Two More Tibetan Immolate, Toll Reaches 72

CTA: Two Tibetan youth have set themselves on fire in Rebgong (Ch: Tongren) in north-eastern Tibet’s Amdo Province (incorporated to China’s Qinghai Province), taking the total self-immolations to 10 in this month alone, fresh reports coming out of Tibet say.

Nyingkar Tashi, 24 and Nyingchak Bum, 18, set themselves on fire around 3:30 pm (local time) on Monday (12 November) at Dowa township in Rebgong.

Nyinkar raised slogans calling for the long life His Holiness the Dalai Lama and freedom for Tibetans. He died on the spot. A photo shows his body completely engulfed in flames in front of a row of local Tibetans.

Later around 7:00 pm, Nyinchak Bum, a father of two, died after setting fire to himself near the town office. Thousands of local Tibetans gathered at the town prevented the police from taking away his body, and took it to Dowa monastery for prayer service.

Meanwhile, a large number of military convoys have been dispatched towards Dowa township, located some 100 kms from Rebgong county.

Local Tibetans say Nyingkar self-immolated when a large number of authorities from the Central and local government are camping in the town since yesterday, who blamed “outside forces for instigating self-immolations by Tamdin Tso and Kalsang Jinpa on 7 and 8 November respectively.

At a public meeting convened by county and local government officials in the town on Sunday, a local Tibetan official stunned the public when he said “the reasons for self-immolations are ban on keeping His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s photo and worshiping him, restriction on His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s
return to his homeland, imprisonment of the Panchen Lama and lack of freedom in Tibet.”

With the latest incident today, 72 Tibetans have self-immolated in Tibet calling for the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet and freedom for Tibetans. 58 of them have died.