Self Immolation: A history and A sad story

We are discussing Tibetan Buddhism this week in class and have been asked to read/watch some "In the news" articles...I have been interested in this already, as the more I study Buddhism, the more interested I become in both the ideology and teachings of The Buddha,  the spread , slow show of disinterest and recent resurgence of interest in all things Buddha. 
In Kathmandu, Nepal, a recent self-immolation has occurred,  (Feb 3rd, 2013) where a monk has lit himself on fire in protest of the Chinese treatment of Tibet, he died at the scene. He is the 100th self-immolation reported since a new wave of such actions began in 2009. His Holiness (HH) Dalai Lama has asked his followers not to take such drastic actions, but even-so this is ongoing.

The event took place beside the famous Buddhist stupa in Kathmandu,  considered one of the seven wonders of the Buddhist world. 
   Lobsang Namgyal was  a former monk from the Kirti Monastery in Dharamsala, India (where HH The Dalai Lama has been in exile since 1959, along with thousands of Tibetan refugees), where he was held in high regard and working on the highest qualifications in Tibetan Buddhism. He disappeared in September last year. 
(Feb14th, NYTimes)

Since the publication of the NYTimes story I discussed above, there have been 10 more self-immolation's, the latest one occurring yesterday, March 24th in Dharamsala, India. 
Kal Kyi, a thirty year old mother of four is the latest in this epidemic of fiery deaths. The local Tibetans took her body into the Monastery in order to keep it safe. Fourteen Tibetans have self-immolated since the beginning of this year. Eight of them happened in February alone.

Kal Kyi

Although the path to nirvana can be blocked by suicide, it depends on the thoughts at the time of death. For Buddhists, since the first precept is to refrain from the destruction of life, including one's self, suicide is seen as a negative form of action. If someone commits suicide in anger, he may be reborn in a sorrowful realm due to negative final thoughts. However, unlike Christianity and other religions, Buddhism does not condemn suicide, but rather states that the reasons for suicide are often negative and thus counteract the path to enlightenment.