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2012-02-15 China-Japan-Koreas
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Another Tibetan monk sets himself on fire in China
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BEIJING: A Tibetan monk set himself on fire in western China and was beaten by security forces as they put out the flames, a rights group said, marking the latest in a series of dramatic protests against Chinas handling of its vast Tibetan areas.
Lobsang Gyatso, a 19-year-old monk from the Kirti monastery in Sichuan provinces Aba prefecture, set himself ablaze on Abas main street Monday afternoon, the London-based International Campaign for Tibet said. Security forces beat Gyatso while extinguishing the flames, then took him away, the group said in an online statement posted late Monday. It was not immediately clear whether he survived.
Two Tibetans who tried to help Gyatso were severely beaten by police, ICTs statement said.
Aba prefecture has been the scene of numerous protests over the past several years against the Chinese government. Most are led by monks who are fiercely loyal to Tibets exiled Buddhist leader, the Dalai Lama, who fled the Himalayan region in 1959 amid an abortive uprising against Chinese rule and is reviled by Beijing.
According to ICT, 20 Tibetan monks, nuns and laypeople have set themselves on fire in China over the past year, with at least 13 dying from their injuries. The self-immolations have occurred with increasing frequency in recent weeks, and most have taken place in Sichuans remote and mountainous Tibetan areas.
An official with the local Communist Partys propaganda department in Aba said he was unaware of the latest case. He referred media to Chinas official Xinhua News Agency or the Foreign Ministry for reports about self-immolations, saying that only they were authorized to release such news.
Activist groups say the self-immolations are a protest against Chinas policies and a call for the return of the Dalai Lama. The Chinese government has condemned the self-immolations and says an upsurge in violence in Tibetan areas, including some deadly clashes between Tibetan protesters and security forces, are being instigated by forces outside the country wanting to separate Tibet from China. 
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Posted by Steve White 2012-02-15 00:00||
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