Transforming our world
through nonviolent action
through nonviolent action
NEW YORK, May 23rd—Yesterday, more than 50 Tibetans and human rights activists gathered in front of the United Nations to protest High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet’s visit to China. As the High Commissioner landed in China over the weekend, activists sent the message that failure to raise Tibet strongly during the visit would be completely unacceptable. Signs and banners specifically referred to her duty to protect Tibet’s children and investigate the more than 800,000 Tibetan children aged 6-18 in colonial boarding schools.
Activists organized a powerful political theater outside the United Nations. The action showed a Tibetan teacher teaching the Tibetan language to a group of school children. Then, in the middle of her lesson, she was suddenly taken away and replaced with a Chinese teacher. This powerful performance demonstrated the devastating reality of what is happening right now in Tibet.
Campaigns Director at Students for a Free Tibet, Pema Doma, said:
“It has been over two decades since a High Commissioner has visited Tibet; with 4 in every 5 Tibetan children in Tibet essentially being raised in Chinese government run colonial boarding schools, Tibet’s children cannot afford to wait. Another two decades would be devastating for millions of Tibetan children. This would mark a complete failure of the Office of the High Commissioner to sufficiently represent the values and mandates of its role within the international landscape. The Office of the High Commissioner has a responsibility to strongly raise Tibet during this upcoming visit.”
17-year-old Tibetan-American activist, Tenzin Lama, said:
“Right now, inside Tibet, children are being separated from their parents and sent to Chinese residential schools, some of which are hundreds of miles away from their homes. To be able to live as a family is not a privilege, it is an inherent human right; a human right that is recognized by the very United Nations we are standing in front of today! Yet the United Nations is silent. Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human rights, is silent on Tibet. The world is silent.”
The protest was organized by Students for a Free Tibet, Tibetan Community New York/New Jersey, Dhokham Chushi Gangdruk, and Regional Tibetan Youth Congress.
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An 81-year-old Tibetan man has died after a self-immolation protest over Chinese rule, setting himself on fire last week at a police station in front of a major monastery in the western Chinese province of Sichuan, a source from the monastery’s branch in India told RFA late Saturday.
The burning death on March 27 of a man identified as Taphun raises to 160 the number of Tibetans confirmed to have set themselves on fire since 2009, nearly all to protest Chinese rule in the Tibetan Autonomous Region, as well as historically Tibetan areas of Sichuan and Qinghai provinces.
“On the 27th of March, around 5 o’clock in the morning, 81-year-old Taphun self-immolated in front of a police station near Kirti Monastery in a protest against the Chinese government’s oppression,” said Kanyak Tsering, a spokesman at the monastery’s branch in Dharamsala, India, home to the Tibetan government in exile and the Dalai Lama.
“He was immediately taken away by the Chinese police. Though it’s been a few days since we learned about this incident, now it is confirmed that he has passed away,” the spokesman told RFA’s Tibetan Service.
The 550-year-old Kirti Monastery lies in Ngaba (in Chinese, Aba) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province, part of what was formerly the Amdo region of Tibet before it was absorbed by China.
“The place where Taphun self-immolated is in front of the police station that is right outside Kirti Monastery’s entrance,” said Tsering.
“March is usually a very sensitive month for Tibetans and we have often seen many Tibetans in Ngaba self-immolate in the past,” the exile Kirti spokesman noted.
“There are more restrictions and police presence around this time than usual and Tibetans are often arbitrarily interrogated by the Chinese police,” he added.
March 10 is Tibetan Uprising Day, the date in 1959 of a failed armed rebellion against Chinese rule that resulted in a violent crackdown on Tibetans that drove the Dalai Lama across the Himalayas into exile in India.
Although disclosed on April 2, the Kirti incident took place three days before the most recent known self-immolation–that of a man, known only as Tsering, who set himself ablaze in front of a Chinese police station near a Buddhist monastery in Kyegudo (in Chinese, Jiegu), in Yushul (Yushu) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai. His fate and other details remain unknown.
Sporadic demonstrations challenging Beijing’s rule over what was an independent nation until China’s invasion in 1950 have continued in Tibetan-populated areas of China since widespread protests swept the region in the run-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
High-technology controls on phone and online communications in Tibetan areas often prevent news of Tibetan protests and arrests from reaching the outside world, and sharing news of self-immolations outside China has led to jail sentences.
