Young Tibetan man dies in fight for freedom

On 12th January, a young Tibetan set himself alight in a protest for freedom from Chinese governance, taking the current total of self-immolations to 96.

Tsering Tashi (Tsebhe), 22 years of age, succumbed to his injuries at his protest site.

Speaking to activist media, Phayul, Ajam Amchok, an exiled Tibetan with close contacts in the region said Tsebhe self-immolated in the middle of Amchok town in Sangchu region of Kanlho, eastern Tibet.

“Tsebhe set himself on fire in Amchok town at around 1 pm (local time),” Ajam said. “He succumbed to his injuries at the protest site following which local Tibetans were able to rescue his body from falling into the hands of Chinese security personnel.”

There have now been 96 self immolation protests in Tibet since 2009, and the latest comes just weeks after an alarming spike in November last year, coinciding with the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in Beijing, during which 28 Tibetans set themselves on fire. The self-immolators have all demanded freedom in Tibet and the return of exiled Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Following this acceleration of protests Chinese police appear to be cracking down on current dissent in Tibet, with harsher punishments on protesters, and prison sentences for anyone deemed to aid someone in a self-immolation protest, or incite the action.

Human Rights Watch have said that: 'œThe central government should devote as much energy to addressing the deep-rooted problems facing Tibetans as it is on punishing the families of those who have taken the drastic step of protesting by self-immolating...Instead of stepping up repression and driving people to believe there is no hope of change, Beijing needs to take steps to respond to Tibetans' grievances.' (NewsPoint)

Editor's note: A photo was available for this story, but not published as it was deemed too graphic.