Pawo Jamphel Yeshi passed away early this morning...

[བསྟན་འཛིན་དབང་རྒྱལ་]

Dear All,

I'm sure most of you are aware of the situation in Delhi and of this brave Tibetan pawo Jamphel Yeshi la who immolated himself few days ago. He passed away this morning and has left a letter behind for his reasons. Please do take time and pray for his quick rebirth, we the TAW will continue to hold community prayer for all the brave Tibetans who have self-immolated starting next week on Sat. April 7th (once a month this year) at the Sakya gompa. Please continue to check our website for updates.

Below is message from TYC:

New Delhi, 28 March 2012
Pawo Jamphel Yeshi passes away

With great sadness the Tibetan Youth Congress announces the demise of Martyr Jamphel Yeshi who set his body on fire for the cause of Tibet on 26 March 2012 in New Delhi.

Doctors announced Martyr Jamphel Yeshi, 27, clinically dead at 7:30 am (local time) today.

He is survived by his mother and four siblings, all in Tibet.

Martyr Jamphel Yeshi set himself on fire today at around 12:30 pm on March 26, in an apparent protest against the continued Chinese occupation of Tibet in front of hundreds of Tibetans who had converged from all over India at Jantar Mantar to protest Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit. 

TYC Vice President Dhondup Lhadar was by his side at the Ram Manohar Lohia hospital when Martyr Jamphel Yeshi breathed his last.

Martyr Jamphel Yeshi had suffered 98 per cent burn injuries to his body. Doctors had given him zero per cent of survival chance but Martyr Jamphel Yeshi’s heart fought against his body to survive the grueling pain.

Born in Kham Tawu, Martyr Jamphel Yeshi escaped to India in 2006 and studied at the Tibetan Transit School in Dharamshala for nearly three and a half years.

Martyr Jamphel Yeshi has been living in Delhi for the last two years and has actively participated in many of the political activities organised by the TYC and other organisations.

Described as deeply pious, Martyr Jamphel Yeshi was the first to attend religious gatherings and prayer sessions.

Dhondup Lhadar, Vice-President, TYC said: "Martyr Jamphel Yeshi’s sacrifice will be written in golden letters in the annals of our freedom struggle. He will live on to inspire and encourage the future generations of Tibetans. The brilliant radiance of his fire will dispel the darkness of China's illegal occupation of Tibet and regenerate the spirit of Tibetan independence. 

"Martyr Thupten Ngodup was the first known Tibetan to have self-immolated in our freedom struggle during an indefinite hunger strike organised by TYC in New Delhi in 1998. In Tibet, since Martyr Tapey's self-immolation in 2009, 30 Tibetans have set their bodies on fire demanding the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and freedom for Tibet. Pawo Jamphel Yeshi's self-immolation marks a milestone in our freedom struggle where Tibetans inside and outside of Tibet stand ever united in our fights against the Chinese occupying forces." 

With full stately honour, TYC will carry the body of Pawo Jamphel Yeshi to the Tibetan exile headquarters of Dharamshala and hold a grand funeral deserving of a martyr. 
-end-

Tibetan Association of Washington (TAW) 
P.O. BOX 77623 Seattle, WA 98177 - 0623
Voice: (253) 234-4147 
www.washingtontibet.org

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