Chinese authorities maintain a tight grip on the Himalayan region, restricting Tibetans’ political activities and peaceful expression of ethnic and religious identity, and subjecting Tibetans to persecution, torture, imprisonment, and extrajudicial killings.
Translated by Tenzin Dickyi for RFA’s Tibetan Service. Written in English by Paul Eckert.
Students for a Free Tibet would like to wish a Ramadan Mubarak to all of our allies celebrating around the world. During this joyous time of year, we especially hold our Muslim friends from the Uyghur and Rohingya communities in our hearts. Over the next month, we wish all of you a peaceful time of reflection and harmony.
Uyghurs across East Turkestan are either in Chinese concentration camps or cannot freely celebrate this holy month. Under Chinese-occupation, Uyghurs do not have the basic right to practice their religion. From destroying ancient mosques to “Sinicizing” Islam, the Chinese Communist Party is hellbent on destroying Uyghur’s Muslim identity. To make matters worse, most Muslim governments around the world are siding with China in their war against the Muslim faith in East Turkestan.
SFT wholeheartedly condemns any person or institution that legitimizes Uyghur repression. During Ramadan and beyond, we recommit ourselves to the fight for Uyghur liberation. Our struggles are interconnected and we will not stop fighting until we are all free.
A Tibetan man set himself on fire near a police station in a Tibetan region of northwestern China’s Qinghai province and was immediately taken away by authorities with no word on his condition, sources in Tibet and India said Thursday, a day after the incident.
The man, known only as Tsering Samdup, or Tsering, self-immolated on Wednesday afternoon in front of a Chinese police station near a Buddhist monastery in Kyegudo (in Chinese, Jiegu), in Yushul (Yushu) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai, a source in Tibet told RFA’s Tibetan Service.
“The Tibetan who self-immolated is a very well-educated person. He was immediately taken away by the Chinese police and no one is allowed to meet or inquire about the self-immolator,” said the source, who requested anonymity for security reasons.
“There are no particular restrictions in place in Kyegudo at the moment by the Chinese authorities, in order to present a very normal ambience,” the source added.
A report by the Central Tibetan Administration, the Tibetan government in exile in Dharamsala, India, confirmed the time and place of the incident, but added: “verifiable information on the name and background detail of the self-immolator is not available.”
With Wednesday’s incident, 159 Tibetans are confirmed to have set themselves on fire since 2009, mostly to protest Chinese rule in Tibetan areas, and another eight have taken their lives in Nepal and India, home to large exile populations.
The previous known self-immolation took place on Feb. 25, when popular contemporary singer Tsewang Norbu, 25, shouted slogans and set himself on fire in a protest in front of the iconic Potala Palace in the Tibet regional capital Lhasa.
Tsering’s attempt is the first one in Yushul since a spate of six self-immolations by men aged 22 to 62 in 2012.
A region of nomads and monasteries that was part of Tibet’s traditional Kham province, Yushul lies at an altitude of 3,700 m (12,100 ft) in the mountainous eastern edge of the Tibetan plateau.
Sporadic demonstrations challenging Beijing’s rule over what was an independent nation until China’s invasion in 1950 have continued in Tibetan-populated areas of China since widespread protests swept the region in the run-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
High-technology controls on phone and online communications in Tibetan areas often prevent news of Tibetan protests and arrests from reaching the outside world, and sharing news of self-immolations outside China can lead to jail sentences.
Chinese authorities maintain a tight grip on the Himalayan region, restricting Tibetans’ political activities and peaceful expression of ethnic and religious identity, and subjecting Tibetans to persecution, torture, imprisonment, and extrajudicial killings.
Translated by Tenzin Dickyi for RFA’s Tibetan Service. Written in English by Paul Eckert.
Tsewang Norbu, a popular 25-year-old contemporary Tibetan singer who reportedly self immolated in late February, has passed away, a reliable source has confirmed.
According to reports by exile media, Tsewang Norbu self immolated on 25 February 2022 in front of the Potala Palace in Tibet’s capital Lhasa. Lhasa is one of the most strictly monitored cities in the world with heavy police presence. Chinese police immediately came to the spot and took him away. With extreme surveillance and monitoring of the flow of information in Tibet, it has become difficult to ascertain details of his self-immolation protest. The cause of his death after the reported self-immolation protest also remains unknown at the moment.
Tsewang Norbu’s family were informed of his passing by the Chinese police on 2 March 2022. However, the authorities have not returned his body to them.
