Dharamshala: - A Tibetan living in Switzerland has reported that a teenage girl had self-immolated inside Tibet on December 9th in protest against Chinese rule in Tibet. Bhenchen Kyi, aged 17, set herself on fire in Dokarmo, in the Rebkong country, of the Amdo region of northeastern Tibet.
Prior to self-immolating, Bhenchen had expressed her plans to self-immolate to classmates, stating that she would do so for the Tibetan cause and for the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. She had also expressed her desire for her body not to fall into the hands of Chinese authorities.
Bhenchen set herself on fire around 8pm as she continued to shout prayers for Tibet and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. She passed away shortly after and Tibetan protesters were able to recover her body before Chinese authorities could take it away.
Bhenchen’s body was cremated a few hours later at 12:15am, with her family and large numbers of protesters present to honor her. Her death marks the fourth self-immolation within the Rebkong area and the 95th self-immolation for the Tibetan cause since 2009.
Her death came the day before International Human Rights Day on December 10, in which the Tibetan Parliament in Exile and other groups hope to promote the Tibetan struggle.
