Dharamshala: - A prayer service was held at the main Tibetan temple in Dharamshala, India, on December 16, for self-immolators who sacrificed their lives for the cause of Tibet.
Sangye Khar, a 34-year-old Tibetan who died in front of a police station in north-eastern Tibet on December 16, in the latest self-immolation protests against Chinese rule.
Hundreds of exiled Tibetans, including members of the Kashag, Tibetan justice commissioners and Tibetan parliamentarians, largely led by monks and nuns gathered at the main Tibetan temple to express solidarity with the self-immolators and political prisoners suffering continued repression in Tibet.
The special prayer service, organised by the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) was presided over by Ven Ngawang Tashi, a former spiritual teacher of Namgyal monastery.
Sangye Khar, a 34-year-old was remembered at the prayer service, just like all other self-immolators who sacrificed their their valuable lives for the cause of freedom and for the reunification of the Tibetan people.
Sangye Khar self-immolated on December 16, in Amchok town, Sangchu county in Kanlho, north-eastern Tibet. He died on after setting himself on fire in an apparent political protest against the Chinese repression and hard-line policies in Tibet, pushing the estimated toll to 133.
On behalf of Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay, Kalon Tsering Dhondup expressed his deep condolences to those who have died in the self immolation protests that have taken place inside Tibet since 2009.
"Despite repeated appeals by the Central Tibetan Administration not to resort to drastic actions like self-immolation, at least 133 Tibetans including Sangye Khar have set themselves on fire in protest against the repressive policies of the Chinese government since 2009," Mr Tsering said, adding: "Of these 133, 114 have died while the status or the physical condition of the rest remains unknown or critical."
"There are also hundreds of Tibetan political prisoners who are suffering untold brutalities in Chinese prisons. Therefore, we are gathered here today to pray for all those who have self-immolated or continues to suffer in Chinese prisons," he added.
The CTA last year released a White Paper titled "Why Tibet is Burning..." last year explaining the fundamental reasons behind the ongoing wave of self-immolations inside Tibet. This report examines the underlying causes of the increasing number of self-mmolations that are currently engulfing Tibet.
'The principle reasons listed in the report for Tibet's fiery protests are political repression, and cultural assimilation, destruction of Tibetan Buddhism," CTA said, adding: "Besides, social discrimination, strangling the Tibetan language, environment destruction, Tibetan Nomads and ending their way of life and economic marginalisation, population transfer and western China Development Programme are the other reasons given in the report."
