08/14/2012

Five self-immolations in one week: When will the world hear the Tibetans' call for help?

Situation in Tibet escalates dramatically

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) warns of a dramatically escalating crisis in Tibet. "Never before have five Tibetans in a single week set themselves on fire to protest the Chinese policies on Tibet," said Ulrich Delius of the STP's Asia section on Tuesday in Göttingen. "Desperate Tibetans are crying out for help, and the international community must take them seriously and put pressure on China to rethink their Tibet policy. Otherwise the conflict threatens to spiral out of control – and the losers will be not only the Tibetans, but also the Chinese government."

On Monday evening of this week two more Tibetans committed self-immolation, this time in the primarily Tibetan region of Ngaba in Sichuan Province. According to eyewitness reports, a monk from the Kirti monastery and a young Tibetan set themselves on fire. Nothing is known about their current physical condition. Both of the injured were taken away by Chinese security forces. On Monday last week, Buddhist monk Lobsang Tsultrim from the Kirti monastery also set himself on fire. On the subsequent Tuesday, Tibetan Dolkar Tso doused herself with gasoline and set herself alight. Three days later, on the Friday, 24-year-old nomad Choepa set himself on fire. He died of severe burns the next day.

"Many governments are still reluctant to interpret the self-immolations as a call for help from desperate people," criticized Delius. They accuse the Tibetans of practicing violence by protesting in this manner. "But it is not a question of whether we approve of these acts of self-immolation or not. Naturally we wish that nobody would choose their own death to draw attention to the plight of Tibet. But the massive increase in attempted suicides clearly shows the level of hopeless felt by many Tibetans. This message must be heard by the international community."

Since 2008 China has sharply increased their acts of persecution in Tibet and deployed increasing numbers of security forces to spread fear and horror in many Tibetan settlement areas. This repression may succeed in stifling public protests, but the power to escape through death has not been taken from the Tibetans. "In this sense, the wave of suicide attempts also documents the failure of the rigorous Tibet policy propounded by the Communist party," said Delius.