A 20-year old Tibetan set himself on fire Wednesday evening around 7:10 pm in Changsha township of Ngaba in eastern Tibet (Chinese: Aba County, Aba Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province).
Lobsang Sherab, a monk of restive Kirti monastery died as a result of self-immolation protest against China, says spokesperson of Kirti monastery in India. Chinese paramilitary troops reportedly took his body despite pleas by Tibetan crowds to have it send to his family.
Sherab is known to have ordained as a monk at the age of nine at Gendun-Tempheling monastery in Raru village. In October last year, he joined Ngaba’s Kirti monastery’s dialectic college.
Reports say heavy Chinese security forces have been deployed at the Changsha township after the self-immolation
Crackdown in Ngaba
The latest self-immolation from Tibet comes amid series of self-immolations by Tibetan monks and nuns from Tibetan regions, mostly from Ngaba.
China has worsened crackdown in the Tibetan area of Ngaba following the self-immolation and death of a young Kirti monk called Phuntsog on March 16, 2011.
In the aftermath of Phuntsog's protest and subsequent show of solidarity by the monks at Kirti monastery, the authorities launched a stringent patriotic education campaign at Kirti monastery, according to Kirti monks in exile.
In April 2011, Chinese authorities seized more than 300 protesting monks from the Kirti monastery, one of the most important religious institutions in the area. Beijing at the time denied involvement in the disappearances, before later admitting the monks were undergoing enforced "legal education" at undisclosed locations.
Situation in Ngaba region currently remains tense as Beijing continues to heighten its crackdowns, arbitrary beatings and detentions in Ngaba.
Wave of Self-Immolations
Since March 2011, more than eighteen Tibetans are known to have self-immolated from the restive Ngaba region. Thirty nuns, monks and other people have set themselves on fire in Tibetan areas since last March, demanding the return of the Dalai Lama from exile and freedom in Tibet.
Beijing has repeatedly accused the Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama of inciting Tibetan self-immolations.
On Monday, the exiled Tibetan administration rejected allegations by Beijing that blamed Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama of orchestrating the self-immolations. The exiled administration blamed Chinese repression for the spate of Tibetan self-immolations that shows few signs of abating.
Situation in Ngaba region currently remains tense as Beijing continues to heighten its crackdowns, arbitrary beatings and detentions in Ngaba.
Timeline of Self-Immolations from Tibetan Regions
