Tibetan schoolgirl dies/ENG

2012. március 5./Free Tibet/TibetPress

http://www.freetibet.org/newsmedia/schoolgirl-tibetan-dies

Student self-immolates in marketplace
Tsering Kyi, a 20-year-old school student, set fire to herself and died late in the afternoon of Saturday 3 March at a vegetable market in Machu county in eastern Tibet.

An eyewitness report says that she raised her hand above her head in a fist a few times while in flames. Tsering’s body was put in a sack by Chinese authorities and removed.

“Do something for Tibet”
The senior student at the Machu county Tibetan middle school was last at her family home just days ago, where, we are told, she commented:

“In Ngaba and other areas of Tibet, Tibetans are burning themselves. We should do something for Tibet – life is meaningless if we don’t do something for Tibet.”

Tsering prepared herself in the market area, before pouring petrol on herself and setting herself on fire.

Chinese market vendors called the authorities who subsequently locked the gates to the market.

Authorities restrict movements
No one was allowed to leave the area until around 9pm. The authorities told those present that Tsering Kyi had set fire to herself for personal reasons and that it was not a political act.

Tsering Kyi’s family has been informed by Chinese authorities that they have her body.

Image: Nuns attend a vigil in Dharamsala, India, in solidarity with those who have lost their lives in recent protests in Tibet; February 8.