Self-Immolations
Feb 13: 2012 Lobsang Gyatso, Status; unknown with his where about. He was 19 years old, of the Badzritsang house in Naktsangma of Cha township, sethimself on fire at the top of the main street of Ngaba town shouting slogans of protest against the Chinese government. Armed police ad special police officers came and extinguished the fire and took him away while beating him. His present condition and whereabouts are not known.
Feb 11: 2012 Tenzin Choedron, status; Deceased She was 18 years old set herself on fire early in the evening on February 11, shouting slogans against the Chinese government. She chose the same place as nun Tenzin Wangmo, the Sumdo bridge area below the nunnery, which is around three kilometers from Ngaba county town. She didn’t die immediately and was taken away by soldiers and police. According to some information she died soon afterwards and her funeral ceremony was arranged.
Feb 9: 2012 Sonam Rabyang, Status; Taken to a hospital, condition is unclear. He was in his mid thirties from Yuthung village, Lab township, Tridu (Chinese Chenduo) cunty, Yulshul (Chinese Yu shu) in Yulshul Tibetan Autonomous prefecture in Qinghai Province (the Tibetan are of Kham). He was at Lab Monastery, and set fire to himself in Tridu town. It is thought that he survived, but it is not clear.
Feb 8: Rinzin Dorje 19 yrs old is a former monk at Kirti Monastry who set himself on fire at a primary school early in the evening in Ngaba county town in Ngaba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan province (the Tibetan area of Amdo). He was taken away by Chinese police, and it is not known whether he is still alive. Two monks were also detained from the vicinity.
Jan 14: Lobsang Jamyang 20's from Ngaba county doused himself in petrol and set himself on fire at around 1:30 pm. He walked into the street calling for the long life of the Dalai Lama and for freedom in Tibet, according to the same sources. Police began to kick and beat him with clubs spiked with nails rather than immediately focusing on putting out the flames. According to two Kirti monks in Dharamsala, India, who have spoken to several individuals in the area: "Unable to bear this sight, local Tibetans on the scene stood up to the armed security personnel without regard for their own lives, and shouting that the body should be handed over to them, tried their best to block their path as they tried to take him away." Losang Jamyang died after his self-immolation but reports about the time of his death differ. He was taken away by police, and one of the most reliable reports suggest that he may have survived until Monday (January 16) when he died. Losang Jamyang became a monk at the local Andu monastery (of the Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism) as a child, but later joined a primary school (Bontse school) in Ngaba county and completed his education there. In 2011 he was a leading member of a popular association for the promotion of Tibetan language in his village, and as a result had faced pressure from the local authorities.
Jan 8: Sonam Wangyal, 40’s, (also referred to as Lama Sobha), a respected religious figure in his local area, drank kerosene and set himself on fire on January 8 early in the morning in Darlag county, Golog (Chinese: Guoluo) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai (the Tibetan area of Amdo), according to the Tibetan government in exile. His self-immolation was said to be linked to lack of religious freedoms in the area. Radio Free Asia reported that before he set himself ablaze, he climbed a local hill to burn incense and pray before distributing leaflets saying he would act "not for his personal glory but for Tibet and for the happiness of Tibetans."
Jan 6: Tsultrim 20's and Tennyi 20's from Ngaba county, Sichuan Province set themselves on fire in the courtyard of a hotel in the center of Ngaba town, and ran into the street shouting "His Holiness the Dalai Lama must return to Tibet" and "May His Holiness the Dalai Lama live for 10,000 years!" Tennyi died on the same day, and Tsultrim died on January 7. They were formerly a monk from Kirti Monastry.
Dec 1: Tenzin Phuntsog, 40’s a former monk at Karma monastery in Chamdo Township set himself on fire in in Khamar Township in Chamdo. In the report by Radio Free Asia, Phuntsog wife’s name is Dolma, and that he has two sons and a daughter. Tenzin Phuntsog died at Chamdo Hospital on December 6, 2011. This first self-immolation to occur in the Tibet Autonomous Region, and the 13th since Kirti monk Tapey set himself on fire on February 27, 2009.
