2012-01-08
Protesters in a Chinese province force police to return the remains of a monk who self-immolated and died.
This frame grab from a video released by Students for a Free Tibet shows the self-immolation of a Tibetan in Dawu, Ganzi prefecture in Sichuan province, Nov. 3, 2011.
Hundreds of angry Tibetans forced Chinese authorities Sunday to return the body of a monk who self-immolated, parading the corpse in the streets in China's western Qinghai province, witnesses said.
Sopa, a 42-year-old respected monk, set himself on fire and died in the town center of Darlag (in Chinese, Dari) county in Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
"Before he set himself on fire at around 6am, he drank and threw kerosene all over his body. His body exploded in pieces [and the remains were] taken away by police," a source from inside Tibet told RFA.
Several hundred Tibetans marched to the police station to demand his remains and when their request was denied, "the protesters smashed windows and doors of the local police station," another source said.
When the police finally relented and handed over Sopa's remains, the protesters paraded the body in the streets, sources said.
"Only the head and chest parts [of the body] are intact, the rest were in pieces when Tibetans received the remains from the police," a third source said.
Rinpoche
Sopa was a Rinpoche, an honorific used in Tibetan Buddhism for lamas and other high-ranking or respected teachers. He served in a monastery in Darlag.
His death came after two Tibetans set themselves on fire Friday in restive Ngaba (in Chinese, Aba) prefecture in China's Sichuan province, protesting against Chinese rule and calling for the return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet.
One of them, a monk, is believed to have died.
Fifteen Tibetans have self immolated since March last year and rights groups say the incidents underscored the "desperate" situation facing Tibetans as Chinese authorities pursued a security clampdown.
“These latest self-immolations confirm that what we are currently witnessing in Tibet is a sustained and profound rejection of the Chinese occupation," Free Tibet Director Stephanie Brigden said on Friday.
“It is a damning indictment of the international community that 14 people, in different parts of Tibet, have now chosen to set themselves on fire and the international community has failed to respond.
“We can only expect that such acts of protest will continue for as long as world leaders turn a blind eye to the desperate situation in Tibet," she said.
'Kalachakra'
The self-immolations came as tens of thousands of Buddhist pilgrims from around the world traveled this week to Bodhgaya, a town in northern India, to hear the Dalai Lama give the "Kalachakra" religious teachings.
At least 9,000 Tibetans traveling on Chinese passports, along with an estimated 1,200 Chinese Buddhists from the mainland, are among those who have registered with the event authorities.
Reported by Dolkar and Chakmo Tso for RFA's Tibetan service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai.
Sopa, a 42-year-old respected monk, set himself on fire and died in the town center of Darlag (in Chinese, Dari) county in Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
"Before he set himself on fire at around 6am, he drank and threw kerosene all over his body. His body exploded in pieces [and the remains were] taken away by police," a source from inside Tibet told RFA.
Several hundred Tibetans marched to the police station to demand his remains and when their request was denied, "the protesters smashed windows and doors of the local police station," another source said.
When the police finally relented and handed over Sopa's remains, the protesters paraded the body in the streets, sources said.
"Only the head and chest parts [of the body] are intact, the rest were in pieces when Tibetans received the remains from the police," a third source said.
Rinpoche
Sopa was a Rinpoche, an honorific used in Tibetan Buddhism for lamas and other high-ranking or respected teachers. He served in a monastery in Darlag.
His death came after two Tibetans set themselves on fire Friday in restive Ngaba (in Chinese, Aba) prefecture in China's Sichuan province, protesting against Chinese rule and calling for the return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet.
One of them, a monk, is believed to have died.
Fifteen Tibetans have self immolated since March last year and rights groups say the incidents underscored the "desperate" situation facing Tibetans as Chinese authorities pursued a security clampdown.
“These latest self-immolations confirm that what we are currently witnessing in Tibet is a sustained and profound rejection of the Chinese occupation," Free Tibet Director Stephanie Brigden said on Friday.
“It is a damning indictment of the international community that 14 people, in different parts of Tibet, have now chosen to set themselves on fire and the international community has failed to respond.
“We can only expect that such acts of protest will continue for as long as world leaders turn a blind eye to the desperate situation in Tibet," she said.
'Kalachakra'
The self-immolations came as tens of thousands of Buddhist pilgrims from around the world traveled this week to Bodhgaya, a town in northern India, to hear the Dalai Lama give the "Kalachakra" religious teachings.
At least 9,000 Tibetans traveling on Chinese passports, along with an estimated 1,200 Chinese Buddhists from the mainland, are among those who have registered with the event authorities.
Reported by Dolkar and Chakmo Tso for RFA's Tibetan service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai.
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