AP. 17.04.2017
A Tibetan Buddhist monk blew himself up in western China in an apparent protest against the Beijing government, an activist group and a U.S.-backed radio station said Monday. The monk set himself on fire on Saturday in a square in Kardze, a town also known as Ganzi, in western Sichuan Province, according to Radio Free Asia and Free Tibet, a group based in Great Britain.
Security forces took the victim away, that was not identified, once the flames went out, according to reports. It was unclear if he survived the incident.. Un hombre que respondió al teléfono en una comisaría de la policía local el lunes dijo que no estaba al tanto del caso y que la situación "no estaba clara". The government of Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, where Kardze is located, referred questions to the police. In a YouTube video that supposedly shows the incident, two men discharge fire extinguishers on what appears to be a body on a busy street before a crowd. Free Tibet obtained the video from a witness who posted it on social media, according to John Jones, group spokesperson.
If confirmed, it would be 148ª immolation of a Tibetan from 2009, according to Radio Free Asia and Free Tibet. At least 125 of them died, according to monitoring groups. China assures that Tibet has been part of its territory for more than seven centuries and qualifies the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan Buddhist leader living in exile, of dangerous separatist. Tibetans insist they have been essentially independent for most of that time and have protested what they see as heavy-handed rule from Beijing..
