In the last year alone, 37 Tibetans have set fire to themselves in protest against repressive Chinese rule in Tibet. Unlike political self-immolations elsewhere, interpreting the demands of these protesters is no easy task. Their actions are silent, and they leave the wider community to work out their motives. Some of the self-immolators have called for the independence of Tibet, others for respect for Tibetans’ freedoms, still others for the return to Tibet of the Dalai Lama, their religious and national leader. In a more open society, answers might be found by studying the context, looking at notes left by the protesters and speaking to their friends and relatives. But Tibet under Chinese rule is a uniquely repressive place, and foreign or independent Chinese media, researchers and travellers have no access. State media either ignore the incidents or project government propaganda on to them.
This allows the tragic-heroic protests to be interpreted in different ways. Most commentators note their localized nature while also recognizing their nationalist ethos. Two-thirds of the protests have taken place in Sichuan province, close to the border between Tibet and China. Reasons given for this include the excessive securitization of life there,totalitarian interfeence in everyday worship, forced patriotic education campaigns to denounce the Dalai Lama, and the suppression of histories of resistance to Chinese rule.
