Name: Pasang Lhamo
Age: 62
Sex: Female
Status: Layperson
Date of Self-immolation: 13 September 2012
Location: Beijing
Current whereabouts/wellbeing: Unknown
The first Tibetan self-immolation in Beijing took place on 13 September 2012 when Pasang Lhamo, a 62-year-old from Jyekundo, set fire to herself. According to sources, Pasang Lhamo had travelled all the way to Beijing to appeal to the central government after local authorities refused to allow her to retain her home. News of Pasang Lhamo’s self-immolation emerged months after her protest due to security restrictions.
According to official sources, Jyekundo was devastated by a magnitude 6.9 earthquake in 2010, killing 2,698 and rendering 100,000 homeless. The town of Jyekundo was levelled by the quake, and the subsequent rebuilding process was laden with opaque government planning ignoring local consultation.
Pasang Lhamo set fire to herself after repeated appeals to the central authorities in Beijing failed to yield any concrete results. The 62-year-old was taken to hospital and treated for her burns following her protest, according to the same sources. No additional information is known about her current condition or whereabouts. Pasang Lhamo is the second Tibetan from Jyekundo known to have self-immolated in protest against government policies over evictions and land seizures. Earlier, in June 2012, a 40-year-old mother of two, Dickyi Choezom, set fire to herself to protest against government land seizures and forced evictions.