Name: Chagmo Kyi
Age: 27 Sex: Female
Profession: Cab Driver
Date of Self-immolation: 17 November 2012 at 4 pm (local time)
Location: Dolma Square in Rebkong
Current whereabouts/wellbeing: Deceased
Her slogans: Return of His Holiness to Tibet! Freedom of Language! Equality of Nationalities. China’s New Leader Xi Jinping Must Meet with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Peace.
Mother of two, Chagmo Kyi self-immolated in Dolma Square, Rebkong. She was a native of Rebkong Meypa Khagya village in Eastern Tibet and passed away at the site of her protest. Her body was later taken to Rongwo Monastery where thousands of Tibetans reportedly gathered to offer prayers and their respects. According to the Dharamshala-based human rights NGO, Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD), “At around 7 pm (local time), Kyi’s body was moved to a cremation site on a nearby hill behind Rongwo Monastery. At the cremation site, a large number of Tibetans were loudly reciting mani mantras and special prayers associated with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Monks were carrying out preparations to cremate the body.” Despite the reportedly large deployment of Chinese armed forces in the region, and restrictions of movement on local Tibetans, hundreds of Tibetan — monks and lay people — gathered to mark Chagmo Kyi’s demise and offer prayers during her cremation which took place at a site normally reserved for monks and lamas. Troops surrounded the gathering. According to sources with contacts in Rebkong, the young mother had left letters written in Chinese and in Tibetan before her self-immolation at the Dolma grounds on Saturday. In her letters, Chagmo Kyi expressed her wish for the equality of all nationalities and called on the new Chinese leader Xi Jinping to meet with the Dalai Lama. She had inscribed the word “peace” on the sheet of paper. Return of His Holiness to Tibet! Freedom of Language! Equality of Nationalities. China’s New Leader Xi Jinping Must Meet with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Peace.