A Tibetan monk who self-immolated in protest against the Chinese government in February last year has survived but had both of his legs amputated, according to information received by TCHRD.
Sonam Rabyang, 42, a monk from Lab Monastery set his body on fire on 8 February 2012 at Triwang (Ch: Chen wen) town, capital of Tridu (Ch: Chenduo) County in Yulshul (Ch: Yushu) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai Province.
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.
TCHRD has received an eyewitness account of self-immolation protest staged by Drubtse on the third day of Tibetan New Year, 13 February, in Boudanath, Kathmandu, Nepal.
The eyewitness, a foreign tourist, who wants to remain anonymous, on account of the sensitivity of the issue, had a chance encounter with Drubtse moments before he self-immolated in protest against Chinese rule in Tibet.
“We arrived at galleria café in Boudanath around 8. 15 am. We were to have our breakfast, when a young Tibetan guy, probably between 20-25 years old, came forward to speak to us. He then spoke about Tibet and said that it is a beautiful land and he loved it so much,” said the eyewitness.
Ugyen Lhundup, 57, was a farmer at Thangka Village in Kardze (Ch: Ganzi) Township in Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province. In 1999, he came to India and lived for some time to study Buddhism. In 2001, after attending the Kalachakra teachings at Bodh Gaya in the north Indian state of Bihar, he returned to Tibet taking along some CDs and books containing religious teachings, which he shared with others on requests from friends and relatives. He also made free copies of the CDs and distributed them among his social circle. It was then that he became a prime target for supervision and surveillance. On 21 October 2012, to escape imminent arrest, he left his house and farm in the care of his neighbor, and secretly left Tibet and reached India on 15 December 2012. Ugyen Lhundup shares his ordeal:
“In 2002, the head of County Public Security Bureau officer, Loga, summoned me at his office. At the PSB office, the officer confiscated my passport and threatened me with five to six months’ detention, if I did not stop questioning the confiscation of my passport. I was let go but without my passport.
Lobsang Samphel, 25, was born in Tsoduk nomadic village in Ngaba (Ch: Aba) County in Ngaba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, in Amdo province. He became a monk at 13 and joined Gomang Monastery, which had over 900 monks prior to 2008. Lobsang Samphel saw first-hand the deaths of unarmed Tibetan protesters from police firing at a protest in Ngaba County town. He reached in exile in India in November 2012. He shares his story with TCHRD:
“After the widespread protests in 2008 in Tibet, the Chinese authorities appointed 25 permanent staff at Gomang Monastery, to carry out ‘patriotic education’ and oversee the entire teachings and administration at the monastery. Restrictions on day-to-day affairs have since increased at the monastery, posing great obstacles to the monks. Beginning 29 March 2008, the Chinese authorities launched an intensified three-month ‘patriotic education’ campaign at Gomang Monastery. The objectives of the campaign were to oppose and condemn ‘splittist cliques’ and ‘Dalai clique.’ Monks undergoing political education classes had to sit for exams every ten days, finding the correct answer for sensitive political questions such as ‘Is the Dalai clique responsible for ‘splitting’ the Chinese Motherland or not?’ Such derogatory remarks and baseless allegations against our root spiritual teacher filled our hearts with anguish and we felt as if our hearts have been wounded.
Jigme Gyaltsen, 21, was a monk at Rongwo Monastery in Rebkong (Ch: Tongren) County in Malho (Ch: Huangnan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province. He joined Rebkong Monastery at 14. He was born in Kangtsa Village in Yadzi (Ch: Xunhua) County in Tsoshar (Ch: Haidong) Prefecture, Qinghai Province. Jigme Gyaltsen fled Tibet so that he could continue his religious studies in India, and to share the story of his friend and roommate Jamyang Palden, who passed away on 16 September 2012, six months after his self-immolation protest. Jigme Gyaltsen escaped Tibet in September 2012, travelling for one month and 22 days to reach India on 26 December 2012. He speaks to TCHRD:
“On 9 March 2012, Jamyang Palden, my roommate at Rongwo Monastery, set himself ablaze at Dolma Square near our monastery. Minutes after the self-immolation, monks took Jamyang Palden to a secure place in the monastery so that he would not get into the hands of the Chinese police. He was treated at the monastery for some months getting injections on his foot every month. There was not much hope for his survival as most of his body had burnt beyond treatment. Monks took turns to take care of him. He could not talk much and his voice was low. He could not eat much, just some diluted Tsampa porridge and kept saying, ‘My wishes are not fulfilled.’
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.
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.
As Tibetans in Tibet mourn the loss of lives in self-immolation protests by observing a quiet Losar (Tibetan New Year), the Chinese authorities are ordering Tibetans to celebrate the festival by announcing huge rewards, and punishments for those who disobey the order.
According to information received by TCHRD, days prior to Losar, which began 11 February, Chinese officials in Tsolho (Ch: Hainan) Prefecture, Qinghai Province, were seen visiting Tibetan villages in the area, ordering the Tibetans to celebrate the New Year.
Officials announced that villagers would be rewarded handsomely if they celebrate the New Year. They warned that those Tibetans who did not celebrate would be deprived of financial help for farming and animal husbandry.
After engaging in severe and systematic crackdown on self-immolation protests last year, the Chinese government has now stepped up the ante on propaganda offensive by conducting ‘patriotic education’ campaigns heavily centred on anti self-immolation messages and distribution of campaign paraphernalia such as documents, pamphlets, books, and animated posters exhorting the Tibetans both in pictures and words, the criminal consequences such as arrests, detention, and heavy prison terms including suspended death sentence.
According to information received by TCHRD, the Chinese government has published a document, targeted at Tibetans, that explains the legal consequences under Chinese Criminal Law for anyone charged of inciting, instigating or abetting self-immolations. The document, probably a booklet, dated January 2013, is titled “Cherish Life, Abide by Law.”
A Tibetan man died a slow and agonising death, almost eight months after he was injured in a violent police crackdown on a protest staged by both lay and local Tibetans in March last year.
According to information received by TCHRD, Gyerig Thar, 35, succumbed to his injuries on 17 November 2012 at a hospital in Siling (Ch: Xining), capital of Qinghai Province. After sustaining serious injuries on his head during the police clampdown on the protest, Geyrig Thar spent the next eight months in the hospital unable to utter a single word. Sources said an explosive burst on his head causing serious injuries to his head. He was referred to some other bigger hospitals where he had to undergo three surgeries on his brain, but hopes for his survival remained weak among his family members even as he was receiving treatment. Sources say he was too weak to consume or retain his food or medicine in his body.
Venerable Kunchok Nyima is a well-respected Buddhist scholar at Drepung Monastic University. In April 2008, he was detained on charges of being the ‘ring leader’ and the main instigator of protests that rocked Lhasa in March of that year. For the next two years, he remained ‘disappeared’ and no one knew where he was detained.
In June 2010, some Chinese government officials made an announcement at Drepung Monastery, admitting for the first time that they were holding Ven. Nyima who the officials said was sentenced for 20 years in prison on charges of ‘inciting’ and ‘abetting’ protests among Drepung monks.
Around 2009, a group of officials visited Ven. Nyima’s family in Thewo and showed them a CD recording that purportedly contained a message from Ven. Nyima. In the film, Ven. Nyima told his family that he was well and friendly with his prison guards and soldiers. He also told his family not to worry about him and asked his brother and sister to take care of his parents. But the authenticity of the video CD cannot be established so far.