World Tibet Network News Thursday, April 30, 1998 (I)

by Pratap Chakravarty

NEW DELHI, April 29 (AFP) - Tibetans fighting against Chinese rule in their homeland said here Wednesday the death of a compatriot for the cause could steer the campaign away from the Dalai Lama's non-violent struggle.

They said Thupten Ngodub's self-immolation could put their anti-Chinese campaign more firmly in the hands of the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC), which differs from their God-King's 'Middle-Path' of absolute non-violence.

Ngodub, 50, set himself on fire here Monday and suffered 100-percent burns after the police broke up a marathon hunger strike by six Tibetans. He died of cardiac arrest early Wednesday in a Delhi hospital.

The self-immolation is the first such protest by a Tibetan since 1951 when China occupied Tibet.

According to the TYC, which boasts of 10,000 members here and thousands of followers in Tibet, Ngodub's extreme protest was a watershed in the history of the Tibetan's non-violent struggle.

Karma Yeshi, TYC vice president and one of the group's hardline leaders, said: "The Dalai Lama did not achieve anything during his 40 years' of struggle."

"We have achieved something with Ngodub's death. Thousands of Tibetans in our homeland have now woken up and will support our type of campaign against China."

"The Middle Path is the strategy of His Holiness and the militant struggle is ours ... Maybe one day both the angles will meet," Yeshi told AFP in an interview.

[...]

Yeshi said although Tibetans had respect for their God-king, they were in a militant mood.

"From now our campaign would be more aggressive," the TYC vice chief said.

The Tibetan Congress in a statement said: "The Tibetan people have sent a clear message to the world that they can sacrifice themselves for the cause of an independent Tibet ... More blood will flow in the coming days."

"The Tibetan people will fight to the last drop of their blood. Tibetans of this generation will create a new chapter in the modern history of Tibet."

The Dalai Lama, while visiting Ngodub in a hospital here Tuesday, said he was "confused."

"I have made every effort for the past 20 years for the self-rule of the Tibetans but I have failed ... I am confused... I have no alternative solution to offer."

"For many years, I have been able to persuade Tibetan people to eschew violence in our freedom struggle. Today, it is clear a sense of frustration and urgency is building up among many Tibetans as seen by the unto-death hunger strike and yesterday's tragic incident."

"This frustration stems from the fact that the Tibetan people... are being gradually wiped out from the face of the earth," he said.

Several leaders from the Tibetan government-in-exile, in the northern Indian town of Dharamsala, have previously questioned the non-violent path of their spiritual leader as well.

Pema Dhondup, editor of a Tibetan newspaper in India said: "The signals are very clear... Backers of our cause are now impatient...They want a free Tibet, at any cost."