འབྲེལ་གཏུགས་དུས་དེབ།
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www.contactmagazine.net 31 March 2013
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Volume: XV Issue: 3
contact Magazine A Free Monthly Publication For Tibetan Issues & Community Information
Recent Self-Immolations
March 26: Kunchok Tenzin, 28, set himself on fire in an apparent protest against China’s continuing occupation of Tibet. He was monk from Mogri Monastery in Luchu in Eastern Tibet and set himself ablaze at a road intersection near his monastery at 7pm. He died in his fiery protest. Local Tibetans took his body inside the monastery premises and cremated it on the same night to prevent the body from falling into Chinese hands. Mar 25: Lhamo Kyab, 43, set himself ablaze at Lushoe village in Tsoe region, Eastern Tibet, in an apparent protest against China’s continuing occupation of Tibet. The self-immolation took place around 10pm at the forest where he worked. Following his selfimmolation protest, armed security personnel arrived and the situation in the region is described as tense “under strict surveillance”. Mar 24: Kal Kyi, 30, set herself ablaze near Jonang Monastery in Zamthang in Eastern Tibet at 3.30pm. She died from injuries. Kyi is survived by her husband, Gyepo, and their four children. Local Tibetans carried her charred body inside the monastery premises to prevent it from falling into the hands of Chinese security personnel. Mar 16: Lobsang Thokmey, 28, a monk at the Kirti Monastry in the Ngaba region of Eastern Tibet set himself on fire to mark five years since 28 Tibetans were shot dead by Chinese security forces during a peaceful protest in 2008, triggering the continuing wave of self-immolations. Chinese security personnel took away his body. He is Continued on page 20
National Uprising Day sees thousands in the streets for Tibet
by Olivia Engel ON March 10, thousands around the globe crowded streets with Tibetan flags and bold signs to show solidarity for the Tibetan independence movement which has intensified this year in the wake of, at the time, 107 Tibetan selfimmolations. Speakers at the National Uprising Day protests mourned and prayed for the martyrs, but reassured their communities of the struggle’s gained momentum. A wave of international support from the world’s governments surged for Tibet in the week following. Since 1959’s bloody revolt in Lhasa against the Chinese occupation,
struggle. In McLeod, Tsug-la Khang, the main temple and residence of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, was decorated with Tibetan flags, and there was a festive atmosphere with people carrying and wearing flags. The rally began with children from TCV in traditional dress leading the crowd singing the National Anthem as the Prime Minister of the Tibetan Governent in Exile, Sikyong Lobsang Sangay, unfurled the Tibetan flag, followed by a minute’s silence for Tibet’s martyrs. After the Prayer for Compassion, Sangay addressed the crowd’s spirit of resistance: “The yearning for freedom that moved our elders... is a beacon that guides our present-day struggle to secure our basic freedom, dignity, and identity,” he said. “The character of our people is being shaped by our endurance of the darkest period of Tibetan history.” He concluded that his administration Sikyong Lobsang Sangay at Tsug-la Khang, the main temple in will continue to call for Dharamsala on March 10. international support for (Photo: Lha) Tibetan human rights, National Uprising Day – also recently and that the Middle Way approach is dubbed “Martyrs’ Day” by the Tibetan in the “best interests of both China and Parliament in Exile – is a day for Tibet”. those united for Tibetan freedom or Afterwards, protesters carrying flags autonomy take to the streets, calling and chanting slogans marched down to on their governments to hold the Lower Dharamsala where they gathered People’s Republic of China (PRC) for a rally of music, songs, and speakers accountable for human rights violations from the Indian government and leaders and environmental destruction in Tibet. from Tibetan NGOs. Students for a Supporters wore black to mourn those Free Tibet addressed the crowd with harmed or lost in the decades-long an activist’s messages of hope and Continued on page 4