Spark for self-immolation unwilling to do the same

Politital ambiition under the guise of "non-violence"

Not satisfied with the effects of secessionist activities in the past, the Dalai clique has adopted planning and organizing self-immolations as new strategies.

The Second Special General Meeting of the Tibetan People, organized by the "Tibetan government-in-exile" in Dharamsala, India, in September, ranked self-immolation as the highest form of non-violent action.

"A special memorial hall should be built with displays of the pictures and the personal stories of each such martyr," according to the meeting's action plan and resolution.

"To commemorate the blood sacrifices made by Tibetan men and women in and outside Tibet, a day should be finalized for observing Martyr's Day each year," it said.

Believed by his devotees to be the reincarnation of a long line of tulkus who are considered to be manifestations of the bodhisattva, the Dalai Lama did not stop people from self-immolating, an act that is both inhumane and against Buddhist doctrines.

Instead, he has taken part in various prayer and memorial services for the self-immolators, demonstrating his passive approval of the deadly act.

"I am quite certain that those who sacrificed their lives with sincere motivation, for Buddha dharma and for the well-being of the people, from the Buddhist or religious view points, is positive," the Dalai Lama said in an interview with NBC in October.

Buddhism is mercy, with ahimsa, the philosophy of revering all life and not harming any living thing, as a fundamental rule. The instigators of the self-immolations have damaged believers' trust in Tibetan Buddhism.

On March 16, 2011, Phuntsog, 17, a former Kirti Monastery monk, self-immolated in downtown Aba County. Instead of trying to save the young man, Drongdru, Phuntsog's uncle, tried to keep his nephew's burned body from police.

Drongdru moved Phuntsog's body from the Kirti Monastery to a herdsman's house and then to a burial platform to help him complete his "heroic" mission.

When police found Phuntsog the next day, medical treatment was no longer an option. He died shortly after being found.

Most of the self-immolators are around 20 years old. The Dalai clique has taken advantage of their innocence and ignorance, said Xiong Kunxin, an ethnic policy expert with Minzu University of China.

The Dalai Lama uses his religious aura to allow young people to play toward his political ambitions, which is inhumane and sacrilegious, Xiong said.

"Samtan and Doran asked me to collect and send them information on the self-immolation practitioners, so they could publicize it overseas," said Lorang Konchok. "Otherwise, I would not do it."