Her slogans: “Return His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet” and “We Need Freedom”

Name: Rinchen Kyi

Age: 33

Sex: Female

Profession: Housewife

Date of Self-immolation: 4 March 2012 around 6:30 am (local time)

Location: In the vicinity of Kirti Monastery, Ngaba town, Amdo, Northeastern Tibet

Current whereabouts/wellbeing: Deceased

Mother of four, Rinchen, died after setting her body on fire near a military camp close to Kirti Monastery. According to monks from Kirti Monastery’s Dharamshala branch, as she set herself ablaze Rinchen shouted “Return His Holiness to Tibet” and “We Need Freedom.” She committed her self-immolation protest in front of a special security office outside the main entrance to Kirti Monastery. She passed away immediately, according to Kirti Monastery in Dharamshala. Her eldest child was 13 while the youngest was a few months old. The four children became orphans as their father had passed away a year before. Rinchen’s self-immolation protest came only days ahead of the all-important 10 March 1959 Tibetan National Uprising Day and the first anniversary of the 16 March self-immolation of Kirti monk Phuntsok — the action which ignited the ongoing mounting wave of self-immolations in Tibet.

Name: Tsering Kyi

Age: 19

Sex: Female

Profession: Student

Date of Self-immolation: 3 March 2012

Location: Machu town, Amdo, Northeastern Tibet

Current whereabouts/wellbeing: Deceased

Her slogans: Not Known

Schoolgirl Tsering Kyi torched her body at a busy vegetable market in Machu town in protest against the Chinese illegal occupation of Tibet. The police on the scene reportedly beat her as they attempted to put out the flames and she died on the spot. This was the first self-immolation protest to take place in Machu — a traditional Tibetan area of Amdo. A few days prior to her immolation protest, Tsering was heard saying at her home, “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.”

According to the Dharamshala-based Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, Chinese security personnel arrived at the scene of the protest and shut down the market. “All mobile phones were confiscated in an attempt the stop the news of the protest from spreading,” the release said. “People at the scene of the protest were issued a strict warning against speaking about the self-immolation.” The authorities also barricaded the school Tsering Kyi attended. The police later visited her house for identification of its inhabitants and carried out door-to-door searches in the neighbourhood. Websites operating from the region were shut down and heads of the regional government offices reportedly held a meeting following the protest. Reporting on the self-immolation protest, US-based Radio Free Asia said that Chinese market vendors threw stones at the girl’s burning body, citing an unidentified Tibetan exile with connections to the community in Machu. “The Tibetans present in the market were agitated and this almost resulted in a major clash between the Tibetans and Chinese,” RFA quoted a source as saying. Tsering Kyi‘s body lay in local police custody while family members and local Tibetans were demanding possession of the body for last rites. “Chinese authorities have told Tsering Kyi’s family members to sign a letter stating that her self-immolation was not political in nature. Only then will they be allowed to take the body away,” reported an exile source. However, Tsering Kyi’s family members are said to have rejected China’s attempts at covering up the motivations behind her self-immolation and warned of protests if the authorities failed to hand over the body. Although Tsering Kyi’s family rejected Beijing’s attempts at de-politicising her fatal action, China’s State news agency, Xinhua, nevertheless went ahead in blaming “a head injury” for her selfimmolation. “Tsering Kyi had suffered ‘occasional fainting spells’ after hitting her head on a radiator in a classroom, and falling into a coma,” according to Xinhua.

Name: Nangdrol

Age: 18

Sex: Male

Status: Layperson

Date of Self-immolation: 19 February 2012 around 2 pm (local time)

Location: Dzamthang County, Ngaba, Amdo

Current whereabouts/wellbeing: Deceased

His Final Message Below Layman Nangdrol self-immolated in front of Dzamthang Jonang Monastery and succumbed on the spot. His body was then taken to the monastery where traditional Buddhist rituals were carried out for him. According to sources, the monks defied and resisted orders by the armed police to hand over his body, and during the evening of his immolation a crowd of more than 1000 gathered to hold a vigil. According to local Tibetans in contact with Tibetans in exile, Nangdrol cared passionately about Tibetan culture and language and had urged fellow Tibetans to be united, and to preserve their cultural and religious identity.

