A panel spoke about the political significance of self-immolation and the state of the Chinese-Tibetan conflict last Thursday during an event titled "Self-Immolation and Non-violent Struggle" in Pearlman Lounge.

The panel featured Prof. Gordon Fellman (SOC); Jamyang Rinchen, Tibetan-Chinese translator for the Dalai Lama; and Bhuchung K. Tsering, vice president of Special Programs in the International Campaign for Tibet. Cynthia Cohen, director of the Program in Peacebuilding and the Arts at the International Center for Ethics, Justice, and Public Life, moderated the event.

Kunsang Gyurme '13, president of Students for Tibet, introduced the panel with a brief explanation of the Chinese-Tibetan conflict. China views Tibet as a part of its territory and believes that they liberated the country in 1949, while Tibet views itself as independent, under the rule of the Dalai Lama and currently under forceful occupation by China, he said. "Almost 100 percent of Tibetans are Buddhist, and the Tibetan society is largely shaped by its religion," said Gyurme. "On the other hand, China does not allow religion to play a part in its society."

Since 2009, there have been 112 cases of self-immolation-the act of setting oneself on fire-by Tibetans in protest of the struggle. According to Gyurme, two of these cases occurred within the past two weeks.

In an introduction to the panel, Cohen addressed the multifaceted and sensitive nature of the subject. "Our panelists represent a range of views but, I'm sure there are even wider views among all of you," she said to the audience.

Fellman, who organized the Dalai Lama's visit to Brandeis in 1998, stated his intention to "locate this [situation] in history in a different way" by illustrating connections to Judaism. He drew parallels to the mass suicide of the Jews at Masada after they rebelled against the Roman Empire, which resulted in the killing of several thousand Jews. Fellman, who grew up Jewish, said that he had been critical of the suicide and wondered why the Jews did not "wait out the Roman Empire," as "domination is always unstable and resistance is always waiting in the wings and will eventually triumph."

"All empires fail, all empires fall, and I'm expecting the Chinese empire will, too," said Fellman.

Tsering, who was born in Tibet and fled to India with his family in 1960, said that these acts of self-immolation are "a stark reminder that there is a problem in Tibet."

"The Tibetan struggle in a nutshell is more than a political struggle," said Tsering. "It is a struggle for the Tibetan people and their identity."

Tsering said that the practice of nonviolence entered "the mindset of the Tibetan people" with Buddhism, but that the change was historically gradual. From the Tibetan perspective, the roots of the struggle are primarily "religion-centric" rather than political, as "the Tibetans felt that their very identity, which is linked with religion, was being attacked" with the Chinese occupation of the religious capital of Lhasa.

The Dalai Lama, who has lived in exile in India since the unsuccessful Tibetan Uprising 1959, seeks a solution to the issue that benefits both China and Tibet, said Tsering, as "only such a mutually beneficial solution will be a lasting solution." He added that nonviolence is not only a moral option but a practical option, as acquiring arms and organizing a violent attack would be logistically difficult.

Tsering said that be believes that two reasons for the incidence of self-immolation are that Tibetans feel that they are treated as second-class citizens in their own land and that they do not have a space to express themselves religiously and politically. He added that because the majority of individuals who self-immolate were born under the Chinese rule, these acts illustrate that a new generation of Tibetans is at the forefront of the struggle.

Rinchen, a Chinese Buddhist, discussed the practice of nonviolence from a Buddhist perspective, though different Buddhist traditions provide different opinions, he said. As long as one's motivation is nonviolence and one's intentions are positive, he said, one's actions will reflect that. He emphasized the importance of "natural altruism" in connection with Tsering's discussion of solutions that benefit both China and Tibet despite any perceived ill will, adding that, "I know it's very hard, but it's not impossible."

In a question-and-answer session, a Tibetan audience member commented that it is inaccurate to call self-immolation "suicide" because it is a "strategic act of defiance" rather than desperation. "We look up to these people as heroes who did this for our nation, who did this for the greater good of the Tibetan cause," she said.

In response to an audience question about slavery in Tibet prior to Chinese rule, Tsering said that though in the "past Tibet wasn't a perfect society," the Tibetan people's idea of what is essential to them has changed. "I think the Chinese leadership has not really asked the Tibetan people what they want, ... and that is the problem," Tsering said.

Rinchen added that Chinese culture emphasizes respecting others' well-being, but must also respect others' cultures and that even the Chinese government's contribution of roads, food and clothes to Tibetans does not reflect what Tibetans truly want, which is religious freedom.

The event was sponsored by Students for Tibet; the Justice, Peace, and Coexistence Working Group; and the International Center for Ethics, Justice, and Public Life.