Beijing: A teenage Tibetan monk set himself
on fire in protest on the anniversary of the failed Tibetan
uprising against Chinese rule in 1959, an overseas activist
group said on Tuesday.
The London-based Free Tibet group said 18-year-old Gepey
self-immolated on Saturday in Aba, a town that is under heavy
security lockdown in western Sichuan province.
The group says Gepey was a monk from the town's Kirti
Monastery, the scene of numerous protests against the Chinese
government over the past several years.
Most are led by monks who are fiercely loyal to the Dalai
Lama, who fled the Himalayan region on March 10, 1959, during
an abortive uprising against Chinese rule.
More than two dozen Tibetans, including several
teenagers, have set themselves on fire in China over the last
year, protesting China's suppression of their religion and
culture and calling for the return of the Dalai Lama.
Gepey died after self-immolating behind a military camp,
Free Tibet said. The group said locals tried to take his body
away but security personnel removed it.
A woman from the county Communist Party propaganda
department said she had no information about the incident.
Calls to the prefectural Communist Party department and police
and county police rang unanswered.
A man who answered the phone at the Kirti Monastery hung
up when he was asked about the self-immolation.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, March 14, 2012, 00:42