South China Morning Post
Wednesday 5 December 2012
AFP-Beijing.- China to charge anyone caught aiding or abetting Tibetan self-immolations with murder, said a news release Wednesday, after more than 90 Tibetans set themselves on fire in protest against the Chinese government.
A joint legal opinion issued by the Supreme Court of China, highest processing body, said the charge of “intentional homicide” would apply to anyone who urges Tibetans to set themselves on fire, reported the state-run Gannan Daily
Ula, The Tibetan spiritual leader, of inciting immolations. He said last month that Beijing was more interested in criticizing him than finding reasons for the self-immolations..
The sentence comes alongside an intense security campaign in Tibetan-inhabited regions and could implicate Tibetan monks., relatives of anti-China protesters, the supporters.
More of 90 Tibetans have set fire from 2009 in protest against China's rule of the Tibetan plateau, with incidents becoming more frequent this year and close to 30 happening in november.
“Recent self-immolations in Tibetan areas are mutually linked to hostile forces inside and outside China, they are planned, organized and incited by separatist nations and are seriously odious incidents aimed at destroying ethnic unity and fomenting social disorder.”, said the newspaper.
“The legal opinion clearly points out that those criminals behind the scenes who plan, motivating, assistant… and help those who commit self-immolations, “They will be investigated for criminal responsibility in the crime of intentional homicide.”.
The Gannan Daily is the local government newspaper of Gannan Prefecture, part of Gansu province in northwest China, where many of the November immolations took place.
Many Tibetans in China accuse the government of repressing their religious freedom and eroding their culture., while the country's ethnic majority, they have, increasingly moving to historically Tibetan areas.
China insists Tibetans enjoy higher standards of living and religious freedom, in accordance with the law.
In Tokyo, last month, the Dalai Lama said: “The Chinese government should investigate the cause. China is not looking at this seriously and is trying to end it (the incidents) just criticizing me” according to a Kyodo News report in Japanese.
Last week, The campaign group International Campaign for Tibet said in London that a security campaign aimed at ending self-immolations was fueling the protests.-
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Known as Phuntso
Liaison Officer for Latin America
TIBET OFFICE
Email: phuntso@igc.org
