Tibetan refugee sets himself on fire outside Chinese Embassy in New Delhi

[News_Editor]

Tibetan refugee sets himself on fire outside Chinese Embassy in New Delhi

2011-11-05 09:02:09 GMT+7 (ICT)

NEW DELHI, INDIA (BNO NEWS) -- A Tibetan refugee set himself on fire outside the Chinese Embassy in the Indian capital of New Delhi on Friday, police said. It follows a series of self-immolation incidents in southwest China.

Twenty-five-year-old Sherab Tsedor, a Tibetan refugee and activist living in New Delhi, set himself on fire in front of the Chinese Embassy. Indian policemen rushed to extinguish the fire before emergency teams transported him to a nearby hospital, where reports indicate his life is out of danger.

Tsedor, who reportedly suffered 15 to 16 percent burns, had called on Indian authorities to pressure China in order to seek a peaceful resolution to the Tibet-China issue, stating that "we are dying and it's the moral responsibility of every freedom loving people to support us."

"I beg and plead the world leaders and peace loving people to help solve the issue of Tibet," Tsedor was quoted as saying by the Phayul.com news portal.

A series of self-immolation protests has taken place against Chinese rule in Tibet this year, but Friday's incident was the first to have taken place outside China. It came just a day after a Tibetan nun died after she set herself on fire in Daofu town of Sichuan's Garzi district.

Nine current and former monks and two nuns have set themselves on fire in southwest China (eastern Tibet) since March of this year. On October 17, twenty-year-old Tenzin Wangmo became the first woman to set herself on fire.

The first incident happened on March 16 when 21-year-old Phuntsog from Kirti Monastery set himself on fire in Ngaba town. It happened on the third anniversary of protests in Ngaba during which at least 13 people were shot dead by Chinese security forces. Phuntsog later died.

Last month, Tibetan Prime Minister Lobsang Sangay expressed his concern about the incidents. "The incidents are a clear indication of the genuine grievances of the Tibetans and their sense of deep resentment and despair over the prevailing conditions in Tibet," he said. "It is therefore of the utmost urgency that every possible effort be made to address the underlying root causes of Tibetan grievances and resentment."

Chinese media, which is strictly controlled by the government, did not report on most of the incidents.

The Dalai Lama has resided in the Indian city of Dharamsala, which is now the seat of the Tibetan Government-in-exile, since 1960 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule of Tibet. Dharamsala is also referred to as 'Little Lhasa', referring to the capital of Tibet.

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