Tenth Tibetan monk sets himself on fire, activist group say
A Tibetan Buddhist monk walks on the Potala Palace square on June 19, 2009 in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. Traditionally, Lhasa is the seat of the Dalai Lama, the capital of Tibet and is the highest capital in the world. The Potala Palace was the chief residence of the Dalai Lama until the 14th Dalai Lama fled to Dharamsala, India, in 1959.
A Tibetan monk set himself on fire Tuesday, making it the tenth self-immolation this year as a form of protest against Chinese rule, a U.K.-based human rights group said.
The Free Tibet group was unable to confirm the name, age or health condition of the monk, but said the event occurred near a Ganzi monastery in Sichuan province.
Ganzi government officials were unable to confirm the alleged protest, Reuters reports. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu also could not confirm the accuracy of the reports.
At least nine other Tibetan protesters, all in their late-teens and 20s, set themselves on fire in recent months that resulted in at least five of them dieing from burn injuries. A 20-year-old nun died last week from self-immolation, reportedly calling for Tibet’s freedom before she set herself ablaze.
Beijing has blamed the Dalai Lama for inciting the string of protests. Yu has called it “terrorism in disguise.”
Aba county in Sichuan province, where the majority of the protests have been, is under strict Chinese security presence.
VIDEO: Thousands rally in support of Tibetan monks
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