The fourth of eight children, Nangdrol was from Choeje Village, Barma Township, Dzamthang, a Tibetan area of Amdo now merged with the PRC’s Sichuan Province. His final message was: “Raise your heads high with courage and loyalty. I, Nangdrol, call with gratitude upon my parents, siblings and relatives. The time has come for me to leave — for the sake of the Tibetan people — by lighting my life on fire. My requests to the Tibetans are Be united, Be Tibetan, Dress Tibetan and Speak Tibetan. Never forget that you are a Tibetan. Be compassionate; Respect your parents; Most of all be united; Treat animals with compassion, Do not slaughter them. “Long live His Holiness the Dalai Lama! Long live all the lamas and tulkus of the Land of Snow. May Tibetan people be free from China’s oppressive rule, there is immense suffering under China’s rule, and this suffering is unbearable. There is no way to further endure this Chinese occupation, its terrible rule, this torture without trace. In the end the merciless Chinese will kill the Tibetans. Long live His Holiness the Dalai Lama.”
(Translated from Tibetan by Bhuchung D. Sonam)

Name: Damchoe Sangpo

Age: 38 Sex: Male

Profession: Monk at Bongthak Monastery, Tsonub, Amdo Date of Self-immolation: 17 February 2012

Location: Themchen County, Tsojang, Amdo, Northeastern Tibet

Current whereabouts/wellbeing: Deceased

His slogans: Not available

Damchoe Sangpo, who self-immolated at Themchen County town on 17 February 2012, was a member of his monastery’s Democratic Management Committee (DMC). These Beijing government-imposed administrations control all monasteries in today’s Tibet. He was the first monastic official to self-immolate. Damchoe reportedly died at the site of his protest. According to Radio Free Asia Tibetan Service, citing an India-based senior Tibetan monk, Lama Shingsa, “After the Tibetan New Year, which in Qinghai’s Amdo region coincides with the Chinese New Year, Chinese officials banned the [monastery’s] Monlam religious gathering and sent armed security forces there. Damchoe objected to this and told the Chinese officials that if they didn’t withdraw their troops from the monastery, the monks should not be held responsible for any incident that might follow.” Other informants corroborate that Damchoe had opposed the draconian “Patriotic Education” campaign inflicted on Bongthak Monastery. As a result of Damchoe Sangpo’s action, three monks from his monastery were subsequently arrested and sentenced for alleged involvement in his death. “The director of Bongthak Monastery, Venerable Jamsem, was sentenced to nine years, while his subordinates Khendup and Samgyal were sentenced to 11 and 10 years, respectively,” said a resident of the area, who spoke on condition of anonymity. In addition, the source said, a layman named Damchoe was re-arrested by police for organizing a campaign to collect signatures from Tibetans in the Bongthak area calling for the release of eight monks detained in the aftermath of Damchoe Sangpo’s self-immolation. Damchoe, from Kharma in Themchen County, was previously arrested for allegedly instigating Damchoe Sangpo’s self-immolation, but was released after a Chinese lawyer successfully led his defense. The source reports that the majority of Bongthak’s monks had left the monastery following increased Chinese pressure, and another 10 young monks are still detained in Themchen County; the police said they would only be released if they agree to disrobe. “Currently, two monks loyal to China have been put in charge of Bongthak Monastery, while another monk … was pressured to take a high-level position there, but disrobed to evade the appointment promotion.” (Democratic Management Committees and Patriotic Education campaigns were introduced throughout Tibet by Beijing in 1996 to force nuns and monks to denounce the Dalai Lama and pledge allegiance to the Communist Party).

