In Tibet, a Buddhist nun sets herself on fire to demand freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama
Lhasa (AsiaNews) – A 47-year-old Tibetan nun set herself on fire to protest Chinese rule in Tibet and to demand the return of the Dalai Lama.
The fiery protest took place on Wednesday morning at Kubushan, close to Kardze's prison and police station, Radio Free Asia reported.
Sources identified the victim as Yeshi Khado, a nun from Chokri Ngagong nunnery in Draggo County, Kardze Prefecture.
"Not long after she set her body on fire, she fell to the ground and then police arrived and carried her body away in a vehicle," a second source told RFA.
"The relatives approached the authorities for the body but they were not give the custody of her body. Those who witnessed the scene are almost certain that she did not survive the fiery protest," the second source added.
A Tibetan monk from the area, who now lives in Australia, said that the nun had visited the monastery the night before her self-immolation to meet friends.
"She casually told those present that they should be happy and have fun. She also said that they have to do something for Tibet's cause, including self-immolation," he said.
After bloody protests broke out in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa in 2009, Chinese authorities have tightened their grip on Tibetan regions and arrested Tibetans who promote this type of protest to prevent self-immolations.
Those who opt for the latter want freedom for their regions and that the Dalai Lama be allowed to return to Tibet in freedom.
For China, the Dalai Lama is a secessionist and "a wolf in sheep's clothing."
On several occasions, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism has called on young Tibetans not to take their life, but rather use it for more constructive and less desperate forms of protest.
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