Over 100 Burn for Freedom in Tibet
China’s harsh policies in Tibet, restricting freedoms and basic human rights, have intensified Tibetan grievances and exacerbated the resentment felt across Tibet. Thousands of Chinese troops are currently stationed in Tibet and monks and nuns have been subjected to harsh ‘patriotic re-education’ programmes. Tibetan students have been sentenced to harsh prison terms for advocating for the right to use their language, and the friends and families of Tibetans who have self-immolated have been detained and interrogated.
Over 118 self-immolation protests by Tibetans living under Chinese rule have taken place since 2009; over 85 happened in 2012, with 28 in the month of November 2012 alone. At least 100 of these protesters are known to have died. All of those who have self-immolated called for freedom for Tibet and the return of the Dalai Lama. [Updated: 24 April 2013]
A further six Tibetans-in-exile have self-immolated since April 1998. Three occurred in Delhi, India, one in Mumbai, India and two in Kathmandu, Nepal.