17 Feb
2012
17 Feb
'12
11:58 a.m.
Monk Burns to Protest Monastery Intrusion
February 17, 2012—A Tibetan monk burned himself to death on Friday after protesting
Chinese security intrusions at his monastery in China’s western Qinghai province on
Friday, adding to tensions in protest-hit Tibetan-populated areas, sources said.
Damchoe Sangpo, aged about 40 and a monk at the Bongtak monastery in Themchen county of
the Tsonub (in Chinese, Haixi) prefecture, set himself ablaze at around 6:00 a.m. local
time and died shortly afterward, an India-based senior Tibetan monk named Shingsa said,
citing contacts in the region.
It was the 22nd confirmed self-immolation by Tibetans protesting Chinese policies and rule
in Tibetan regions since a wave of the fiery protests began in February 2009. Three other
self-immolations were reported in early February in a remote region of Sichuan province,
but have never been confirmed due to communication problems stemming from a stepped-up
crackdown by Chinese security forces.
Damchoe Sangpo, the monk who died in Friday’s protest, had objected to the cancelling by
Chinese authorities of a traditional prayer festival at the monastery and to the presence
of Chinese security forces, Shingsa told RFA in an interview.
“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 ,” Shingsa said.
“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,” he said.
“When monks came out of the temple after morning services, they saw Damchoe burning,”
Shingsa said, adding, “He died on the spot.”
Communications cut
Tibetan-populated regions in China have been shaken by a series of self-immolations and
protests recently, leading to a bloody crackdown by security forces and the arrest of
scores, if not hundreds, of Tibetans.
Chinese authorities have virtually cut off communication lines amid the crackdown, and
information flow has been severely restricted, according to sources who have traveled out
of these places.
Damchoe Sangpo was the youngest of 10 siblings, of whom all the others were girls, Shingsa
said.
“His father’s name is Taklha. His mother passed away when he was very young.”
Damchoe Sangpo, who was described by Shingsa as a “highly responsible person,” was
ordained as a monk in 1991 and went to India in 1994.
“[Three years] later, he returned to Tibet and became the disciplinarian of the monastery.
Before his death, he tutored the monks in religious texts.”
It is not clear whether the Chinese authorities or the monks are now in possession of
Damchoe’s body, Shingsa said.
“Because of the heavy troop presence at the monastery, no more phone calls can be made,
and it appears that all of the lines have been cut,” he said.
Reported by Rigdhen Dolma, Dhondup Dorjee, and Lobe for RFA’s Tibetan service.
Translations by Karma Dorjee and Rigdhen Dolma. Written in English by Richard Finney.
View this story online at:
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/intrusion-02172012113723.html
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