Qinghai, Tibetan monk sets himself on fire: sixth since the beginning of self-immolations
Kyengudo (AsiaNews / Agencies) - A Buddhist monk set himself on fire in protest against Chinese rule in Tibet yesterday (9 July) between five and six in the afternoon in the main square of Kyengudo, capital of the autonomous province of Yulshul (Chinese Yushu) in Qinghai Province. The Tibetan religious, whose identity is still unknown, was taken to hospital for burns and his condition remains unknown.
A Tibetan source told Radio Free Asia that "we do not know his name or which monastery he comes from". According to the source, it is unclear whether the monk was taken to hospital by passers-by or by the police.
His is the sixth self-immolation of a Tibetan monk since the beginning of the calendar year, the 142nd since the 2008 protests in the Tibetan province of Lhasa. On that occasion, the fighting raged on the anniversary of the Lhasa uprising against Beijing - in March 1959, and was violently repressed - costing the lives of about 220 people.
Since that incident, the Chinese authorities have increased control over Tibetan areas to prevent self-immolations and arrested Tibetans who promote this type of protest. Those who sacrifice themselves are demanding the free return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet and freedom for the region.
The Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, is branded by China as a separatist and as "a wolf in sheep's clothing". He has often appealed to young people to custody their lives and use it to protest a more constructive and less desperate manner.
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