The Central Tibetan Administration today held a prayer service to express solidarity with all those Tibetans who have self-immolated and those suffering incarceration and torture under China’s repressive rule in Tibet.
The abbot of Namgyal Monastery presided over the prayer service at the Tsuglagkhang, the main temple, attended by CTA officials and hundreds of general public. The gathering prayed for Kunchok Tenzin, the 28-year-old monk of Mogri monastery in Luchu county in eastern Tibet who immolated last Tuesday to protest against the Chinese rule. Since 2009, over 114 Tibetans have set themselves on fire in Tibet calling for the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet and freedom for Tibetans.
Prayers were also offered for those who died in the devastating landslide at a copper and gold mine near Tibet’s capital Lhasa last Friday.
Addressing the prayer service, Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay reiterated that Chinese government’s policies of political repression, economic marginalization, cultural assimilation and environmental destruction are pushing Tibetans to set themselves on fire in protest.
Sikyong said the massive landslide in Gyama valley in Medrogungkar was a result of China’s large-scale exploitation of mineral resources in Tibetan areas. Chinese scholars, environmentalists, film makers, singers and writers have expressed concern on and strongly criticised the exploitation of mineral resources in Tibet, he added.
India’s leading newspaper, The Hindu, reported that the mining disaster in Tibet drew unprecedented criticism from Chinese bloggers, filmmakers and even singers. It quoted television director Zhang Ronggui saying that he was “strongly opposed to the development of heavy industry and mineral resources in Tibet” in a widely forwarded post on Sunday on the Chinese Twitter equivalent Sina Weibo. “It is the world’s highest and purest holy land, and I hope the government can leave a blue sky, clean water and white clouds for the next generation,” he wrote. His post, as of Sunday night, had been forwarded by more than 8,000 people.
“I don’t understand why we have to dig up gold in areas that are above 4,000 metres. Why must we also build dams on rivers, including the Yarlung Zangbo? Why don’t we leave something for the next generation?”, The Hindu quoted well-known singer, Zhang Yihe, saying in a message to her 339,000 fans. Other writers have also said the close relationships between local Communist Party officials and influential state-run companies have often resulted in environmental concerns and livelihood issues of local communities being ignored in mining projects, not only in Tibet but elsewhere in China, it said.
[nggallery id=9]