New Delhi, India: More than 31 case of Tibetans self-immolating in protest of the repressive Chinese regime inside Tibet, 27-year-old Jamphel Yeshi set himself on fire at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi around 12.30pm IST.A resident of Majnu Ka Tilla in New Delhi, Yeshi escaped Tibet in 2006 and has been living in India since then.
Eyewitnesses state that he set himself on fire and ran for 100 meters before Tibetan protestors along with Indian police officials present at the site doused the fire and took him to a nearby hospital.
Sources stated that his flesh has been severely burnt and that the skin peeling off his torso was clearly visible from the back of the vehicle he was towed away in.
This incident took place when Tibetan activists from across India were protesting the scheduled visit of the Chinese President to New Delhi for the BRICS summit on 28th March.
Even as they held protests to urge the international community to intervene in the current crackdown in Tibet carried out by the Chinese government, Yeshi, engulfed in flames came running out from a nearby closed compound.
Sources state that Yeshi has suffered 98% burns and is currently in the emergency room of Ram Manohar Hospital in New Delhi.
Incidentally, today also marks the completion of a century since the declaration of war against the Manchu forces’ occupying of Tibet in 1912.
OVERVIEW
31 Tibetans have set themselves on fire since 2009 protesting the repressive Chinese policies and demanding the return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet.
30 of those incidents have taken place inside Tibet and most of them were monks and nuns.
Most self-immolations have taken place in neighboring Sichuan province, and this is the second self-immolation by a Tibetan that has taken place in India. The previous one was when Sherab Tsedor a Tibetan youth from New Delhi in India self-immolated a few months ago, but escaped with injuries only to his lower body.
