In the early evening of Friday, November 9, Tibetan students at the Qinghai Nationalities University held a candle-light vigil and said mantras (pictured) for Tibetans who had self-immolated across Tibet.
The students’ peaceful gathering, which took place for about an hour, shows the impact of Tibetan self-immolations is spreading across segments of Tibetan society and also shows a willingness among Tibetans to demonstrate solidarity despite the build-up of security forces in Tibetan areas and inherent risk to their safety. The number of Tibetan self-immolations has dramatically spiked at the time of China’s Party Congress (ICT report, Thousands of Tibetan students and schoolchildren gather for peaceful demonstration in Rebkong).
Further news has emerged of a protest and candlelight vigil by several hundred students in Dowa village in Rebkong county on November 8 following the self-immolation of young mother Tamdrin Tso. According to information from Tibetan exile sources in contact with Tibetans in the area, students lowered the Chinese flag in the school. The students held a peaceful candlelight vigil at the school. (ICT report, Tibetan self-immolations escalate in number on eve of China’s Party Congress; Tibetans gather en masse in Rebkong).
