Self-Immolations in Tibet
On Saturday, a former monk set himself on fire to protest Chinese rule of Tibet. Norbu Dathul shouted “Tibet needs freedom!” and “His Holiness the Dalai Lama must return!” then tried to take his life. Police put out the flames, and the condition of the 19-year-old is not known, according to London-based Free Tibet, an advocacy group.
It was the eighth self-immolation since March. Most of the incidents, like this one, have occurred around the Kirti Monastery, which is in the part of Sichuan province that the Chinese call Aba and the Tibetans Ngaba. The monastery has been the subject of a massive security crackdown this year with a forced exodus of hundreds of monks and another hated “patriotic re-education program.” According to monks, there have been unpublicized suicides there.
The wave of self-immolations come amid reports that Tibetans have recently stepped up acts of defiance, often publicly displaying images of the Dalai Lama, which are prohibited. Beijing’s response in the last several years has been to seal off Tibetan areas and increase coercion there, but heightened repression has failed to end resistance to Chinese rule.
Beijing speaks of Tibet as if it has always been part of China, but the Chinese narrative is not accurate. The Tibetans and Chinese have a complicated history, but the situation today is clear. Tibet, which was once free, has been conquered and is now part of the People’s Republic….