Dharamshala: -- Gonpo Tsering, the 19-year-old teenage Tibetan, who set himself on fire in an apparent protest against Chinese repressive policies in Tibet on November 10, has passed away.
A latest report coming out of the north-eastern region of Tibet confirm that the teenage boy set himself in-front of Shedup Tendhar-ling monastery, Lhushoe Khungru Thang township, Amchok, Tsoe County, (Chinese: Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefectures, southwest of Gansu Province) Amdho region of eastern Tibet, on Saturday evening, (2.30pm local time), 10 November.
"Gonpo chanted and shouted slogans while setting fire to himself, calling the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet", and demanding equal rights for Tibetan people and its language," said Ajam, a Tibetan from Bangalore, south India, citing sources inside Tibet.
Sources received by The Tibet Post International stated that "many local Tibetans and monks arrived at the scene almost immediately. They tried to extinguish the flames but were unsuccessful. He was passed-away at 4.40pm as a result of a serious burn injury."
"Local Tibetans have carried Gonpo's body to his home, where they gathered to pay their last respects and organized a special prayer service," said Ajam. With the on-going tragic crisis in Tibet, the number of self-immolations has now reached over 70 and most of them died from severe burn injuries.
"Tsering was a respected genuine Tibetan, studied at high school in the county, during which he received awards for best student and excellence in studies. Later he became an artist," Ajam said. "locals recognize his friendly personality as a great asset."
Since 2009, all Tibetan self-immolators called for China to end its repressive policies in Tibet and demanded the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile and freedom in Tibet.
Over 70 self-immolation protests occurred in different parts of Tibet since 2009, at-least six people, including mother and teenagers committed self-immolation, a day before the start of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in Beijing.
