Database of Tibetan self-immolations
Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns participate in a sit-in solidarity rally against China’s rule on Tibet, in New Delhi on Oct. 18, 2011.
| Name | Sex | Age | Date | Protest Location | Status | Info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tapey | M | 20's (approx.) | 2/27/09 | Ngaba | Unknown | Tapey, a Kirti monk in his mid-twenties, was shot by security personnel when he set himself on fire as a form of protest after prayer ceremonies at his monastery were cancelled. Early in the afternoon, according to at least two sources including one who spoke to an eyewitness, Tapey walked alone to a nearby crossroads in the market area of the town. He had already doused himself with oil by the time he reached the crossroads. He then set himself on fire and raised a home-made Tibetan flag that had at its center a photograph of the Dalai Lama. When Tapey began to shout slogans (no details are known of what he said), People's Armed Police personnel stationed nearby opened fire, and Tapey fell to the ground. Reports indicate that the PAP extinguished the fire after Tapey was shot and he was immediately taken away by police. |
| Phuntsog | M | 20 | 3/16/11 | Ngaba | Dead | Phuntsog, a 20-year old monk, immolated himself on March 16, the third anniversary of a protest at Kirti in 2008 during which at least 10 Tibetans were shot dead. Police extinguished the flames and were seen beating Phuntsog before he died, according to Tibetan exiles in contact with Tibetans in the area. Before he was stopped by police, Phuntsog shouted slogans including "May His Holiness the Dalai Lama live for 10,000 years!" according to Tibetan exiles who spoke to a witness of the protest. |
| Tsewang Norbu | M | 29 | 8/15/11 | Tawu County | Dead | Tsewang Norbu died after setting fire to himself and calling for freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet. Tsewang Norbu drank petrol before immolating himself and died soon afterwards, according to Tibetan exiles in contact with the area. |
| Lobsang Kunchok | M | 18 (approx.) | 9/26/11 | Ngaba | Hospitalized, according to exile Tibetan sources. | Lobsang Kelsang and Lobsang Kunchok, both believed to be approximately 18-years old, set fire to themselves on Sept. 26 while shouting “Long live His Holiness the Dalai Lama,” in a protest held in Ngaba county town. After extinguishing the flames, police took the two young monks into custody. |
| Longsang Kelsang | M | 18 (approx.) | 9/26/11 | Ngaba | Hospitalized, according to exile Tibetan sources. | Lobsang Kelsang and Lobsang Kunchok, both believed to be approximately 18-years old, set fire to themselves on Sept. 26 while shouting “Long live His Holiness the Dalai Lama,” in a protest held in Ngaba county town. After extinguishing the flames, police took the two young monks into custody. |
| Kelsang Wangchuk | M | 17 | 10/3/11 | Ngaba | Hospitalized | A 17-year-old monk from Kirti monastery immolated himself in Ngaba county town at approximately 2:00 p.m. local time on Oct. 3, 2011, according to Tibetans in exile in contact with Tibetans in the area. The monk, Kelsang Wangchuk, carried a photo of the Dalai Lama and was shouting slogans against the Chinese government when he set fire to himself along the main street in Ngaba county, Sichuan province. Full details of the incident have yet to emerge, but some exiled sources say that he was immediately surrounded by security personnel, who extinguished the fire and beat Kelsang Wangchuk before taking him away. Kelsang's current wellbeing and whereabouts are unknown. |
| Kayung | M | 18 | 10/7/11 | Ngaba | Dead | Kayang, a former monk at Kirti monastery, who may have been expelled, set fire to himself along the main road of Ngaba county town along with another monk named Choepel. They clasped their hands together and set fire to themselves before security personnel extinguished the flames and took the two to the county’s government-run hospital. Both young men died following the protest. |
| Choepel | M | 19 | 10/7/11 | Ngaba | Dead | Choepel a former monk at Kirti monastery, who may have been expelled, set fire to himself along the main road of Ngaba county town along with another monk named Kayung. They clasped their hands together and set fire to themselves before security personnel extinguished the flames and took the two to the county’s government-run hospital. Both young men died following the protest. |
| Norbu Damdrul | M | 19 | 10/15/11 | Ngaba | Dead | Former Kirti monk Norbu Damdrul, 19, set fire to himself in a protest on the main street in Ngaba county town just before noon on October 15. According to exiled Tibetan sources, he shouted “We need freedom and independence for Tibet,” and called for the return of the Dalai Lama before he burned his body, according to the same sources. He was still alive when police stationed on the street extinguished the flames and kicked Norbu before taking him away. A large crowd of Tibetans who had gathered at the scene was dispersed at gunpoint by security personnel, according to the same sources. |
| Tenzin Wangmo | F | 20 | 10/17/11 | Ngaba | Dead | Tenzin Wangmo, a 20-year-old Tibetan nun from Mame Dechen Chokorling nunnery (also known as Mame nunnery) in Ngaba died after self-immolating at the nearby Sumdo bridge. According to the same sources, Tenzin Wangmo called for the Dalai Lama's return to Tibet and for religious freedom, during a protest that lasted approximately 10 minutes. Tenzin Wangmo's body was taken back to the nunnery before police arrived, whereupon the authorities demanded that her body be turned over or buried the same day, according to the same exile sources. The nuns of Mame nunnery refused, after which soldiers and police cordoned off the nunnery and surrounding villages. Details are still emerging, however, according to the same exile sources. Wangmo's body was cremated on the evening of Oct. 17, by order of the authorities. |
