During the Monlam prayer festival of the Tibetan New Year, a monk set himself on fire and was then shot at Kirti monastery in Aba County, an ethnic Tibetan area of Sichuan province. It is not known whether he is alive or dead. From Telegraph:
Pro-Tibet activists in London and Hong Kong reported that the monk, called Tabe and said to be in his twenties, walked out of Kirti monastery, an important seat of worship in a majority Tibetan area of Sichuan province, at around 1pm. He was carrying a hand-drawn Tibetan flag carrying a picture of the Dalai Lama.
He is said to have walked down the main street into nearby Aba town, dousing himself with petrol, finally immolating himself in front of numerous witnesses.
[…]Armed police, who have flocked into Tibetan areas of China in advance of the 50th anniversary of the uprising that saw the Dalai Lama flee into exile on March 10, surrounded the monk. Three were seen to be carrying guns, and according to one account, three shots were heard.
Tabe then fell to the ground, where the police extinguished the flames. He was then put into the back of a police van and driven away.
Two days ago, three ethnic Uighurs set themselves on fire in Beijing’s Wangfujing to air grievances before the coming National People’s Congress session. For more information, see this CDT post.
