Tibet sees four more self-immolations in past several days
The Dalai Lama, the Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, gives a conference on August 14, 2011 at the Zenith of the French southwestern city of Toulouse. Beijing has blamed the spiritual leader for encouraging the string of Tibetan protestors who have set themselves on fire.
Four more Tibetans have set themselves on fire on Sunday and Monday, Voice of America reported. The self-immolations occur as China is seeing a dramatic increase in Tibetan self-immolations in the past month, 23 in total. Last month's tally in fact accounts for nearly a third of the 84 Tibetan self-immolations that have occurred since 2009. The immolations, made in protest against China's rule, come as China is preparing to hand over power to a new president.
"Both laypeople and monks and nuns [are] involved in these self-immolations. Without a doubt, it's really reaching a crisis point," an expert told Voice of America.
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The self-immolations occurred as Tibetans staged a protest against China's rule on Monday, The Australian reported.
The suicide victims include two teenagers, according to RTT News.
However, strict Chinese laws make it impossible to independently verify the deaths, the Daily Telegraph reported. The Dalai Lama said this weekend on Indian television that the self-immolations had brought tears to his eyes.
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