The early spring in the Tibetan-inhabited areas of west China was calm, until some horrifying news broke the peace. Some young Tibetans set themselves on fire, resulting in several deaths and serious injuries.

Watching the pictures of these self-immolations, I was choked with sorrow beyond words, especially as some of the victims were not yet adults.

It's not enough for us to merely extend our condolences to the families of those who died, we should look into the root causes.

Is it purely coincidence that whenever there is a suicide by self-immolation the Dalai Lama clique immediately disseminates perfectly framed videos and sensational statements? The hands of the Dalai Lama and his clique are not clean, as the case of Rigzin Phuntsog, who committed suicide by self-immolation last year, shows.

An investigation found that on the evening of March 15 of last year, Rigzin Phuntsog, a 16-year-old lama at the Kirti Monastery in Aba county, bought three bottles of gasoline, accompanied by Lhadan, a lama in the monastery. Early on March 16, Rigzin Phuntsog told Lhadan and other lamas that he was ready and would set fire to himself that day. In the afternoon, Rigzin Phuntsog did set himself on fire after making sure that the lamas had finished reciting scriptures, guaranteeing that many of them would be on the street to witness his suicide.

A group of lamas from Kirti Monastery forcibly took Rigzin Phuntsog away from police who tried to save his life and held him for nearly 11 hours before they agreed to allow the injured monk to be taken to hospital. But as a result of the delay, Rigzin Phuntsog died in hospital of cardio-respiratory failure.

As is so often the case, shortly after the tragedy occurred, the Dalai Lama clique released images of the young monk's self-immolation. When questioned, the lamas from Kirti Monastery admitted that they had filmed the self-immolation and sent the images to Dharamsala - where the Dalai Lama and his clique gather - immediately after the incident.

From this it is clear that the self-immolations are nothing but staged scenes directed by the Dalai Lama clique as part of their separatist agenda. The Dalai Lama and his followers honor these innocent victims as heroes and martyrs, glorifying their self-immolations as a non-violent means of restoring their power and privilege.

Clearly, the Dalai Lama and his followers do not know the true meaning of "non-violent", as self-immolations are violent, brutal and extreme. They are against human nature, morality and the tenets of Buddhism. It is impossible for any reasonable person to endorse such acts.

The Dalai Lama claims that the self-immolations show the failure of the Chinese government's Tibetan policy. However, as a result of the preferential policies of the central government, Tibetans' average life expectancy has increased from 35.5 years in 1951 to 69 years today. Tibetan children enjoy free education, meals and lodging in schools. Most schools have Tibetan language classes daily. Farmers and herdsmen receive free medical care. Freedom of religion and normal religious activities are fully respected.

What an irony that the Dalai Lama, the former biggest serf-owner in Tibet before democratic reforms in the 1950s, who regarded human lives as disposable straws, should now portray himself as a human rights defender caring about the Tibetans who are leading incomparably better lives than ever before.

The self-immolations incited by the Dalai Lama and his followers are staged to win the world's sympathy and support. But their desperate attempts to exploit such horrific acts for their own gain have only served to reveal their heartless disregard for young lives and their political conspiracy.

The author is a Beijing-based scholar of international relations.

(China Daily 05/16/2012 page8)