Dharamsala: - In another set of self-immolations in Tibet, two young Tibetan men set fire to themselves in front of the Tsuglagkang Temple in capital Lhasa in the late afternoon of May 27.
19-year-old Dorjee Tseten from Belong village in Amdo Bora, and Dhargye, aged around 25, from Sorima village in Ngapa County, set themselves on fire in Pargor Street, a well-known market area, at around 3pm.
Tseten’s family are father Pande Kar, mother Dolkar Kyi and two brothers - Tsendhu Gyatso and Kunchukg Tashi. He attended Bora village school during his childhood and then he moved to Lhasa to work at Nyimi Ling café as a chef. Dhargye served as an accountant at the same café. Before the immolations, both quit their jobs and lived at a hotel for a few days. It is reported that the café Nyimi Ling has been shut down and all the workers have been detained.
Witnesses state that the pair shouted something unintelligible, not revealing their reasons for self-immolation. One source said that, after setting himself on fire, Tseten fire walked a few steps before falling to the ground, and that everyone thought him to be dead.
Immediately after hearing news of the immolations, the police and the army arrived on scene where they doused the flames and sent the two to the hospital, where Tseten was declared dead. Police then went to his house and reported his death without divulging any other details. Dhargye is currently still in the hospital and is reportedly able to speak.
Some witnesses also reported that, after the immolations, all people present were made to remove all traces of the incident. In the afternoon, all Tibetan shop owners and restaurants were ordered to carry out their business as usual. Pilgrims' cameras and mobile phones were checked to see if there were any photos or videos of the self-immolations. Since then, control has been enforced on internet cafes and phone booths to prevent the news from spreading.
The website china.org.cn quoted Hao Peng, secretary of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the CPC Tibet Committee read, "They were a continuation of the self-immolations in other Tibetan areas and these acts were all aimed at separating Tibet from China".
At May 28 at 6.30pm, the Regional Tibet Youth Congress (RTYC) held a candlelight vigil movement for the two men in Dharamsala, northern India.
