Calling for Dalai Lama’s return, two youths self-immolate in Tibet
June 20: Barely a week after an elderly Tibetan nomad burned himself to death,
two youth set themselves on fire in anti-China protest today in Yushul Tibet Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai Province.
Ngawang Norphel (22) and Tenzin Khedup (24) set their bodies on fire in Zatoe town in Yushul around 3:30 pm (local time), according to Lobsang Sangay, a Tibetan monk, who cited sources in the region. Khedup reportedly died after the protest while Norphel is believed to have survived and remained in hospital.
A short video clip, purported to be of the duo’s self-immolation, shows the two youths, both carrying a Tibetan national flag, engulfed in fire.
The duo allegedly left a note explaining their deadly protest days before carrying out the self-immolation.
“We send prayers for long life of Dalai Lama and call for his immediate return,” the note allegedly explained of their self-immolation act.
The two youths described themselves as poorly educated and financially weak to do anything for Tibet’s freedom and termed their self-immolation as their only resort to fight for Tibet’s cause.
The two youth also called on Tibetans to refrain from fighting among themselves and to focus on “unity in order to preserve Tibetan identity and spirit.”
The source said Norphel, son of Lhakpa Dhondup and Tsering Yangchen, hails from the troubled region of Ngaba where most of the reported self-immolation occurred so far. Khedup hails from Thridu County in Yushul Tibet Autonomous Prefecture.
The latest twin self-immolations takes to 41, the number of Tibetans who took to the deadly form of protest since 2009 to challenge China’s rule of their homeland and to call for the return of Dalai Lama.
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