Tibetan Monk Self-Immolates in China, Say Campaigners

Reportedly, the monk shouted “we want freedom in Tibet” as he lit himself on fire.

Tenga, 63, died after setting himself ablaze on Sunday, 26 November.

(Photo: Twitter/@DossierTibet)

A 63-year-old Tibetan monk has self-immolated in southwest China in protest against Beijing's presence in Tibet, campaigners said, the fifth person to do so in 2017.

Tenga, a popular monk and volunteer teacher of village children, died after setting himself ablaze on Sunday, 26 November, in Sichuan province's Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, said the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT), headquartered in Washington.

“We Want Freedom in Tibet”

The group said he was the 151st Tibetan to self-immolate since 2009. Earlier in 2017, another Ganzi resident named Wangchuk Tseten also carried out a fatal self-immolation.

Authorities told AFP they knew nothing about the latest incident.

London-based campaign group Free Tibet cited a friend of Tenga's present at the scene as saying the monk shouted "we want freedom in Tibet" as he lit himself on fire.

It released a horrific minute-long video of the incident, which showed the man burning on a street before a crowd of onlookers, as some quietly recited prayers. Uniformed officers then swept in with blankets and a fire extinguisher to put out the flames.

One of Tenga's relatives, now living in exile in the US, according to the ICT, said:

He said that every Tibetan has a responsibility, and told me that wherever I went, I should not forget Tibet. I always remember him saying, proudly, I am Tibetan.

Beijing says its troops "peacefully liberated" Tibet in 1951, but many Tibetans accuse the Communist central government of religious repression and eroding their culture.

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama fled into exile after a failed uprising in 1959.

Tibetan monks within China have reported a campaign of government intimidation targeting the family and friends of those who set themselves on fire.

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