Tenzin Yarphel in an undated photo
Photo: rfa.org
A popular Communist Party chief has been demoted after five self-immolations this year in Dzoege county in Sichuan province where he was stationed. Local opinion however suggests he was moved because of his rising popularity.
Tenzin Yarphel, the ruling county party secretary in Dzoege (in Chinese: Ruo’ergai) county, situated in the Ngaba (Aba) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, was recently moved to a low-ranking position within the environment agency on June 8.
An anonymous source told the Radio Free Asia website: “The authorities did not like his popularity with the local community and the approval of a special religious congregation. Therefore he was transferred to the prefecture’s headquarters in Barkham (in Chinese Ma’erkang) county.”
He added: “Tenzin Yarphel was very popular in Dzoege as he was very responsive to the problems of the community.”
However in the last year there have been five self-immolations in Dzoege county. Two were “twin burnings”, and a more controversial was that of Kunchok Wangmo, 31, a Tibetan woman who burned herself to death in March. This is the official reason for his removal from office.
Apparently the Chinese police tried to cover up Kunchok Wangmo’s story and blamed the incident on a domestic dispute, contradicting eye-witness accounts stating that she had “sacrificed her life for the Tibetans”. After she had torched herself the authorities allegedly offered her family 1 million yuan (U.S. $163,000) if they cooperated with the “official story”. The parents and husband refused, leaving the husband imprisoned still, it is believed, to this day.
Tragically, 120 Tibetans have self-immolated in protest over Chinese rule since early 2009.
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