Name: Lobsang Gyatso

Age: 19

Sex: Male

Profession: Monk at Kirti Monastery

Date of self-immolation: 13 February 2012 around 2:30pm (local time)

Location: Ngaba town, Ngaba, Amdo, Northeastern Tibet

Current whereabouts/wellbeing: Not known His slogans: Not reported While already engulfed in flames, monk Lobsang Gyatso shouted slogans of protest against the Chinese government on the main street of Ngaba town. An armed security contingent rushed to the scene and removed him to an undisclosed location. They were witnessed beating him viciously while extinguishing the flames. The eldest of four siblings, he was described as being “one of the best and brightest students in his monastic class.” At the time of his detention, two unidentified Tibetan youths were also severely beaten by Chinese security personnel. Lobsang Gyatso was originally from Badzritsang house, Naktsangma in Cha Township.

Name: Lobsang Gyatso

Age: 19

Sex: Male

Profession: Monk at Kirti Monastery

Date of self-immolation: 13 February 2012 around 2:30pm (local time)

Location: Ngaba town, Ngaba, Amdo, Northeastern Tibet

Current whereabouts/wellbeing: Not known His slogans: Not reported While already engulfed in flames, monk Lobsang Gyatso shouted slogans of protest against the Chinese government on the main street of Ngaba town. An armed security contingent rushed to the scene and removed him to an undisclosed location. They were witnessed beating him viciously while extinguishing the flames. The eldest of four siblings, he was described as being “one of the best and brightest students in his monastic class.” At the time of his detention, two unidentified Tibetan youths were also severely beaten by Chinese security personnel. Lobsang Gyatso was originally from Badzritsang house, Naktsangma in Cha Township.

Her slogans were: for the return of Tibet’s leader, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, from exile and freedom in Tibet

Name: Tenzin Choedon

Age: 18

Sex: Female

Profession: Nun at Mamae Dechen Choekhorling Nunnery in Ngaba

Date of Self-immolation: 11 February 2012 at 6 pm (local time)

Location: Sumdo Bridge, Ngaba, Amdo Northeastern Tibet

Current whereabouts/wellbeing: Deceased, 13 February

When Tenzin Choedon self-immolated in the early evening of 11 February 2012 she chose the same location for her action as nun Tenzin Wangmo: the Sumdo Bridge area below their nunnery. Eyewitnesses reported that Chinese security personnel immediately drove her away towards Barkham. Reports on China’s official State media said that she died on the journey to hospital. However, in a release the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile based in Dharamshala said Tenzin Choedon passed away at a Chinese military hospital in Barkham in the morning of 13 February. It further said that Tenzin Choedon’s father had been told that her body would not be handed back to the family for the last rites. In the wake of this second self-immolation by a nun in the vicinity of Ngaba town, the PRC’s armed forces surrounded their nunnery, Mamae Dechen Choekhorling and sealed it off. Tenzin Choedon was originally from Raruwa Village in Ngaba County.

Name: Sonam Rabyang

Age: 42

Sex: Male Profession: Monk

Date of Self-immolation: 9 February 2012 around 1 pm (local time)

Location: Triwang Town, Yushul, Kham, Eastern Tibet

Current whereabout/wellbeing: Unknown

His Slogans: Not Reported On 9 February 2012, monk Sonam Rabyang from Lab Monastery in Tridu County, Jyekundo set himself on fire on the main road of Lab Township. It was reported that at the time he was removed from the scene by security personnel, he was alive, but in a serious condition and his legs may have been amputated. No additional information has been received on his condition or subsequent whereabouts. Following the incident, the Chinese authorities reportedly detained senior monks from Lab Monastery.

