Nun Self Immolates, then Marches, Calling for Freedom
On 17 October 2011, at around 1 pm (Tibet local time) yet another self-immolation and unfortunate death took place in Ngaba County. Confirmed reports from Tibet say that nun Tenzin Wangmo of Ngaba Mamae Dechen Choekorling Nunnery set herself on fire on a crossroad bridge near her nunnery, which is about 3 kilometers away from the Ngaba County market.
Tenzin Wangmo, around 20 yrs old, took to the street and marched in flames for close to 7 or 8 minutes, shouting slogans for the return of the Dalai Lama and religious freedom in Tibet. She died on the spot thereafter.
Nuns from Mamae nunnery took the body of Wangmo to the nunnery. Public Security Bureau officials demanded the nunnery to hand over possession of the body yet the nuns profoundly refused. Officials then ordered the nuns to dispose of the body by that evening.
Soon after this incident, the Mamae nunnery area came under strict supervision with police patrolling everywhere, both inside and outside the nunnery. The situation remains tense.
This is the ninth incident of self-immolation, and the fifth death this year, all in protest against the repressive policies of Chinese government.
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