An official resolution of mourning and respect for remembrance
Preamble
As a result of China’s implementation of a policy of nothing but violent repression in the Snowland of Tibet, there have been a total of 136 self-immolations by patriotically inspired heroic Tibetan men and women, beginning from the first one by the 27-year-old monk Tabey of Ngaba Dzong on the 27th of February 2009, until the 5th of March 2015. And the Tibetan Parliament in Exile has already adopted cumulative official resolutions of mourning and respect for remembrance of them during successive sessions until the last one, the 9th. After that, there have been yet more self-immolations by Tibetans for the cause of their people’s religious and political freedoms. These included the 47-year-old Yeshe Khando-la of Kham Kardze who immolated herself on 8 April 2015 and became the 137th; the 45-year-old Dhamkar, also known as Neykyab, of Domey Ngaba who immolated himself on 16 April 2015 and became the 138th; the 35-year-old Tenzin Gyatso of Kham Tawu Dzong who immolated himself on 27 May 2015 and became the 139th; the 36-year-old Sangay Gyatso of Domey Chone Dzong who immolated himself on 27 May 2015 and became the 140th; the 26-year-old monk Sonam Tobgyal of Kham Kyegudo who immolated himself on 9 July 2015 and became the 141st; and the 55-year-old Tashi Kyi of the Ngulra Village in Sangkhog Town of Domey Sangchu Dzong who immolated herself on 27 August 2015 and became the 142nd. Thus, there have so far been a total of 142 known and clearly verified cases of self-immolation by monastic and lay Tibetans in Tibet. Among them, 122 ended with the loss of their lives while it remains unclear whether 22 of those among the rest are alive or dead.
The government of China claims in their malevolently intentioned various types of propaganda announcements and reports both within China and in the outside world that the self-immolations in Tibet have been instigated by political and religious forces from outside the country. Not only that, the government of China also seeks to denigrate these heroic Tibetan men and women who have sacrificed their lives by immolating themselves for the greater good of their Tibetan nation and people through a propaganda of falsehood. Throughout the length and breadth of Tibet, China has deployed its armed forces and under such an intimidating situation subjects Tibetans to ethnic discrimination, contempt, and belittling, and other kinds of ill-treatment. To sum up, China has made it impossible for the Tibetan people to live in their own land, implementing a very obvious policy of transforming the land of Tibetans into a land of Chinese people. Under such a situation, it has become impossible to ascertain how many falsely accused innocent Tibetan people have been killed in various parts of Tibet, how many remain under detention, how many have been jailed, and how many continue to be tortured to what extent. There have been many cases in which the government of China has punished with death without any official announcement Tibetan people who had sacrificed their everything, including their very lives, for the cause of the Tibetan religion, nationhood and people. Many such as the late Tulku Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche have been put to death by the government of China while being under imprisonment. These patriotically inspired heroic Tibetan men and women could hardly be forgotten in the annals of the Tibetan struggle for freedom for as long as the period of human existence remains. They will definitely remain a thousand-ray shining chapter in that history and we see it as of great importance and necessity to adopt a resolution to offer our mourning and respect in remembrance of them.
Resolution
The Tibetan Parliament in Exile expresses appreciation and admiration for the deeds of these patriotically inspired heroic Tibetan men and women; prays that whatever causes for sin they may have been caused to fall into throughout their lives be cleansed and rectified so that passing through the four wheels of the excellent supreme Mahayana recourses, they may definitely attain the stage of liberation and enlightenment; prays that those who have got burned, injured, and detained and arrested by the Chinese government win release at the earliest possible moment and, in that milieu, expresses solidarity and empathy with both those who remained alive and those who died and their dependents; offers prayers with great vehemence of purpose to the Ocean of the Victorious among the Three Precious Jewels of refuge that, as wished by these patriotically inspired heroic dead or living Tibetan men and women, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the Lord of the Three Realms, be able to return safely to his homeland of the Snowland of Tibet, with the sunshine of freedom rising at the earliest possible moment for the entire Tibetan people in and outside Tibet.
The above resolution was adopted unanimously by the Tibetan Parliament in Exile on 15 September, 2015
