Facebook deletes article about self-immolation of Tibetan monk

Tsering Woeser (Woeser@degewa) revealed on Twitter that Facebook deleted her article about a 37-year-old Buddhist monk at the Nyitso Monastery in China who set himself on fire Tuesday, Dec.23, 2014, in front of a police station. Woeser said on Twitter, “I’m shocked. In the six years since I joined Facebook in 2008, this is the first time I’ve had my content deleted. I never imagined Facebook had its own ‘little secretary.'”(translator’s note: little secretary – an enforcer of political censorship).

Woeser is the author of several books about Tibet and a critic of Chinese policies there. Facebook notified her that the content of her post “doesn’t accord with Facebook community standards.”

The monk, Kelsang Yeshi, died at the scene. Nyitso Monastery is in a region of Tibet that called Kham, some of which also is in neighboring Sichuan Province. Yeshi called for “His Holiness the Dalai Lama to return to Tibet” and “Tibetans must be free” as he set himself on fire. Military police seized the body. According to locals, the atmosphere was very tense. The military police also opened fire and a monk was shot and injured.

According to reports, the injured monk’s name was Tsering. Many monks were severely beaten by military police. Kelsang’s body was taken to the Garze Prefecture government headquarters in Kangding County and cremated in front of his family. Authorities disposed of his ashes in a nearby river rather than turn them over to his family.

Other news outlets reported that when setting himself on fire, Kelsang Yeshi was holding a Tibetan flag, and in his dorm room displayed an image of His Holiness the Dalai Lama with this messasge written above it: “Six million Tibetans await your return.”

Local Tibetan monks and lay people gathered to pray for Kelsang Yeshi’s soul to be released from purgatory.

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http://www.savetibet.org/self-immolation-of-monk-known-for-protecting-religion-and-culture/