Nov 3: Palden Choetso, 35, set fire to herself November 3, 2011 and is believed to have died in Kardze (Chinese: Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan, the Tibetan area of Kham. The state news agency Xinhua confirmed the self-immolation and reported that the nun died after setting herself on fire near her nunnery in Tawu (also known as Dawu, Chinese: Daofu) county in Kardze. According to one source in exile, "After Palden Choetso’s self-immolation the nuns took her to the nunnery, and she died soon afterwards. Nuns began to pray for her. The local authorities have locked down the area, closing a major road in Tawu, and deploying troops to the nunnery."
Oct 25: Dawa Tsering, 38, became the 11th Tibetan to self-immolate as a form of political protest against Chinese rule when he set fire to himself on the morning of October 25 in Kardze Monastery in eastern Tibet. Dawa Tsering was reportedly participating in a religious ritual inside the monastery attended by hundreds of local people when he set himself on fire. His current condition and whereabouts are not known, and Chinese police have reportedly surrounded the monastery.
Oct 17: Tenzin Wangmo, 20’s Tibetan nun from Mame Dechen Chokorling nunnery (also known as Mame nunnery) in Ngaba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan province (Tibetan region of Amdo), died after self-immolating at the Sumdo bridge, located below Mame nunnery, approximately three kilometers outside of Ngaba county town. According to the same sources, Tenzin Wangmo called for the Dalai Lama’s return to Tibet and for religious freedom, during a protest that lasted approximately 10 minutes. Tenzin Wangmo’s body was taken back to the nunnery before police arrived, whereupon the authorities demanded that her body be turned over or buried the same day, according to the same exile sources. The nuns of Mame nunnery refused, after which soldiers and police cordoned off the nunnery and surrounding villages. Details are still emerging, however, according to the same exile sources; Tenzin Wangmo’s body was cremated on the evening of October 17, by order of the authorities.
Oct 15: Norbu Damdrul, 19, a former Kirti monk, set fire to himself in a protest on the main street in Ngaba (Chinese: Aba) county town just before noon on October 15. According to exiled Tibetan sources he shouted “We need freedom and independence for Tibet,” and called for the return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet as his body was burning, according to the same sources. Norbu’s body was badly burned, but according to the same sources he was still alive when police stationed on the street extinguished the flames and kicked Norbu before taking him away. A large crowd of Tibetans who had gathered at the scene was dispersed at gunpoint by security personnel, according to the same sources.
Oct 7: Kayang,18, a former monks at Kirti monastery set fire to themselves along the main road of Ngaba county town. The two young men clasped their hands together and set fire to themselves before security personnel extinguished the flames and took the two to the county’s government-run hospital. Both young men died following the protest. Kayang’s cousin, a Tibetan named Tashi, was one of the Tibetans killed in the Chinese government crackdown in Ngaba in 2008. The Chinese state media reported the self-immolation in a Xinhua report on October 8, saying that two Tibetans were "slightly injured" after a "self-immolation attempt."
Oct 7: Choepel,19, and Kayang, 18, both former monks at Kirti monastery set fire to themselves along the main road of Ngaba county town. The two young men clasped their hands together and set fire to themselves before security personnel extinguished the flames and took the two to the county’s government-run hospital. Both young men died following the protest. The Chinese state media reported the self-immolation in a Xinhua report on October 8, saying that two Tibetans were "slightly injured" after a "self-immolation attempt."
Oct 3: Kelsang Wangchuk, 17,a 17-year old monk from Kirti monastery immolated himself in Ngaba county town at approximately 2:00 pm local time on October 3, according to Tibetans in exile in contact with Tibetans in the area. The monk, Kelsang Wangchuk, carried a photo of the Dalai Lama and was shouting slogans against the Chinese government when he set fire to himself along the main street in Ngaba county, Ngaba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan province. Full details of the incident have yet to emerge, but some exiled sources say that he was immediately surrounded by security personnel, who extinguished the fire and beat Kelsang Wangchuk before taking him away. Kelsang’s current wellbeing and whereabouts are unknown.