His slogans were: for the Dalai Lama’s return from exile and freedom for Tibet

Name: Lobsang Tsultrim

Age: 20

Sex: Male

Profession: Monk at Kirti Monastery

Date of Self-immolation: 16 March 2012, 5 pm (local time)

Location: Ngaba County town, Amdo, Northeastern Tibet

Current whereabouts/wellbeing: Deceased, 19 March 2012

Marking the first anniversary of self-immolation by Phuntsok, a fellow Kirti monk, Lobsang Tsultrim set himself on fire demanding the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile and freedom in Tibet. After igniting himself, Tsultrim proceeded to march along the main road in the upper part of Ngaba County town, shouting slogans protesting against the Chinese government. Eyewitnesses said that as he strode on from the site of his self-immolation, armed police personnel came running to intercept him, at which he turned and ran back in the other direction, continuing to shout. He was knocked to the ground by Chinese security personnel and thrown into the back of a vehicle after they had extinguished the flames. He was seen raising his fist in the air and shouting slogans even as Chinese security personnel pinned him to the floor of the moving vehicle.

Lobsang died three days later in a hospital in Barkham. According to the exilebased Kirti Monastery in Dharamshala, local Chinese authorities denied Lobsang Tsultrim’s family permission to perform his last rites and they cremated him the same day. “Only a portion of his ashes was handed over to the family,” said the Kirti statement. On 19 March Kirti monks held a prayer ceremony for him and local shops and restaurants owned by Tibetans remained closed for three days. Tsultrim was a bright student of Kirti Tantric College and was the eldest of four siblings. Norbu Damdul — a former Kirti monk who self-immolated on 15 October 2011 and passed away in a Chinese hospital on 5 January 2012 — was Lobsang Tsultrim’s cousin.

His slogans were: for the Dalai Lama’s return from exile and freedom for Tibet

Name: Lobsang Tsultrim

Age: 20

Sex: Male

Profession: Monk at Kirti Monastery

Date of Self-immolation: 16 March 2012, 5 pm (local time)

Location: Ngaba County town, Amdo, Northeastern Tibet

Current whereabouts/wellbeing: Deceased, 19 March 2012

Marking the first anniversary of self-immolation by Phuntsok, a fellow Kirti monk, Lobsang Tsultrim set himself on fire demanding the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile and freedom in Tibet. After igniting himself, Tsultrim proceeded to march along the main road in the upper part of Ngaba County town, shouting slogans protesting against the Chinese government. Eyewitnesses said that as he strode on from the site of his self-immolation, armed police personnel came running to intercept him, at which he turned and ran back in the other direction, continuing to shout. He was knocked to the ground by Chinese security personnel and thrown into the back of a vehicle after they had extinguished the flames. He was seen raising his fist in the air and shouting slogans even as Chinese security personnel pinned him to the floor of the moving vehicle.

Lobsang died three days later in a hospital in Barkham. According to the exilebased Kirti Monastery in Dharamshala, local Chinese authorities denied Lobsang Tsultrim’s family permission to perform his last rites and they cremated him the same day. “Only a portion of his ashes was handed over to the family,” said the Kirti statement. On 19 March Kirti monks held a prayer ceremony for him and local shops and restaurants owned by Tibetans remained closed for three days. Tsultrim was a bright student of Kirti Tantric College and was the eldest of four siblings. Norbu Damdul — a former Kirti monk who self-immolated on 15 October 2011 and passed away in a Chinese hospital on 5 January 2012 — was Lobsang Tsultrim’s cousin.

Name: Jamyang Palden

Age: 34

Sex: Male Profession: Monk at Rongwo Monastery

Date of Self-immolation: 14 March 2012

Location: Rebkong, Amdo, Northeastern Tibet

Current whereabouts/wellbeing: Deceased

His slogans: Not reported

Jamyang Palden finally succumbed to his injuries after immolating himself more than six months earlier on 14 March 2012. He passed away in the evening time at his monastic quarters at Rongwo Monastery. Monks and local Tibetans had been nursing Jamyang Palden and taking care of him since his discharge from a hospital in nearby Malho town. “Due to his severe burn injuries, he showed very little signs of improvement and finally passed away,” an exile Tibetan with contacts in the region reported. By setting himself on fire at Dolma Square, near Rongwo Monastery — the major monastery in Rebkong — Jamyang Palden became the first self-immolator in Amdo’s Rebkong town. Monks and local people rushed him to hospital, but he was later moved back to his monastery for fear that security personnel would detain him. Despite the heavy presence of troops after his self-immolation, images from Rebkong showed local people gathered at the scene, quietly praying for him. This gathering led to a peaceful protest, with Tibetans calling for the Dalai Lama to return to Tibet. Following his death in September, a large number of monks and local Tibetans gathered at the ground in front of the monastery to offer prayers and register their protests.

