After the most recent self-immolation of a monk in Sichuan, the Dalai Lama has called China’s policies towards Tibet “ruthless and illogical” and claimed that these policies, such as the crackdown on the Tibetan language and monasteries, led to the monks setting themselves on fire. The Guardian reports:
The Tibetan government-in-exile, which has accused China of an official policy of cracking down on religious institutions, called for the international community to urge Beijing to open a dialogue on its policies in Tibet and traditionally Tibetan regions of western China.
“Actually, the local leader must look what’s the real causes of death,” the Dalai Lama told reporters in Tokyo during his visit to victims of the tsunami that stuck Japan in March. “It’s their own sort of wrong policy, ruthless policy, illogical policy.”
See also: Fire Spreading: Another Monk Self-Immolates in Sichuan and Immolations, Explosions, and Poetry on the Roof of the World via CDT.