Tibetan monks imprisoned for protest against Chinese rule

[caption id="attachment_21072" align="alignleft" width="300"] Monks of Tibet[/caption]

Gordon Matilla----During the Vietnam War, many Americans saw on television and in magazines the silent image of a man sitting on the ground with flames clearly visible as he had burned himself to death in protest over the war. In some parts of the world, suicide in the most chilling manner is still used to call attention to a humanitarian issues, as in Tibet where a 20-year-old monk burned himself to protest the Chinese rule of Tibet.

Tsering Gyai was a young monk from the Akyong monastery. His death was to call attention to the fact that Tibet has been governed by China, since the exile of the Dalai Llama in 1979. The domination of China took place by force and that domination has been increasing over the decades since.

Tibet has its own history, culture, religion people, land, and heritage. The Dalai Llama is the religious leader of the Tibetans. So the governance by the Chinese has been resisted by the monks of Tibet, now in one of the most dramatic episodes, that has included the recent immolation of Gyai as well as the arrest and prison sentence given to Hortsang Tamdrin, a monk at Jonang Monastery in Ngaba.

A representative of the court declared, “He was sentenced for having committed actions aimed at ‘splitting the nation’ and for calling for the independence of Tibet.” His offense also included the support for self-immolation protesters and promoting special recognition of them.