Posted on 03/17/2011 1:34:12 AM PDT by bruinbirdman
A Tibetan Buddhist monk burned himself to death in western China on Wednesday, triggering a street protest against government controls on the restive region, a group campaigning for Tibetan self-rule said.
The self-immolation appeared to be a small repeat of protests that gripped Tibetan areas of China in March 2008, when Buddhist monks and other Tibetan people loyal to the exiled Dalai Lama, their traditional religious leader, confronted police and troops.
The 21-year-old, named Phuntsog, was a monk in Aba, a mainly ethnic Tibetan part of Sichuan province that erupted in defiance against Chinese control three years ago.
The monk "immolated himself today in protest against the crackdown", said Kate Saunders of the International Campaign for Tibet, a London-based organisation.
"He shouted some slogans about freedom when he did it," said Zorgyi, a researcher for the organisation, who is based in northern India, where many exiled Tibetans live.
"We've also received widespread information about a protest with nearly one thousand monks and lay people that came after," Zorgyi said.
Police moved in to suppress the protest and arrested some monks, he said.
Repeated calls to police and government offices in Aba were not answered. One officer who answered the phone said, "Nothing is wrong."
In March 2008, Tibetan protests led by monks in Lhasa, the regional capital of Tibet proper, were suppressed by police and turned
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
RIP.
RIP
Talk about being “all burned up” at China. This fellow took it literally.
yeah that’ll work...
I never undderstood these Buddists burning themselves up. They are doing the Chinese a favor. It’s one less person they have to shoot.
If he didn’t do that, would we be talking about Tibet now?
Sadly, Tibet is largely ignored by the world, even though there are still Chinese run gulags there.
“If he didn’t do that, would we be talking about Tibet now?”
Well yea, we’re talking it about it, and nothing is going to come of it.
I’ll bet he learned his lesson and won’t do that again.
I love the smell of burning monk in the morning! It smells like....barbeque!
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