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Self-immolators fueled by separatist Dalai clique
February 4, 2013, Monday
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SITTING on the bare floor of her bedroom, Geru Gye, 17, wrote idly in her Tibetan textbook with a pencil.
Her younger sister, Wan Khengyal, 16, burned herself to death in a meadow close to her house using petrol from her father's motorbike on the evening of December 9, 2012.
It was one of several recent cases in which Tibetan self-immolations have left behind harrowing grief and untruths in foreign media about the victims' supposed heroism.
Before her self-immolation, Wan Khengyal drove more than 20 yaks home.
Her sister Geru Gye was doing her homework at a classmate's home that evening and planned to stay for the night. Her father, Sonam Tsering, was attending a prayer service at the village head's home.
Only her sick mother, Se Maotso, was at home, huddling in the corner of the bedroom. Se Maotso saw a burning light at around 6:45pm and shouted for help.
It was too late when Se Maotso's brother, who was 300 meters away, arrived at the scene.
It has been over one month since the tragedy, but Geru Gye still feels guilty about her absence that night.
Geru Gye is a ninth grader at Zeku County No. 2 Ethnic Middle School in northwest China's Qinghai Province. Her sister was two grades behind her in the same school.
Wan Khengyal had been feeble and sick. She had fainted several times in class. The school principal arranged for the sisters to live in the same dormitory so they could take care of each other.
Her father says Wan Khengyal was introverted and an avid reader during vacations. She was also a good helper in herding. He cannot figure out how his daughter could end her life in such a cruel way.
She was suspected of having epilepsy, which caused considerable suffering, and she had a tendency to self-mutilation, said Kelsang Drolma, her head teacher.
Losing confidence in life and feeling sympathy to the frequent self-immolation cases in Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Wan Khengyal was prompted to follow suit, the head teacher explained.
Photos of Wan Khengyal were sent to foreign websites right after her self-immolation. She came to be regarded as a "national hero" who sacrificed her life for "Tibetan causes."
The portrayal of Wan Khengyal and others like her as "national heroes" is obviously a lie made up by foreign media.
Multiple Tibetan self-immolations have occurred in Huangnan, according to the prefecture's public security bureau.
The root of cases is overseas instigation, said Lu Benqian, deputy head of the Qinghai Provincial Public Security Department.
Most of the so-called "national heroes" are around 20 years old, including monks, nuns, herdsmen and students. They have not formed their own ideology and are easily influenced by outside instigation, Lu said.
Many self-immolators had a hard life, experienced emotional twists and turns, or chronic illness, making them more likely to commit suicide, he said.
Some of them took part in the funerals of previous self-immolators and hoped that fatally setting themselves alight in the way would let them escape from life's hardships.
Encouraged by propaganda from the "Tibetan government-in-exile," they dreamed of becoming "heroes" and winning posthumous adoration from Tibetan Buddhism believers through the inhumane acts, according to Lu.
The Second Special General Meeting of the Tibetan People, organized by the "Tibetan government-in-exile" in Dharamsala, India, in September last year, ranked self-immolation as the highest form of non-violent action.
Analyzing other recent self-immolations reinforces the flaws behind such propaganda and myth-making.
The self-immolators in Tibet had been manipulated by the Dalai clique as pawns of agitating for "Tibetan independence." What they did is against the spirit of national heroism and does not deserve the respect of the Tibetan people.
Original report by Xinhua. Shanghai Daily condensed the article.
Her younger sister, Wan Khengyal, 16, burned herself to death in a meadow close to her house using petrol from her father's motorbike on the evening of December 9, 2012.
It was one of several recent cases in which Tibetan self-immolations have left behind harrowing grief and untruths in foreign media about the victims' supposed heroism.
Before her self-immolation, Wan Khengyal drove more than 20 yaks home.
Her sister Geru Gye was doing her homework at a classmate's home that evening and planned to stay for the night. Her father, Sonam Tsering, was attending a prayer service at the village head's home.
Only her sick mother, Se Maotso, was at home, huddling in the corner of the bedroom. Se Maotso saw a burning light at around 6:45pm and shouted for help.
It was too late when Se Maotso's brother, who was 300 meters away, arrived at the scene.
It has been over one month since the tragedy, but Geru Gye still feels guilty about her absence that night.
Geru Gye is a ninth grader at Zeku County No. 2 Ethnic Middle School in northwest China's Qinghai Province. Her sister was two grades behind her in the same school.
Wan Khengyal had been feeble and sick. She had fainted several times in class. The school principal arranged for the sisters to live in the same dormitory so they could take care of each other.
Her father says Wan Khengyal was introverted and an avid reader during vacations. She was also a good helper in herding. He cannot figure out how his daughter could end her life in such a cruel way.
She was suspected of having epilepsy, which caused considerable suffering, and she had a tendency to self-mutilation, said Kelsang Drolma, her head teacher.
Losing confidence in life and feeling sympathy to the frequent self-immolation cases in Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Wan Khengyal was prompted to follow suit, the head teacher explained.
Photos of Wan Khengyal were sent to foreign websites right after her self-immolation. She came to be regarded as a "national hero" who sacrificed her life for "Tibetan causes."
The portrayal of Wan Khengyal and others like her as "national heroes" is obviously a lie made up by foreign media.
Multiple Tibetan self-immolations have occurred in Huangnan, according to the prefecture's public security bureau.
The root of cases is overseas instigation, said Lu Benqian, deputy head of the Qinghai Provincial Public Security Department.
Most of the so-called "national heroes" are around 20 years old, including monks, nuns, herdsmen and students. They have not formed their own ideology and are easily influenced by outside instigation, Lu said.
Many self-immolators had a hard life, experienced emotional twists and turns, or chronic illness, making them more likely to commit suicide, he said.
Some of them took part in the funerals of previous self-immolators and hoped that fatally setting themselves alight in the way would let them escape from life's hardships.
Encouraged by propaganda from the "Tibetan government-in-exile," they dreamed of becoming "heroes" and winning posthumous adoration from Tibetan Buddhism believers through the inhumane acts, according to Lu.
The Second Special General Meeting of the Tibetan People, organized by the "Tibetan government-in-exile" in Dharamsala, India, in September last year, ranked self-immolation as the highest form of non-violent action.
Analyzing other recent self-immolations reinforces the flaws behind such propaganda and myth-making.
The self-immolators in Tibet had been manipulated by the Dalai clique as pawns of agitating for "Tibetan independence." What they did is against the spirit of national heroism and does not deserve the respect of the Tibetan people.
Original report by Xinhua. Shanghai Daily condensed the article.
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