RFA BREAKING NEWS: Tibetan Monk Burns Himself to Mark Crackdown

cid:image001.png@01CCE405.460E1840 Tibetan Monk Burns Himself to Mark Crackdown MARCH 16, 2013 — A Tibetan monk from the restive Kirti monastery in China's Sichuan province burned himself to death on Saturday in protest against Chinese rule and to mark the fifth anniversary of a bloody crackdown on Tibetans in the area, sources said. Lobsang Thokmey, 28, torched himself at the monastery in Ngaba (in Chinese, Aba) county, which has been the epicenter of the Tibetan self-immolation protests against Chinese rule raging since February 2009. His protest raises to 108 the number of Tibetans who have burned themselves while challenging Beijing’s rule in Tibetan regions and calling for the return from exile of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. Lobsang Thokmey emerged burning from his room at the monastery carrying a Tibetan Buddhist prayer flag, according to monks at the Kirti exile monastery in India's Dharamsala hill town, citing local contacts. He ran a distance until he collapsed just before the entrance of the monastery, according to monks Kanyak Tsering and Lobsang Yeshi. Died in hospital Fellow monks rushed Lobsang Thokmey to the county hospital but he died on arrival. "Before he could reach the main entrance of the monastery, he collapsed and fell to the ground," exiled monks Kanyak Tsering and Lobsang Yeshi said in a statement to RFA Tibetan Service. They said that Lobsang Thokmey's body has been taken away by Chinese police. He self-immolated in "protest against the wrong Chinese policy in Tibet," they said. The burning was aimed at marking the fifth anniversary of a March 16, 2008 crackdown on Ngaba in which Chinese police fired on a crowd of Tibetans, killing at least 10, including one monk, they said. Agitated The crackdown had agitated Tibetans in the area and helped spark the self-immolation movement, sources said. On Feb. 27, 2009, a Kirti monk in his mid-20's set the stage for the fiery protests when he self-immolated after the authorities cancelled prayer ceremonies at his monastery. He was shot dead by security forces as he was burning, reports have said. Two years later, Chinese security forces launched a major clampdown on Kirti monastery and took away hundreds of monks, fueling the self-immolations. On March 16, 2011, Phuntsog, a 20-year old Kirti monk, burned himself to death to mark the third anniversary of the Ngaba crackdown and exactly a year later, Lobsang Tsultrim, a 20-year-old Tibetan monk also from the Kirti monastery, set himself on fire and shouted slogans of protest against the Chinese government along the Ngaba main road but was taken away by police and died later. 'Heroes Street' The main road in Ngaba was declared last year as "Heroes Street" after it became the epicenter of the burnings. Chinese authorities have recently tightened controls in Tibetan-populated areas to check the self-immolation protests, arresting and jailing more than a dozen Tibetans who they have accused of being linked to the burning protests. Some were jailed up to 15 years. Human rights groups have criticized the Chinese authorities for criminalizing the burning protests. The authorities have also deployed paramilitary forces and have restricted communications in the areas where self-immolations have occurred. Reported by RFA's Tibetan Service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai. View this story online at : http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/burning-03162013191820.html Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA ’s broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. If you no longer wish to receive RFA news releases, send an e-mail to engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org . To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to engnews-join(a)rfanews.org . ##### All media inquiries may be sent to Rohit Mahajan at mahajanr(a)rfa.org .