Self-Immolations in Tibet

By Andy Siu, Grade 10

Recently, people have been deliberately setting themselves on fire in Tibet. So far, 12 Tibetan monks and nuns have self-immolated, six of whom are believed to have died.

The first took place on February 27, 2009, but it wasn’t until more than a year later that 11 more set themselves ablaze to protest against the Chinese government’s suppression of free expression and religious belief in Tibet. The most recent one involved a 35-year-old Tibetan nun at a road junction in Sichuan. She covered herself in petrol and potentially ingested some. However, the Chinese government is doing whatever they can to prevent foreign journalists from investigating, so information is limited. The Dalai Lama spoke in response to the Chinese government’s allegations that he was behind the incidents.

“Some kind of culture genocide is taking place,” he said. “This is why you see these sorts of sad incidents happen, due to the desperateness of the situation.”

The Dalai Lama’s comments referred to the long-standing oppression of Tibetans by the Chinese government. An exiled Tibetan leader named Sangay also said that although he doesn’t encourage self-immolation as a form of protest, people have to look into the causes, such as the continuing occupation of Tibet, the Chinese policies of cultural and religious repression, and forced assimilation. However, Chinese officials “pointed their fingers straight back” and criticized the Tibetan government for not denouncing acts of self-immolation.

The entire time that China has ruled Tibet, it has ruled with an “iron fist” and condemned the Dalai Lama for supporting violent separatism. Dalai Lama, of course, denies this. “We are totally committed to the non-violent principle,” he said.

These tragic suicides have drawn new international attention to the situation in Tibet. In fact, many people had been, and some may still be, unaware of the fact that Tibet is being occupied by China. World media’s attention to these suicide protests is shedding light on what is happening in Tibet and helping its people fight against the cultural genocide that is taking place.