At least one woman was killed by Chinese forces during a protest in Ngaba on 14th January, with some reports suggesting that a large number were shot after security forces began firing indiscriminately into a crowd of unarmed protesters. Protests have been taking place across Tibet this January.
It appears the 14th January demonstration began when 21-year old Lobsang Jamyang self-immolated in protest against the oppression in Tibet. Chinese officers beat him while he was alight, distressing local Tibetans who then protested. Email Chinese leaders here
The January 14th incident is one of an increasing number of protests in Tibet, where despite tightened controls on information access, news continues to filter through of protests, some of large numbers, occuring in various areas, such as in Serta on 16th January and in Drasar, where around 10 Tibetans protested for two hours with a banner reading “we should struggle for equality and freedom as human beings. We call for democracy, equality, nonviolence, and peace. Protests also occured on 16th and 17th January in Amdo Golok Chikdril Dzong, Pema Town and Draggo in Kardze. 500 Tibetans are thought to have protested in Golok on 15th January. The protesters are calling for the same things which Tibetans who have self-immolated are calling for; freedom and the return of their spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. Some have begun to ask Tibetans to avoid celebrating New Year (Losar) on 22nd February.
The spirit of 2008 is growing again in Tibet as protests spread
The layman who self-immolated on 14th January, now identified as 21-year-old Lobsang Jamyang, shouted slogans such as ‘may His Holiness the Dalai Lama live thousands of years’ after setting himself alight near Kirti monastery, a hotbed of protest in recent years. He was set upon by Chinese security, who beat him and other Tibetans who had gathered around him with iron rods and chains while he was still alight. Some reports say he died on the scene and police took his body away, others than he was alive when taken away and died a few days later. Around 700 Tibetans are said to have surrounded the police station after authorities refused to hand Lobsang Jamyang to them; a common theme with those who has died during earlier self-immolations in 2011, as the Chinese state knows that if locals are able to carry out a funeral service, many will attend, showing that Tibetans support the calls for rights and freedoms. This is when the Chinese authorities reacted with violence.
Eyewitnesses reported that tear gas was used on the crowds, with one saying that the Chinese authorities used ‘a strong gas’ after which ‘many had fallen to the ground’. The authorities opened fire, and it seems large numbers of people were then beaten by Chinese forces. At least one woman was killed, possibly with an iron chain after being struck in the eye, though some reports put the number at three dead, ‘many’ seriously injured and up to 40 arrested. Some suggested a large number of Tibetans had been shot, but actual numbers of fatalities and injuries is unknown, but three women are thought to be in critical condition, another woman has been blinded and two youths severely wounded after beatings. Some background has emerged about Lobsang Jamyang; he spent time as a monk and was a scholarly individual and linguist who was involved in a cultural association which worked to preserve the Tibetan language; another issue which Tibetans have been protesting about in recent years as China attempts to make Chinese the language of education, industry and commerce in Tibet, gradually pushing native speakers out of the workforce. Since the initial information was shared in the morning of 14th January UK time, phone and internet lines to Ngaba have been sporadic as the Chinese state attempts to contain the flow of information.
Photo posted on 14th January; it seems this is from the 14th January incident but this has not been confirmed.
SFT UK Director Pema Yoko said “Tibetans are continuing to put their lives on the line to reject China’s oppressive rule, and are asking us as Tibetans and supporters in exile to make their calls for freedom heard. The tragedies of these self-immolations and brutal crackdowns like we’ve seen in Ngaba today expose the Chinese state’s brutal treatment of the Tibetan people. Tibetans need not just the UK government but governments across the world to take urgent multi-lateral action for Tibet.”
On 15th January, there have been reports that monasteries in the area have been expressing their solidarity with the protesters. This page will be updated as more details emerge. Please keep up with the latest news on our Facebook page.
