Inhumane Torture Or Setting Self On Fire?

Yesterday I posted the following video of Lobsang Konchok, 18/19yrs old who set himself on fire on 9/26/11, on my Facebook. The video seems to have been uploaded by someone not familiar with Tibet or whats happening inside. A quick inspection of the person’s other video archives show random car crashes and the likes. S/he had named Lobsang’s video as “Failed Suicide.”  Since than, Tibetans and organizations have uploaded the video of Lobsang on YouTube with the correct information.

The tittle “Failed Suicide” sparked a short discussion on my comments section in which Tenzin Phuntsok made some insightful comments. He has given me permission to share the following comment with our Lhakar Diaries readers. You can also watch this video to better understand the level of torture Tibetans face in prison.

“Thanks for sharing this link. One of us Tibetans should re-post that video on youtube with a different title, instead of ‘failed suicide’, and change the description.

One point as to why [Tibetans inside Tibet have decided to] choose self-immolation. [This] is not really reported by the media and even us Tibetans, is the simple fact, that if they are arrested, they will be brutally tortured, we all know that. So the real question, is which is a better form of protest, does one choose to self immolate in protest, or take the chance of protesting with immediate arrest followed by 10 years to life imprisonment with torture? There’s no choice really if one chooses to protest, everything is over.

I wish the media and us Tibetans would raise that point, as to why people have to burn themselves to death after protesting. Every article I have read so far, and the responses I have read have failed to mention years of endless torture in prison as one of the underlying reasons, as to why they are forced to such acts. We should make it clear to the media what happens if you get caught protesting and do not self immolate.”