Beijing, 12 nov (EFE).- A Tibetan monk 24 years caught fire today in Qinghai province (northwest China) without his status being known at the moment and he is already the eighth bonzo in less than seven days, coinciding with the celebration since last Thursday of the 18th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
The Tibetan agency Phayul reported today that the young Tibetan Nyingkar Tashi set himself on fire and released what it claims is a photograph of the monk on the ground engulfed in flames and surrounded by a group of unidentified people..
He also quotes a Tibetan in exile, Ajam Amchok, con "importantes contactos en la región", who confirms that Nyingkar set himself on fire after 15.30 hours today (07.30 GMT), without confirming what the monk's current status is.
"Hay mucho caos ahora mismo en el área y es difícil obtener más información", point out the source.
Los monjes tibetanos que se han prendido fuego esta semana protestan por "la opresión del Gobierno chino" and cry out for the return of their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama (exiled in India) coinciding with the 18th Congress, inaugurated on Thursday in Beijing.
Between that day and the previous, up to six Tibetan monks - among them, four teenagers and a young mother- They caught fire in different regions of China with a Tibetan population.
to it, it was followed by the immolation of another young monk, of 18 years, on saturday.
At least four of them have died and, according to the count of Tibetan organizations in exile, The number of attempted suicides by fire may have already reached 70 in the last two years.
The six cases that occurred in less than 48 hours recorded last week motivated thousands of people to take to the streets to protest against Beijing in the same region where this young man tried today, según la misma agencia y la organización no gubernamental "Free Tibet".
The objective of the protests that lasted several days - and it is unknown if they are still continuing- es mandar "un fuerte mensaje" to the Communist Party, within the framework of the celebration of its 18th congress, according to Tibetan groups in exile.
On Friday, the escalation of the situation in Tibet captured all the attention of the second day of the aforementioned Party meeting., in which Chinese leaders met in important regions or cities to discuss the direction the country will take over the next ten years.
The regional secretary of the Party in Tibet, Chen Quanguo, When asked about the successive cases, he stuck to the official version when defending that the Chinese Government has invested a lot in the development of the region..
"Lhasa (the capital) es la ciudad más feliz de China", He assured those present in the room.
Asked today about what happened, the Chinese spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hong her, He repeated again that the acts are instigated by groups linked to the Dalai Lama in exile.
China considers Tibet part of the country for centuries, by dynastic and conquest unions in the imperial era, si bien para los tibetanos en el exilio el "Techo del Mundo" It was virtually independent until it was occupied by the communist army in the early 50 of the last century.
