The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) has been informed by credible sources that Tsewang Norbu, 25, a famous Tibetan singer died of self-immolation on 25 February this year protesting the Chinese government’s repression at the Potala Palace Square in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), in the Tibetan province of U-Tsang.
Prior to Chinese occupation in 1949, Tibet’s capital was more like a town than a city. Covering just three square km, Lhasa (meaning literally “good place”) was the most sacred religious site for all Tibetans and was filled with pilgrims and traders. Today Lhasa’s Chinese- initiated urban growth has resulted in 51 square km crowded with Chinese Karaoke bars, brothels,…