By Tendar Tsering
DHARAMSHALA, August 23: The Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama expressed his sadness over the self-immolation of a 29-year old Tibetan monk Tsewang Norbu.
Speaking to reporters in Hamburg, Germany, the Dalai Lama said he was saddened to hear about Tsewang Norbu’s death and expressed the need for imminent changes in the Chinese government policies on Tibet last Sunday.
Tsewang Norbu, a 29-years old monk set himself on fire demanding greater freedom in Tibet and the return of the Dalai Lama in his hometown of Tawu, eastern Tibet on August 15.
Sources in exile have confirmed growing security clampdown and tighter restrictions at Nyitso Monastery and in the region following the death of Tsewang Norbu.
“Thousands of soldiers are keeping a tight vigil on Nyitso monastery. Chinese tanks and cannons have been deployed on the mountains facing Nyitso monastery,” said an exiled Tibetan with contacts in the region.
In a release today, the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) said that three more Tibetans from the Tawu region were arrested on unspecified charges as interrogations of the monks in the Nyitso monastery continues.
“On 19th of this month Norbu from Rinah Lungpa, Tawu was arrested in Siyo near Chengdu. The second Tibetan arrested is Gyaltsen from Nyeshap village, Tawu. He was arrested on 21 August 2011 while coming out of a hospital in Chengdu city where he was accompanying a relative for medication. The last person was arrested the next day, 22nd of this month, and is unidentified. The charges against them, their present condition and whereabouts remain not yet known,” the release said.
The release noted that despite the increased security clampdown in Tawu, Tibetans continue to visit the family of the deceased to pay homage and support.
Tibetans and supporters worldwide have been carrying out protests and vigils, highlighting the sacrifices being made by Tibetans in Tibet.
Last Saturday, around 50 Tibetans and Tibet supporters in the capital city of Germany held a candle light vigil for late Tsewang Norbu in front of the Chinese Embassy in Berlin.
“Tibetans protesting in Chinese-occupied Tibet know that they are sure to face arrest and torture. Tsewang’s self-immolation highlights the desperation of Tibetans living under Chinese rule,” said Nadine Baumann, Director of Tibet Initiative Deutschland, the organisers of the vigil.
