Sunday 2 December 2012

Breaking: Tibet continues to burn, Tibetan man self-immolates

The wave of fiery protests inside Tibet continues unabated with reports of another self-immolation protest today in Bora region of Sangchu region in eastern Tibet.

According to exile sources, a young Tibetan man, identified as Sungdue Kyab, set himself ablaze in Bora town of Sangchu, Labrang Tashikhyil region of eastern Tibet.

Sungdue Kyab reportedly carried out his self-immolation protest in the afternoon today on the main street in Bora town near the Bora Monastery. Soon after he set himself on fire, Chinese security personnel arrived at the site of his protest, doused the flames and bundled him away. He is believed to have survived his protest.

According to eyewitnesses, Sungdue Kyab was alive when Chinese security personnel took him away, reportedly to a hospital in Tsoe.

Following the self-immolation protest, monks from the Bora Monastery and local Tibetans reportedly began to make preparations to go to Tsoe but were denied permission by the Chinese authorities. The situation in Bora is being described as tense and communication lines have been heavily hampered.

Further details are awaited at the time of filing this report.

On October 20, Lhamo Kyab, a 27-year-old father of two, passed away in his self-immolation protest near the Bora Monastery. He raised slogans calling for the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet.

The recent escalation in self-immolation protests in Tibet has accounted for 28 self-immolations in the month of November alone. 91 Tibetans have self-immolated inside Tibet since the wave of fiery protests began in 2009, demanding freedom and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile.

Last month, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, in a strong statement, urged Chinese authorities to “promptly address the longstanding grievances that have led to an alarming escalation in desperate forms of protest, including self-immolations, in Tibetan areas.”

Pillay said she was disturbed by "continuing allegations of violence against Tibetans seeking to exercise their fundamental human rights," and called on the Chinese authorities to release detainees, allow independent human rights monitors to visit Tibet, and to lift restrictions on media access to Tibet.

Speaking to reporters, Pillay's spokesman, Rupert Colville, told a news briefing in Geneva on Friday that the self-immolations “are an illustration of how serious the situation is."

"We don't see any progress in dealing with the underlying problems facing Tibetans both in Tibet and in other areas,” Colville said.

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