Stop the heavy punishment on innocent family of Immolators

Dharamshala: - Tibetan activists Thursday have staged a street protest while wearing the head of Chinese new president Xi Jinping, demanding China to end the severe punishments on the family members of self-immolators, strongly urged international community to support multilateral action for the current situation in Tibet.

Supporters and members from three Tibetan NGOs- Student for A Free Tibet, Regional Tibetan Youth Congress and Regional Tibetan Women's Association have protested in the Himalayan town of Mcleod Ganj, holding a big copy of Chinese currency to bribe the 'truth' and other side a gun symbolizing that the Chinese authority are using force by arresting innocent family members of self immolators, if they refused to accept what the Chinese authorities have ordered.

"This is not the first attempt by Chinese authorities to manipulate the real cause of self-immolation protest in Tibet. In the past, Chinese authorities have offered bribes and even threaten with heavy sentences to the family members," said Lamsang, General Secretary of Regional Tibetan Youth Congress, Dharamshala.

"Through this protest action, we are calling the Chinese government to stop the crackdown and this ludicrous disinformation campaign. We would like to caution the international community – especially the news media – to ensure their coverage of this issue does not unwittingly reinforce China's attempt to put the blame on Tibetans, who are the victims here" In the past, Chinese authorities have detained many Tibetans in relation to the self-immolations to shift the blame of self-immolation without dealing with the real cause of the self-immolations, that is failed Chinese policies in Tibet and decades long of oppressive rule under which Tibetans are suffering for so long time.

Self-immolators have repeatedly called for the return of His holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and freedom in Tibet. “The continuous self-immolations by Tibetans inside Tibet is one of the strongest political statements that highlights the height of oppression under which Tibetans have been suffering for a long time,” said Dorjee Tseten, National Director of Students for a Free Tibet, India.

“Chinese government’s attempt to conceal the reality by deploying heavy military and punishing innocent Tibetans or offering bribes will only further deteriorate the situation. Tibetans will not stop resisting until and unless China addresses the real issue of the Tibetan people," he added.

"Therefore, we call for setting up an intergovernmental mechanism to put pressure on China on a multilateral front to end the military crackdown and the crisis in Tibet.”Husband of Dolkar Tso, who self-immolated near the Tsoe Monastery in Kanlho on August 7, 2012, was secretly detained by Chinese security personnel after he rejected a bribe offer from the local Chinese authorities," the NGOs further added.

'"amily members of Sangay Gyatso, 27, who passed away in his self-immolation protest against China’s continued occupation of Tibet on October 6, 2012 faced a similar situation when they were offered a bribe of one million Chinese Yuan (US $ 158,599) to sign a document stating that his self-immolation was not targeted against China’s rule over Tibet.

On January 28, 2013, a Tibetan monk named Lobsang Konchok was given a suspended death sentence (likely to be commuted to life), and his nephew Lobsang Tsering was sentenced to 10 years in a false allegation link to the self-immolations with no proper trail and process. News of self-immolators’ relatives’ arrest is the utmost concern of Tibetans and supporters everywhere."