Tibetan movement needs fighters, not martyrs

Mar 29, 2012 - Monica Jha |

Bengaluru

Cases of self-immolation by Tibetans are desperate attempts to bring immediate attention to the cause of Free Tibet. Many Tibetans and also the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) think sustaining the movement and refraining from drastic action of taking one’s life is what the freedom fight needs.

“The CTA would like to iterate that life is precious. In the long-term interest of the Tibetan cause, we urge Tibetans to focus on secular and monastic education to provide the necessary human resources and the capability to strengthen and sustain our movement. We once again urge Tibetans to refrain from drastic actions,” the CTA said in an official statement on Tuesday.

While Tibetans inside Tibet live under a repressive system with no provision of freedom of speech, Tibetans living in the free world could explore other means of protest, it stated. Out of the total population of 1,28,014 Tibetans living in exile, 94,203 are in India. The country recognises the right to freedom of speech and allows conventional methods of protest.

A Tibetan youth immolated himself on Monday to protest against Chinese President Hu Jintao’s visit to India. He died on Wednesday. Mr Hu landed in New Delhi for a BRICS summit on Wednesday. Three Tibetans starved themselves outside the UN Headquarters in New York to demand that the UN pressure China to end its repressive rule in Tibet and also to send a fact-finding commission to Tibet to look into cases of human rights violation in Tibet. After a month-long protest, the UN on Thursday agreed to appoint a special rapporteur for human rights in Tibet.

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