Self-immolation Shadow over China's Two Sessions - TCHRD Press release /ENG

2012. március 7./Dharamszala/ITN/TibetPress

Three Tibetans, a 32-yr-old widowed mother of four and two teenagers, died of self-immolation in separate incidents as China convened its annual sessions of National People's Congress (NPC) and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
On 5 March 2012, the day the fifth session of 11th NPC opened, 18-yr-old Dorjee set himself on fire at around 6.30 pm (Tibet Time) near a government office in Cha (Chinese: Jia) Township, Ngaba (Chinese: Aba) County, Ngaba Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province. Dorjee's flaming body was seen walking towards the office building as he shouted protest slogans against the Chinese government, according to sources. He died on the spot. Security officers later took away the body despite opposition from the local Tibetans.
On 4 March 2012, on the eve of the NPC session, a 32-yr-old widowed mother of four died after setting herself alight at around 6.30 am (Tibet Time) in front of a police station outside the main gate of Kirti Monastery. Rinchen, whose youngest child is a few-month-old baby and the eldest is 13, demanded the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the restoration of freedom in Tibet. Monks took possession of her burnt body and took it inside the monastery.
On 3 March 2012, the day the Fifth Session of 11th CPPCC opened, a 19-yr-old Tibetan student self-immolated at a vegetable market in Machu (Chinese: Maqu) town, Kanlho (Chinese: Gannan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture) in Gansu Province. Sources say Tsering Kyi was stoned by Chinese vendors while still in flames and almost provoked a massive clash between the Tibetans and the Chinese stone-throwers. According to sources, the local police have refused to release Tsering's body to her family unless the family agrees that Tsering's self-immolation death was motivated by personal problems rather than political grievances. Xinhua, China's state-owned news agency on 7 March echoed the same contention that Tsering's death was caused by 'depression'.
To date, continued repression and absence of any recourse to justice have driven 26 Tibetans to self-immolate in protests in Tibet. It is appalling that the Chinese government has consistently reacted with force and violence to stop the self-immolations. Treating it, in a myopic way, as just a law and order issue, the Chinese government has sent security officers particularly the People’s Armed Police (PAP) and Public Security Bureau (PSB) to crush the protests, be it firing unarmed protesters or kicking and beating bodies in flames with spiked batons.
The fact that not a single local official was sent to hear the grievances of the Tibetan self-immolators and other protesters has deeply hurt Tibetan sentiments and corroded the last remaining faith in the government, if any. This situation is in stark contrast to developments in the Chinese fishing village of Wukan in Guangdong province. Sustained protests by Wukan villagers against official land grabs eventually resulted in the expulsion of village officials and the successful election of the protests leaders in their place. These glaring discriminatory practices are just one aspect of the resentment and repression Tibetans feel and experience under Chinese rule.
By blaming the Dalai Lama and 'hostile foreign forces' for the situation in Tibet, the Chinese government has so far stonewalled any initiative to listen and address the grievances of the Tibetans. To date, the Chinese government has failed to furnish any evidence to prove this imagined collusion of forces outside and inside Tibet.
The language of violence in Chinese response to Tibetan self-immolation protests is alarming. Chen Quanguo, the Communist Party chief of Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) said in February 2012 that TAR officials are preparing for 'war against secessionist sabotage'. In his address to the ongoing NPC session, Chinese premier Wen Jiabao stressed the enhancement of Chinese military's ability to win 'local wars' triggering speculations that he was alluding to rigorously enforce domestic stability.
Even as Tibetans set themselves afire, the Chinese authorities continued to introduce new measures, such as 'Nine Must Haves'[i] and 'The Six Ones'[ii] to tighten control over Tibetan monastic population. The former program complements the regressive 'patriotic re-education' campaigns and the latter effectively allow government cadres to spy on monks and nuns based on six-point directives. Over 20,000 government cadres grouped under various 'work teams' have been tasked to 're-educate ' Tibetans and document their personal details. This program, set to last for 2-3 years, has cadres visiting every village and town located even in the remotest of places in Tibet.
One of the most disturbing developments in Tibet has been the legalization of human rights violations. Repressive official measures such as Party's interference in Tibetan reincarnations have been cloaked in a veneer of legalistic sheen. Under the so-called 'law with Chinese characteristics', the authorities have continued to justify the frequent crackdowns and arbitrary practices all the while making excuses to avoid resolving the issue of Tibet.
The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy urges the Chinese government to peacefully address the deep-rooted grievances of the Tibetan people. Official Chinese representatives should talk with Tibetans and not only identify the real causes behind these protests but also make an honest effort to resolve them.
The Centre also appeals to the United Nations Human Rights Council to immediately send a fact-finding mission to Tibet and assess the situation on ground.
The Centre makes urgent request to the international community, both governmental and non-governmental bodies, to pressure the government of People’s Republic of China to respect Tibetan people’s life and dignity, their fundamental rights and freedoms, not only on paper but also in practice.