Monks in Ngaba showing solidarity; the banner reads ‘sharing the joy and sorrow’
This latest self-immolation follows the cases of of monks 18-year-old Tenkyi and 22-year-old Tsultrim of Kirti on 6th January and 42-year old Sopa Rinpoche of Darlag in Golog on 8th January. The incident on 14th January means 16 Tibetans have now self-immolated in the past year, with at least 8 known to have died. Rather than discussing and finding workable solutions to the issues which are causing Tibetans to take this drastic action, the Chinese authorities continue to worsen the situation by beating self-immolating Tibetans and those who support their demands, refusing to hand over bodies to families to carry out funerals and preventing locals from attending funerals when they are able to go ahead. On 14th January, a large number of Tibetans protested after authorties prevented them from attending the funeral of Sopa Rinpoche, a respected religious figure to many. Some did attend, and it is believed that an elderly man attempted to set himself on fire at the funeral.
Also in January, 19-year-old Norbu Damdul, who self-immolated in late 2011, succumed to his injuries in a military hospital in January. Like a growing number of Tibetans, he had called for “complete independence for Tibet”. Other familiar slogans have included calling for the Dalai Lama to return to Tibet and for human rights and religious freedom. Tibetans again showed their support for the Dalai Lama on Monday 16th January, when dozens in Seda county held aloft a picture of the spiritual leader, often punishable for detention and torture. New cases of self-immolations, large protests and state brutality in Tibet are being reported on almost a daily basis; the crisis in Tibet is worsening and we need governments across the world to unify to get behind the Tibetan people.
SFT Executive Director Tenzin Dorjee said “This unprecedented wave of self-immolations is the ultimate rejection of Chinese rule in Tibet. In each of these incidents, the individual carrying out the act of self-immolation has demanded freedom for Tibet and the return of the Dalai Lama.”
Sopa Rinpoche, Norbu Damdul and Lobsang Jamyang
The 14th January incident is the second time Chinese authorties have used tear gas on Tibetan demonstrators in the same week, and is only the latest case already this year of Tibetan deaths at the hands of the Chinese authorties. Gurgo Tseten of Nanba town in Achog, Labrang was reportedly shot dead by Chinese police entering he and Gonpo Kyab’s home on 8th January, after being under suspicion of stealing tents Chinese workers were using while building a military airport; a project which local Tibetans had been protesting against. Hundreds of locals, already angry at the death of another man in custody after he was arrested for speeding on a motorbike, responded by ransacking the police station. The authorities used tear gas on the crowd and an unknown number were injured and arrested.
Meanwhile Ashtsang Norlha succumed to wounds inflicted through torture on 27th December and it was reported on 15th January that in Kham, a Tibetan prisoner named Bulug was also killed through torture by Chinese authorties, while fellow prisoners Gonpo Dargye, Tseten and Jampa were left crippled. A man named Kalsang given a 3 year term after beatings and torture, one of many Tibetans likely to be receiving such treatment. It is unknown how many Tibetans have been arrested and tortured over the past few months as details about such incidents are generally kept secret by the Chinese police, with details not even released to prisoner’s families.
Protest in Golog after authorties prevented people attending Sopa Rinpoche’s funeral, protest thought to be in Kardze, 16th January
It’s vital that the rest of the world listens to the messages Tibetans are giving. Tibetans have had enough of Chinese rule and all the brutality it brings. China’s violent, backward approach to these tragic protests is making things worse and worse, creating a pressure cooker effect of instability and discontent. As responsible, democratic and developed nations, we must call China to task for what is happening in Tibet today in a co-ordinated, constructive, firm and unified way.
SFT and others are continuing the Enough! campaign, calling for global action for Tibet, and so far we’ve seen encouraging signs from governments, with strong statements from the US and EU, condemnation of the crackdowns from high ranking Japanese ministers and the first UK parliamentary debate on Tibet since 2008. But it’s clear more is needed.
TAKE ACTION!.
Send an email to Chinese decision makers
Click here to send an automated email to Chinese policy makers, demanding that they address Tibetan grievances now.
Contact representatives
Please call the Chinese Embassy or consulate in your country and Write to your MP telling them about what’s happening in Ngaba and demand they take action to press China to seriously and progressively address Tibetan grievances.
Sign and share the Enough! petition
Tibet groups around the world have united for the Enough! campaign, and are attempting to gain 50,000 signatories for the Stand Up For Tibet petition, which was launched at the G20 summit, has been given directly into Barack Obama’s hands and currently has over 40,000 signatories.
SFT UK is run mainly by volunteers who use our own resources. You can help us grow by joining the rangzen circle to help us campaign not just now but all year, every year until Tibet is free.
