An 18-year-old Tibetan monk has burned himself to death in Sichuan Province, according to a report from BBC. He is believed to be the 44th Tibetan to self-immolate in protest against Beijing’s policies:
The monk in Tuesday’s incident was identified as Lobsang Lozin.
He set himself ablaze and died immediately in Bharkham county in Sichuan province as he marched towards a government office, the India-based Central Tibetan Administration – or government-in-exile – said in a statement.
Local government and police in Bharkham, known as Maerkang in Chinese, could not immediately confirm the suicide.
But the government-in-exile said that a large group of armed police were moving towards Bharkham following the incident.
Radio Free Asia has more details:
“When he set himself alight, he was heard shouting many slogans but nobody could decipher the meaning of them,” the two monks said in a statement.
The self-immolation began to draw a large number of Chinese armed police to the Gyalrong Tsodun Kirti Monastery in Barkham “but local residents are getting ready on the Tsodun Bridge to stop the police from advancing,” the Central Tibetan Administration said in a statement.
“So there is fear of clash between the local residents and police,” it warned, amid prayer services and preparations for Lobsang Lozin’s funeral Tuesday.
Read more about recent self-immolations, via CDT.
