Former Tibetan monk dies after self-immolation

[News_Editor]

Former Tibetan monk dies after self-immolation

2011-12-10 07:43:13 GMT+7 (ICT)

DHARAMSHALA, INDIA (BNO NEWS) -- A former Tibetan monk who set himself on fire last week in protest against Chinese rule in Tibet has died, a rights group reported on Friday.

Former monk Tenzin Phuntsog set himself on fire on December 1 in the town of Chamdo in the eastern Tibet Autonomous Region of China. He died on Thursday after succumbing to his injuries, Free Tibet said in a statement.

Phuntsog, 46, is believed to have formerly been a monk at Karma Monastery in Chamdo. The monastery is reported to have been under severe restrictions following reports of a bomb going off in a municipal building in Karma Township on October 27, the rights group said.

"Viewed in the context of other recent significant protests, the self-immolations underline that the current crisis in Tibet represents a fundamental rejection of China's occupation," Free Tibet said in its statement.

Phuntsog is the latest in a series of Tibetans who have self-immolated this year, but the first known to have taken place in the Tibet Autonomous Region itself. Since March, eleven current and former monks and two nuns have set themselves on fire in China, most of them in Ngaba Town in Sichuan province, nearly 500 kilometers (310 miles) from Chamdo.

The first incident happened on March 16 when 21-year-old Phuntsog from Kirti Monastery set himself on fire in Ngaba. 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.

At least seven of those who set themselves on fire were killed, but the conditions of the others remain unknown. Chinese media, which is strictly controlled by the government, has not reported on the controversial incidents.

In October, 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."

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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