Kalon Pema Chhinjor addressing the prayer service at Tsuglagkhang, the main temple, in Dharamsala, India, on 17 October 2012

DHARAMSHALA: The Central Tibetan Administration today organised a prayer service at the main temple here, to mourn and express solidarity with all those Tibetans who have self-immolated for the cause of Tibet, including 52-year-old Tamdin Dorjee. Tamdin Dorjee, grandfather of the 7th Gungthang Rinpoche, a renowned spiritual figure in Tibet’s Amdo Province, died after setting himself on fire to protest against the Chinese government’s repressive rule in Tsoe, Kanlho in north-eastern Tibet, on 13 October. The Chinese government then sealed-off the monastery by deploying a large of number of paramilitary forces in and around the monastery.

In his brief address, Kalon Pema Chhinjor, the officiating Sikyong, urged the Tibetans in exile to make the international community aware about the suffering and aspirations of the Tibetans who have sacrificed their lives for the cause of Tibet.

Since 2009, 55 Tibetans in Tibet have self-immolated demanding freedom for Tibetans and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet.