Tibetan Self-Immolations, Through November 26, 2012
Three Tibetans have set themselves on fire across western China in the last two days, while a student protest against the Beijing government＇s denouncement of self-immolators in Qinghai province faced a police crackdown.
VOA＇s Tibetan Service reported that two men set themselves ablaze on Monday and a nun died after burning herself Sunday.
Wangyal, a Tibetan man in his 20s, self-immolated in Sichuan province. He is reported to have shouted slogans calling for the return of the Dalai Lama and freedom for the Tibetan people. Sources said Chinese authorities immediately arrived at the scene Monday and removed Wangyal’s charred body.
A second man, 18-year-old Kunchok Tsering, died after setting himself ablaze in Gansu province. Sangay Dolma, a nun affiliated with the Sangag Mindrol Dhargeyling convent, died after burning herself the day before in front of a government office in Qinghai Province.
Separately, Chinese security forces cracked down Monday on a demonstration by thousands of Tibetan students in Qinghai, leaving some severely injured. The protesters shouted slogans demanding equal language rights, freedom and leadership change.
China called Sunday for an intensified crackdown on separatism in its Tibetan-inhabited regions. But the International Campaign for Tibet, an advocacy group, said it is clear that Tibetans have not been dissuaded by the security buildup or other means of official intimidation.
More than 84 Tibetans have set themselves on fire since 2009, demanding freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama from exile.
So far this November, 22 Tibetans are reported to have burned themselves. |
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