Tibetan men in 'first self-immolations in Lhasa'
28 May 2012
Last updated at 01:31 ET
Activists say the self-immolations are a protest against Chinese rule
The self-immolations are thought to be the first in Lhasa and the second inside Tibet.
But they follows a series of self-immolations, mostly involving monks and nuns, in Tibetan areas outside Tibet.
"They were a continuation of the self-immolations in other Tibetan areas and these acts were all aimed at separating Tibet from China," Hao Peng, head of the Communist Party's Commission for Political and Legal Affairs in the Tibet Autonomous Region, was quoted as saying.
'Not a trace' The man who died was identified as Tobgye Tseten. The other man, named Dargye, survived and was able to talk, the report said.
The two men were believed to have been among a group of youths who had gathered to protest against Chinese rule, said the RFA report.
Police put out the flames ''within minutes'' of the self-immolations, Xinhua said.
''Within 15 minutes, the area was cleaned and not a trace of the incident was left at the site,'' an eyewitness told RFA.
There have now been more than 30 self-immolations over the past year, primarily among young Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns. Most of them are believed to have died.
Most of the incidents have taken place in Tibetan areas of Sichuan province in southwest China.
Verifying these accounts is difficult, as foreign media are not allowed into the area.
China's leaders blame the Dalai Lama, the Tibetans' exiled spiritual leader, for inciting the self-immolations and encouraging separatism.
He rejects this, and both activist groups and the Tibetan government-in-exile say the self-immolations are protests against tight Chinese control of the region and religious repression.
It is not clear whether this is an organised movement or simply individuals carrying out copy-cat acts of personal protest, reports the BBC's Michael Bristow in Beijing.
But it shows there is deep unhappiness, among at least some Tibetans, about how China rules them, our correspondent says.
Tibetan men in 'first self-immolations in Lhasa'
Activists say the self-immolations are a protest against Chinese rule
Two men set themselves on fire in the Tibetan city of Lhasa on Sunday, Chinese state media said, confirming earlier reports.
One of the men died and the other "survived with injuries", Xinhua news agency said. The self-immolations are thought to be the first in Lhasa and the second inside Tibet.
But they follows a series of self-immolations, mostly involving monks and nuns, in Tibetan areas outside Tibet.
"They were a continuation of the self-immolations in other Tibetan areas and these acts were all aimed at separating Tibet from China," Hao Peng, head of the Communist Party's Commission for Political and Legal Affairs in the Tibet Autonomous Region, was quoted as saying.
'Not a trace' The man who died was identified as Tobgye Tseten. The other man, named Dargye, survived and was able to talk, the report said.
Continue reading the main story
The Tibet Divide
- China says Tibet always part of its territory
- Tibet had long periods of autonomy
- China launched a military assault in 1950
- Opposition to Chinese rule led to a bloody uprising in 1959
- Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, fled to India
- Dalai Lama now advocates a "middle way" with Beijing, seeking autonomy but not independence
An earlier Radio Free Asia (RFA)
report had referred to the men as monks and said that the incident took
place outside the Jokhang Temple, a well-known tourist destination.
The Xinhua report said the self-immolations took place on a
busy street near the temple. Downtown Lhasa was crowded with people
celebrating a Buddhist festival, it added.The two men were believed to have been among a group of youths who had gathered to protest against Chinese rule, said the RFA report.
Police put out the flames ''within minutes'' of the self-immolations, Xinhua said.
''Within 15 minutes, the area was cleaned and not a trace of the incident was left at the site,'' an eyewitness told RFA.
There have now been more than 30 self-immolations over the past year, primarily among young Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns. Most of them are believed to have died.
Most of the incidents have taken place in Tibetan areas of Sichuan province in southwest China.
Verifying these accounts is difficult, as foreign media are not allowed into the area.
China's leaders blame the Dalai Lama, the Tibetans' exiled spiritual leader, for inciting the self-immolations and encouraging separatism.
He rejects this, and both activist groups and the Tibetan government-in-exile say the self-immolations are protests against tight Chinese control of the region and religious repression.
It is not clear whether this is an organised movement or simply individuals carrying out copy-cat acts of personal protest, reports the BBC's Michael Bristow in Beijing.
But it shows there is deep unhappiness, among at least some Tibetans, about how China rules them, our correspondent says.
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The problem as I see for China is that this is the highest and deepest form of protest that a Buddhist can give because this is a non-violent religion. So, the effect is very in the Ghandi mode in this sense of non-violent protest.
The more China does nothing to respond to these types of protests the more the whole world will consider China to be a moral vaccuum and tend to shy away from China more and more. Not responding only makes China look worse and worse in the eyes of the whole world. This is a very serious problem for China as far as their relationship with the rest of the civilized world is concerned.
The first self-immolations I saw pictures of were of Buddhist Monks in Saigan, Viet Nam during the Viet Nam war during the 1960s and early 1970s. They were protesting the way the war was being fought by both sides as I remember. So, often Buddhist monks self immolate if too many people's human rights are being tramped upon and abused. When you see Buddhist Monks or anyone for that matter anywhere doing this, you know for sure Human rights are being neglected or seriously abused or else people wouldn't do this at all. This is a personal protest of last resort. Death is very final and death by fire is one of the most painful ways to die.
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