Purported image of 32-year-old monk Kalsang Yeshi's body being consumed in flames on 23 December 2014. Yeshi died in his self-immolation protest against Chinese rule in Tibet. Yeshi is a monk of Nyatso Monastery in Tibet's Kham Tawo (Ch: Daofu), Kardze (Ch: Ganzi) in today's Sichuan province. Police took away the remains of his body. Photographer unknown
IANS
DHARAMSHALA, India, 24 December 2014
A Tibetan monk died after he set himself afire protesting against the Chinese government’s repressive policies in Tibet, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) said Wednesday.
He was the third Tibetan to self-immolate in less than a fortnight, taking the self-immolation toll inside Tibet to 135 since 2009.
Kalsang Yeshi, 32, a monk of Nyatso monastery in Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (incorporated into China’s Sichuan Province) set himself on fire Tuesday in front of a police station near his monastery, the CTA said.
“Yeshi raised slogans calling for the return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet and freedom for Tibetans while burning,” said the CTA, quoting an eyewitness.
Despite the CTA’s appeals, at least 135 Tibetans, including Yeshi, have set themselves on fire in protest against the Chinese government’s repressive policies in Tibet.
Out of them, 116 have died while the status or physical condition of the rest continues to remain unknown.
Tibetans spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has lived in India since fleeing his homeland in 1959. The Tibetan administration-in-exile is based in the northern Indian hill town of Dharamshala.
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