest yesterday at Kyangtsa Township in Dzoege (Ch: Zoige/Ru’ergai) County in Ngaba (Ch: Aba) Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province.

According to reliable information received by TCHRD, Rinchen, 17, and Sonam Dhargye, 18, set their bodies on fire to protest Chinese government repression at around 9.30 pm (local time) yesterday in Kyangtsa Township. Both hailed from Gardong Village in Kyangtsa Township. It is not known at the moment what slogans they shouted. Both died at the protest site and their bodies have been taken to their homes.

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According to confirmed information received by TCHRD, on 2 February, at around 6 am, a monk named Lobsang Namgyal, 37, from Kirti Monastery in Ngaba (Ch: Aba) County committed self-immolation near the Public Security Bureau office in Dzoege (Ch: Ru’ergai) County in Ngaba Prefecture, Sichuan Province, in the Tibetan province of Amdo.

The monk, who died on the spot, was seen with running towards the police station, his body in flames, shouting slogans such as ‘May the Dalai Lama live for tens of thousands of years,’ sources told TCHRD.

Lobsang Namgyal 01
Lobsang Namgyal in an undated photograph

Later, the Chinese police found a bag on the site of self-immolation, in which they found the monk’s identity card and a letter, which confirmed the identity of the monk as Lobsang Namgyal hailing from Kirti Monastery. 

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