| Dawa Tsering | M | 38 | 10/25/11 | Kardze | Unknown | Dawa Tsering, 38, became the 11th Tibetan to self-immolate as a form of political protest against Chinese rule when he set fire to himself on the morning of Oct. 25, 2011 in Kardze Monastery in eastern Tibet. Dawa Tsering was reportedly participating in a religious ritual inside the monastery attended by hundreds of local people when he set himself on fire. His current condition and whereabouts are not known, and Chinese police have reportedly surrounded the monastery. |
| Palden Choetso | F | 35 | 11/3/11 | Kardze | Unknown | Palden Choetso set fire to herself Nov. 3, 2011 and is believed to have died in Kardze, Sichuan. The state news agency Xinhua confirmed the self-immolation and reported that the nun died after setting herself on fire. |
| Tenzin Phuntsog | M | 40's (approx.) | 12/1/11 | Chamdo | Dead | Tenzin Phuntsog is the first self-immolation incident to have occured in the Tibet Autonomous Region, and the 13th since Kirti monk Tapey set himself on fire Feb. 27, 2009. The self-immolations have mainly occurred in Ngaba, Sichuan. |
| Tennyi | M | 20 (approx.) | 12/6/12 | Ngaba | Dead | According to information from exiled Tibetan sources, two Tibetans, both aged around 20, called Tsultrim and Tennyi, set themselves on fire in the courtyard of a hotel in the center of Ngaba town, and ran into the street shouting "His Holiness the Dalai Lama must return to Tibet" and "May His Holiness the Dalai Lama live for 10,000 years!" Tennyi died on the same day, and Tsultrim died on Jan. 7, 2012. according to the same sources. |
| Tsultrim | M | 20 (approx.) | 12/6/12 | Ngaba | Dead | According to information from exiled Tibetan sources, two Tibetans, both aged around 20, called Tsultrim and Tennyi, set themselves on fire in the courtyard of a hotel in the center of Ngaba town, and ran into the street shouting "His Holiness the Dalai Lama must return to Tibet" and "May His Holiness the Dalai Lama live for 10,000 years!" Tennyi died on the same day, and Tsultrim died on Jan. 7, 2012. according to the same sources. |
| Sonam Wangyal | M | 40s (approx.) | 1/8/12 | Darlag | Dead | Sonam Wangyal (also referred to as Lama Sobha), a respected religious figure in his local area, drank kerosene and set himself on fire on Jan. 8, 2012 early in the morning in Darlag county, Qinghai, according to the Tibetan government in exile. His self-immolation was said to be linked to lack of religious freedoms in the area. Radio Free Asia reported that before he set himself ablaze, he climbed a local hill to burn incense and pray before distributing leaflets saying he would act "not for his personal glory but for Tibet and the happiness of Tibetans." |
| Losang Jamyang | M | 20s (approx.) | 1/14/12 | Ngaba | Dead | According to exiled Tibetan sources, at around 1:30 p.m. Losan Rabyang doused himself in petrol and set himself on fire. He walked into the street calling for the long life of the Dalai Lama and for freedom in Tibet, according to the same sources. Losang Jamyang died after his self-immolation but reports about the time of his death differ. He was taken away by police, and one of the most reliable reports suggest that he may have survived until Monday, Jan. 16, 2012 when he died. |
| Rinzin Dorje | M | 19 | 2/8/12 | Ngaba | Unknown | According to two Tibetan monks from Kirti monastery in Dharamsala, India (associated with Kirti monastery in Ngaba), Rinzin Dorje set himself on fire at a primary school early in the evening in Ngaba, Sichuan province. Sources said that the Tibetan seemed to be a monk, but his name and place of origin are not known. He was taken away by police, and it is not known whether he is still alive. Two monks were also detained from the vicinity. |
| Sonam Rabyang | M | 30s (approx.) | 2/9/12 | Ngaba | Unknown | Sonam Rabyang was a monk from Yuthung village, Lab township, Tridu County, Qinghai Province. He was at Lab monastery, and set fire to himsef in Tridu town. It is thought that he survived, but it is not clear. |
| Tenzin Choedron | F | 18 | 2/11/12 | Ngaba | Dead | Tenzin Choedron set herself on fire early in the evening on February 11, shouting slogans against the Chinese government, according to monks from Kirti monastery in exile (sister monastery to Kirti in Ngaba). She chose the same place as nun Tenzin Wangmo, the Sumdo bridge area below the nunnery, which is around three kilometers from Ngaba county town (Tibetan nun dies following self-immolation protest). Tenzin Choedron did not die immediately, but was taken away by soldiers and police. According to new information today, she died soon afterwards and her funeral ceremony is being arranged. |
| Lobsang Gyatso | M | 19 | 2/23/12 | Ngaba | Unkown | At about 2:30pm on February 13th, Kirti monk Losang Gyatso, 19, set himself on fire at the top of the main street of Ngaba town shouting slogans of protest against the Chinese government. In the same moment, armed police and special police officers came and extinguished the fire and took him away while beating him. His present condition and whereabouts are not known. |
| Damchoe | M | 40 | 2/17/12 | Themchen | Unknown | Details are being confirmed, we will update when possible. |
Data sourced to the International Campaign for Tibet/ Compiled by Kyle Kim
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