In this picture taken on July 26, 2016, a Tibetan Buddhist monk talks on his smartphone as he sits on the grassland of the Tibetan Plateau in Yushu County. A Tibetan monk called Tenga died on Nov. 26 in Sichuan province after setting himself ablaze in protest against Chinese rule in Tibet. (Photo by Nicolas Asfouri/AFP)
A Tibetan monk has set himself on fire and died in China’s Sichuan province in another fiery protest against Chinese rule in Tibetan areas, sources said.
The incident brings the number of self-immolations by Tibetans living in China to 151 since the series of burnings began in 2009. Tenga, 63, from a monastery in Sichuan’s Kardze county, set himself alight and died on Nov. 26, a Tibetan living in exile in India told Radio Free Asia, citing sources in Kardze. After setting himself on fire the monk called out for freedom for Tibet, a second source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Security officers and armed police quickly arrived at the scene and took his body away,” the source said. “Afterward, there was a heavy security clampdown in the area.” A third source said that the monk’s body had yet to be returned to his family. News of the incident was delayed in reaching outside media contacts due to a communications clampdown by Chinese authorities in the Kardze area. Telephone and online social media connections are currently blocked in the area, RFA’s source in India said.He said the line was cut while he was making a phone call to Kardze to seek information.
“But what we know for sure is that he burned himself for the Tibetan cause, and that he demanded freedom for Tibet,” he said.