Following protests against the Chinese government in Tibet, including self-immolation protests, the Chinese government immediately imposes heightened restrictions and repression with almost complete censorship of communication. Thus, details about such protests remain unknown for years at times.
The 2015 self-immolation protest of Shurmo, a 26-year-old Tibetan who died after the protest in Nagchu’s Driru county, emerged only last year after over five years since the incident.
Tsewang Norbu was an up and coming star whose songs gained popularity among the Tibetan community at home and abroad. The talented multi-genre artist had appeared in Chinese reality singing competitions similar to “The Voice” and “Idols”. Some of the hit songs include “Dress up”, “Tsampa”, and “Except you” among others. He was son of Sonam Wangmo, a popular and award winning female singer, who was later recruited in Chinese government’s “Song and Dance Troupe”.
The last known self-immolation protest was Yonten’s self-immolation protest on 26 November 2019 in Ngaba against Chinese rule of Tibet and its hardline policies against the Tibetans.
On 2 March 2022, Chinese authorities contacted the family of singer Tsewang Norbu and informed them that Tsewang Norbu has passed away. However, his body was not handed over to his family.
–Filed by the UN, EU, and the Human Rights Desk, Tibet Advocacy Section, DIIR
Last updated on 17 March 2022
TO COMMEMORATE THE 63RD ANNIVERSARY OF TIBETAN NATIONAL UPRISING DAY, TIBETANS AND ALLIES PROTEST AT THE UN AND CHINESE CONSULATE
NEW YORK, March 10th—Today, more than 500 Tibetans and human rights activists gathered in front of the United Nations to protest and commemorate the 63rd anniversary of Tibetan National Uprising Day. At the UN, speakers and protesters called for freedom for the people of Tibet and lamented the recent self-immolation death of young Tibetan singer, Tsewang Norbu, in Lhasa.
Campaigns Director at Students for a Free Tibet, Pema Doma, spoke in front of the UN. She said:
“As we stand in front of the United Nations, I am thinking about the recent announcement of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet. She recently announced that she will be visiting China and East Turkestan. However, with no visit by a UN expert to Tibet in 17 years, it is unacceptable that she should visit China and not look into the plight of the Tibetan people. I call on Commissioner Bachelet to visit Tibetan political prisoners such as A-Nya Sengdra, Go Sherab Gyatso, Rinchen Tsultrim and Lobsang Lhundup. I call on her to visit Drago, which is undergoing an unprecedented destruction of cultural and religious sites. This is the bare minimum Commissioner Bachelet can do to ensure that Tibetan voices are heard during her visit.”
Prominent politicians also lent their support to those marching today. Congressman Tom Suozzi expressed his support for the Tibetan cause:
“Sixty-three years ago, Tibetans are still demanding independence and the freedom simply to be Tibetan – to speak their language, to practice their Buddhist religion, and to live freely in their own country.Whether it’s Tibetan Buddhists, Uyghur Muslims, or students in Hong Kong, we need to stand up and push back against China for its failure to promote basic human rights. As a member of the CECC, I will continue to stand up and call out oppression and religious persecution around the world.”
After more than three hours protesting at the UN, protestors marched to the Chinese Consulate where they continued chanting slogans such as “Free Tibet, China out of Tibet now.” In front of the Chinese Consulate, representatives from the Uyghur community and movements lent their support to the Tibetan struggle.
Outside the Chinese Consulate, SFT’s Grassroots Director Tenzin Yangzom said: “63 years ago this day, Tibetans inside Tibet took to the streets to protest China’s brutal occupation of Tibet. Today, everything we know of our homeland has changed in every way possible. Scholars and writers like Go Sherab Gyatso are being wrongfully imprisoned and pushed to an undeserving fate. Over 78% of Tibetan children, some as young as four are being sent to colonial boarding schools where they are coerced into learning Mandarin and forget their mother tongue. Last week, we heard about the self-immolation attempt by 25 year old singer Tsewang Norbu. We must hold the Chinese government accountable and educate the world about these issues that impact their future as well.”
The New York March 10 rally was organized by The Tibetan Community New York/New Jersey, Regional Tibetan Youth Congress NY/NJ, Dokham Chushi Gangdruk, Utsang Association of New York & New Jersey, North America Dhomay Association, United State Tibet Committee, and Students for a Free Tibet.
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