Two Tibetans were convicted with murder today (Jan. 31) for "inciting self-immolations."
A Tibetan monk by the name of Lorang Konchok was given a delayed death sentence. His nephew, Lorang Tsering was sentenced to ten years in prison.
A court in Sichuan province said they were guilty of encouraging eight Tibetans to self-immolate, three of whom died.
[Kate Saunders, Communications Director, ICT]:
"This is only likely to escalate the situation further and also to intensify the risk of more self-immolations in Tibet."
Chinese state media reported that the pair admitted to their crimes. But the information cannot be verified independently.
Kate Saunders from the International Campaign for Tibet says she thinks the accusations are unlikely to be true.
[Kate Saunders, Communications Director, ICT]:
"We have heard separately from some Tibetans connected to the area that Losang Konchok, the uncle, was respected as a good man in his community and it is likely that he would have attempted to show and demonstrate emotional support to families of those who self-immolated. The same with the younger nephew, he was also highly regarded and respected."
The Chinese regime has used the case to stir up resentment against the Dalai Lama.
In a press conference today, China's Foreign Ministry Spokesman accused the two Tibetans of following orders from Tibet's exiled spiritual leader. He accused the Dalai Lama of being a separatist and trying to win autonomy for Tibet.
The Dalai Lama has repeatedly called for an end to the self-immolations, saying they are not effective.
Almost 100 Tibetans have set themselves on fire since 2009 in protest of Chinese tyranny. The Chinese regime refuses to admit the immolations are a result of its oppressive policies.
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