DHARAMSHALA: A Tibetan nun set herself on fire in Tawu county in Karze (incorporated into China’s Sichuan Province) eastern Tibet on Tuesday (11 June), media reports and human rights organisations say.
The nun set fire to herself outside Nyatso monastery, where thousands of monks from different monasteries are participating in a major religious gathering. She was then taken to a local hospital. Her whereabouts and well-being remain unknown due to heavy security clampdown in the region, reports say.
The Central Tibetan Administration is verifying the details of the incident. It will provide updates on the situation as more details become available.
This latest incident has pushed the total number of self-immolations inside Tibet to 119. The self-immolators have called for the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet and freedom for Tibetans.
The Central Tibetan Administration has repeatedly appealed to Tibetans not to take drastic actions, including self-immolation.
The international community, including the UN and the EU parliament, have strongly urged the Chinese government to address the Tibetan people’s genuine grievances and end its policies which are pushing Tibetans to take drastic actions.
But the Chinese authorities have responded to the crisis with more repressive measures such as deployment of massive security forces in the Tibetan areas and meting out death and long prison sentences to Tibetans on trumped-up charges.
