A young Tibetan monk set himself on fire in southwestern China before being beaten and dragged away by Chinese security forces, a rights group said yesterday.
Named as Lobsang Tsultrim, aged 20, the monk raised a fist — a gesture of defiance used by Tibetans who accuse China of abuses — before setting himself alight on Friday, Free Tibet said in a statement.
The incident happened by the Kirti monastery in Aba prefecture, Sichuan Province, where many Tibetans live, the London-based group said.
The attempted suicide was confirmed by Radio Free Asia, but the propaganda department of Aba refused to comment when contacted yesrterday.
In the past year, about 30 Tibetans — many of them young Buddhist monks and nuns — have set themselves on fire to protest against Chinese rule.
In the latest incident, witnesses quoted by Radio Free Asia and Free Tibet said security forces hit the monk while he was alight, before extinguishing the flames and taking him, still alive, to an unknown destination.
Many Tibetans in China complain of religious repression, as well as a gradual erosion of their national culture, which they blame on a growing influx of majority Han Chinese in areas where they live.
However, China denies this and says Tibetans are leading better lives than ever before, thanks to huge investment in infrastructure, schools and housing.
Beijing has accused overseas organizations of seeking independence for Tibet and blamed the Dalai Lama — Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader — for the unrest.
Tibet’s government-in-exile said more than 200 people died in the March 2008 unrest, but China denies that account, saying there were 21 deaths and that “rioters” were responsible.
Authorities have mounted a heavy security presence in Tibetan-inhabited areas in response to the self-immolations and sometimes deadly clashes between protesters and police in recent months.
END OF AN ERA: The vote brings the curtain down on 20 years of socialist rule, which began in 2005 when Evo Morales, an indigenous coca farmer, was elected president A center-right senator and a right-wing former president are to advance to a run-off for Bolivia’s presidency after the first round of elections on Sunday, marking the end of two decades of leftist rule, preliminary official results showed. Bolivian Senator Rodrigo Paz was the surprise front-runner, with 32.15 percent of the vote cast in an election dominated by a deep economic crisis, results published by the electoral commission showed. He was followed by former Bolivian president Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga in second with 26.87 percent, according to results based on 92 percent of votes cast. Millionaire businessman Samuel Doria Medina, who had been tipped
ELECTION DISTRACTION? When attention shifted away from the fight against the militants to politics, losses and setbacks in the battlefield increased, an analyst said Recent clashes in Somalia’s semi-autonomous Jubaland region are alarming experts, exposing cracks in the country’s federal system and creating an opening for militant group al-Shabaab to gain ground. Following years of conflict, Somalia is a loose federation of five semi-autonomous member states — Puntland, Jubaland, Galmudug, Hirshabelle and South West — that maintain often fractious relations with the central government in the capital, Mogadishu. However, ahead of elections next year, Somalia has sought to assert control over its member states, which security analysts said has created gaps for al-Shabaab infiltration. Last week, two Somalian soldiers were killed in clashes between pro-government forces and
Ten cheetah cubs held in captivity since birth and destined for international wildlife trade markets have been rescued in Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia. They were all in stable condition despite all of them having been undernourished and limping due to being tied in captivity for months, said Laurie Marker, founder of the Cheetah Conservation Fund, which is caring for the cubs. One eight-month-old cub was unable to walk after been tied up for six months, while a five-month-old was “very malnourished [a bag of bones], with sores all over her body and full of botfly maggots which are under the
BRUSHED OFF: An ambassador to Australia previously said that Beijing does not see a reason to apologize for its naval exercises and military maneuvers in international areas China set off alarm bells in New Zealand when it dispatched powerful warships on unprecedented missions in the South Pacific without explanation, military documents showed. Beijing has spent years expanding its reach in the southern Pacific Ocean, courting island nations with new hospitals, freshly paved roads and generous offers of climate aid. However, these diplomatic efforts have increasingly been accompanied by more overt displays of military power. Three Chinese warships sailed the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand in February, the first time such a task group had been sighted in those waters. “We have never seen vessels with this capability
RSS