Name: Jamyang Palden

Age: 34

Sex: Male Profession: Monk at Rongwo Monastery

Date of Self-immolation: 14 March 2012

Location: Rebkong, Amdo, Northeastern Tibet

Current whereabouts/wellbeing: Deceased

His slogans: Not reported

Jamyang Palden finally succumbed to his injuries after immolating himself more than six months earlier on 14 March 2012. He passed away in the evening time at his monastic quarters at Rongwo Monastery. Monks and local Tibetans had been nursing Jamyang Palden and taking care of him since his discharge from a hospital in nearby Malho town. “Due to his severe burn injuries, he showed very little signs of improvement and finally passed away,” an exile Tibetan with contacts in the region reported. By setting himself on fire at Dolma Square, near Rongwo Monastery — the major monastery in Rebkong — Jamyang Palden became the first self-immolator in Amdo’s Rebkong town. Monks and local people rushed him to hospital, but he was later moved back to his monastery for fear that security personnel would detain him. Despite the heavy presence of troops after his self-immolation, images from Rebkong showed local people gathered at the scene, quietly praying for him. This gathering led to a peaceful protest, with Tibetans calling for the Dalai Lama to return to Tibet. Following his death in September, a large number of monks and local Tibetans gathered at the ground in front of the monastery to offer prayers and register their protests.

Name: Gepey

Age: 18

Sex: Male

Profession: Monk at Kirti Monastery

Date of Self-immolation: 10 March 2012, the 53rd anniversary of Tibetan National Uprising Day

Location: Near a Chinese military camp located 1.5 kilometers from Kirti Monastery in Ngaba, Amdo, Northeastern Tibet

Current whereabouts/wellbeing: Deceased

His slogans: Not reported

Since Gepey self-immolated in close proximity to a military camp near his monastery, Chinese soldiers were quick to arrive at the scene and carry his charred body inside the camp. They then refused to hand it over to the family of the deceased. After a subsequent day of persistent pleading, on 11 March at around 10 pm the regional government gave permission for five members of Gepey’s family to attend his cremation ceremony, but the family was forced to cut short the rituals. Security personnel kept a close watch over the proceedings. Gepey became the third Tibetan in a row to self-immolate near Chinese government buildings, symbolically opposing China’s continuing occupation of Tibet. To honour what was seen as Gepey’s courageous action, local Tibetan shops and restaurants closed in a strong gesture of solidarity. PSB personnel reportedly interrogated his mother for an entire day. He is survived by his mother and two brothers who are also monks at Kirti Monastery.

Name: Gepey

Age: 18

Sex: Male

Profession: Monk at Kirti Monastery

Date of Self-immolation: 10 March 2012, the 53rd anniversary of Tibetan National Uprising Day

Location: Near a Chinese military camp located 1.5 kilometers from Kirti Monastery in Ngaba, Amdo, Northeastern Tibet

Current whereabouts/wellbeing: Deceased

His slogans: Not reported

Since Gepey self-immolated in close proximity to a military camp near his monastery, Chinese soldiers were quick to arrive at the scene and carry his charred body inside the camp. They then refused to hand it over to the family of the deceased. After a subsequent day of persistent pleading, on 11 March at around 10 pm the regional government gave permission for five members of Gepey’s family to attend his cremation ceremony, but the family was forced to cut short the rituals. Security personnel kept a close watch over the proceedings. Gepey became the third Tibetan in a row to self-immolate near Chinese government buildings, symbolically opposing China’s continuing occupation of Tibet. To honour what was seen as Gepey’s courageous action, local Tibetan shops and restaurants closed in a strong gesture of solidarity. PSB personnel reportedly interrogated his mother for an entire day. He is survived by his mother and two brothers who are also monks at Kirti Monastery.

His slogans: Reportedly protesting against the PRC’s policies in Tibet

Name: Dorjee

Age: 18

Sex: Male

Profession: Nomad

Date of Self-immolation: 5 March 2012 around 6:30 pm (local time)

Location: Cha Township, Ngaba County, Amdo, Northeastern Tibet

Current whereabouts/wellbeing: Deceased

After setting himself on fire, Dorjee walked towards the local government office in Cha Township and collapsed. According to Kirti Monastery monks in contact with Tibetans in the region, Dorjee shouted slogans protesting the Chinese government’s policies on Tibet. It is believed that he died at the scene and that the authorities removed his charred body despite attempts by Tibetans to take it away for religious rituals to be performed.

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)