Name: Rinzin Dorjee (aka Rikpe)

Age: 19

Sex: Male

Profession: Former monk at Kirti Monastery

Date of Self-immolation: Wednesday 8 February 2012

Location: No. 2 Primary School in Ngaba County, Amdo, Northeastern Tibet

Current whereabouts/wellbeing: Deceased 21 February His slogans: Not Known In the evening of 8 February 2012, Rinzin Dorjee self-immolated at a primary school in Ngaba County town. At the time he was swiftly taken away by the police he was believed to have been alive but “on the verge of death.” He was first taken to the Ngaba County Hospital and then to a hospital in Barkham (capital of Ngaba). On 21 February 2012 Rinzin Dorjee passed away. Two monks from the vicinity were also detained. Rinzin Dorjee came from a nomadic area of Meruma Township in Ngaba County. He left his monastery in 2010 and had been living with his family since then. The youngest of six children, Rinzin used to enjoy looking after the birds that lived around the monastery. One of his relatives, now living in India, said, “He was a humble and kind person, and a hard and persistent worker.”

His slogan: “Long Live His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Freedom in Tibet”

Name: Lobsang Jamyang

Age: 22

Sex: Male

Profession: Former Monk at Andu Monastery, leader in promoting Tibetan language in his village

Date of Self-immolation: 14 January 2012

Location: Ngaba town, Amdo, Northeastern Tibet

Current whereabouts/wellbeing: Deceased 16

January 2012 On 14 January 2012, Lobsang Jamyang asked for a ride into town from a Tibetan neighbour and asked him to stop at Andu Monastery where he made a circumambulation. Lobsang Jamyang said no one knew what he was going to do. He had not told anyone. He also talked about the Tibetan language programme he had set up and said that people should be more united and put more effort into this. When they reached Ngaba town, he told his neighbour that he was going to have some vegetarian food and then went to the toilet. This was at around 1:30 pm (local time). Lobsang had apparently already doused himself in kerosene at an intersection in Ngaba town and when he emerged from the toilet he was already in flames. He then marched a few yards at the centre of the town, faced Kirti Monastery, and shouted slogans calling for Tibetan independence from China and for the return of the Dalai Lama.

In the already heavily-militarized town, the nearby police immediately pounced on him. As can be seen at the start of the YouTube footage of his immolation, the flames have died down and armed police and special forces have closed in on him as Tibetans gather around. Armed police can be seen using a pushcart to knock Lobsang to the ground. As he falls police on either side can be seen kicking him brutality. This was corroborated by witnesses. The authorities then covered him with a white cloth — as if dousing the flames — but continued to beat and stomp on him according to bystanders. Sources reported that bystanders stood up to the armed security personnel unable to bear the sight. They completely disregarded the consequences of resisting the officials and demanded that his body be handed over to them. The Chinese police started firing teargas and shot at the massed crowd and a scuffle ensued. At least two people were shot although no information on their condition could be relayed. A Tibetan man was apparently severely wounded in the neck by a spiked weapon. According to sources, a Tibetan woman in her 40s died after she was hit in the eye with iron chains during the standoff between the police and the crowd. Almost 700 Tibetans had gathered to protest the police actions and at least 10 were arrested. The crowd tried their best to block the path of the police as they began to take Lobsang’s body away. Lobsang Jamyang subsequently died; reliable sources state that he may have survived until 16 January but this could not be confirmed as he was in police custody. Security personnel visited Lobsang Jamyang’s family and demanded compensation for fire damage to police uniforms, which were described as ‘State property’. A monk in childhood at Andu Monastery, Lobsang later joined Bontse Primary School in Ngaba County to complete his education. A Tibetan now in exile who knew him said that “when he was very small, he used to be quite self-sufficient and he would play for hours with a small thing, like just one blade of grass. After being a monk as a child, he went to school and learnt Tibetan and Chinese. His family is not well-off and they depended on him, so he continued life as a layman. “I hadn’t seen him for some time but I heard that after 2008 he became more nationalistic, and was inspired by the actions of other Tibetans. He said that Tibetans couldn’t remain as they were under such conditions. In 2011, Lobsang became a leading member of a popular association in his village for the promotion of Tibetan language called Pure Land Program for which he was being constantly targeted and harassed.” Lobsang Jamyang’s mother, Lacham said she did not regret his death and was proud of her son who had “sacrificed his life for the Tibetan cause”.